Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
November is here! There are so many special things happening in November! Our Stewardship Campaign continues through November 20th, and we mark the celebration of stewardship with our annual Thanksgiving Dinner at 11:15! The tradition of the Woodmar Thanksgiving Dinner is to invite our Community Preschool and Childcare families and our community-at-large to our feast. It is a beautiful time of coming together and being thankful for the ways God has blessed us through friendships old and new. I hope to see you there!
Speaking of new friendships: Pastor Dale Zylstra of Christ Lutheran Church (7051 Indianapolis Blvd) has invited us to participate, along with Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, in a Thanksgiving Eve Worship Service at Christ Lutheran. Our worship will include a combined choir…what a beautiful way to express our gratitude to God! Please join us at 7PM at Christ Lutheran!
ADVENT also begins in November! The first Sunday in Advent is November 27th, and our Advent Bible Study will begin on Tuesday, November 22nd at 10AM via ZOOM and in-person in the Fireside Room. We will be reflecting on the Lectionary Gospel Readings for Advent…please join us!
Lots of exciting things happening in November! I would be remiss if I didn’t speak a little more about stewardship. Sadly, stewardship has become a four-letter word for many people. When, it should be a word we embrace and for which we give thanks! The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines stewardship: “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” I didn’t add the emphasis to the word especially...Merriam-Webster did, but I like it! Stewardship is especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
Think for a moment about what has been entrusted to the care of each and every one of us? I’m sure we can each make a very long list of the things and people who have been entrusted to our care. What about ourselves? Haven’t we each been entrusted with the precious gift of life? How are we carefully and responsibly managing the life God has entrusted to our care?
Are we being good stewards of our health: spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically? Our time? Our finances? The six weeks of our Stewardship Campaign: Committed to Christ have focused on being good stewards of the life God has entrusted to our care. When we respond to the longing in our hearts to draw closer and closer to Jesus, we set aside consistent, intentional time to pray, to read and study God’s Word, to worship with our community of faith on Sunday mornings, to share our faith stories (witness), to give a tithe to our church (Biblical tithe=10% of our earnings), and to serve.
How are we doing in each of these areas? Are we growing? Are we stagnating? We who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be growing disciples!!! Are we willing to step up in each of these areas?
Growing as disciples isn’t something we wait to do when we have time, or when life is more settled, or…or….or (fill in your own excuse)….friends, the time is NOW! I am praying that we are digging into this series: Committed to Christ, that we may grow in our personal relationship with Jesus, and as a result, our church will be filled with passion for the call God has on our lives to live life intentionally with our neighbors.
I’m willing to step up…won’t you join me?
See you in worship!
Living in the Grip of God’s Grace,
Pastor Esta
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