St. Timothy PCUSA Livonia, MI: October 2019

Monday, October 21, 2019

Questions from the Congregation Week Six: Science and Creation

Congregation's Questions Sermon Series Fall 2019: Preached by Pastor Joel T. Puntigam at St. Timothy Presbyterian October 20, 2019

Question: Science tells us that we're all from apes!! It makes it hard to believe the story of Adam and Eve. If science gives us the how, what does scripture offer us?

Intro info

SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR by Jason Shaw http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jason_Shaw/
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 United States— CC BY 3.0 US https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
Music promoted by Audio Library https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M9Puanhdac

Minute for Stewardship from Scott Gaines

When I was first asked to stand up and talk about stewardship, I was taken aback. Then I started thinking, “How exactly do I feel about stewardship?”. I found the question difficult to answer.

To help me express how I feel, A dear friend sent me an article titled “4 Reasons GodlyStewardship is Important”. There’s a line that really hit home with me-

“Living as a steward means surrendering your finances to God and recognizing yourself as a manager, not owner, of all you have. It is part of our identity not just our behavior”.

Psalm 24:1 says – “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,

This concept of being a good manager really struck me and got me thinking. We are talking about how we manage our lives, spend our time, and spend our money. It’s about God’s gifts to us, and how we use them.

To be honest, I used to have a negative opinion about stewardship during this time of year, because I felt it was only about the money. Then I thought, that has never been the case at St. Tim’s. Now, when I think about stewardship, I think about all we do for the surrounding communities, each other, and how we give our talents, time and money as Christians.

We all have talents that we bring to the church. Some of us are handy with tools, others understand finances, we have some great cooks, gardeners and organizers. While others lead us in worship, prayer, and bible studies. We work to understand God, and what being a Christian means to each of us. We help people in the community and within our own walls through the work mission does. Without using the talents God gave us, where would we be?

In addition to the many talents we bring, the building still requires upkeep, and the projects around the church are endless. We are fortunate to have heat in the winter and stay cool in the summer. Because of stewardship, new technology has been introduced, and we will soon have new neighbors. Shelly, Joel and Tim, are dedicated to St. Tim’s, and bring their many talents to the church. They are always available whenever we need something. It’s’ hard to imagine not having them part of the church, or not being able to complete the many projects a building this size requires, because of a lack of stewardship.

St. Tim’s a warm inviting church that has dedicated itself to seeking God, following Christ, and serving and loving our neighbor. Being good stewards is part of our identity as Christians. So, I ask you to look inside your heart, and find what you can do to be a faithful steward for Christ.