First United Church of Christ
1017 Todds Lane, Hampton, Virginia 23666
Interim Pastor's Message
As we look at our stewardship responsibilities in preparation for
Consecration Sunday, November 15,2009, we look at the perspectives
that Jesus had. We have seen that he cared about both people and things.
Stewardship involves relationships. In the lectionary scripture
from Sunday,October 4th (Mark 10:2-16), the Pharisees confront Jesus
and try to trap him through the law regarding divorce_ They take the low
road by focusing on the negative, but Jesus takes the high road by showing
that marriage is the best possible gift from God, In this relationship of
marriage, human beings are able to reflect the "profound mystery-Christ
and the church." (Ephesians 5:32)_ In this relationship, we are to care for
those we love just as Christ cares for the church and was willing to die
for you and for me. We need to be good stewards regarding how we deal
with other people.
On the following Sunday, the lectionary scripture from October
11th, we see Jesus dealing with things, Jesus shows the rich young man
that has been scrupulous about keeping the law that anything we worship
beside God is idolatry and we need to let it go. (Mark 10: 17-31)_ It is our
relationship with our heavenly father that needs to be first and then all of
the rest falls into place. Jesus further tells us in the Sermon on the Mount
that, "ifyou seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all
these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)_ God deserves
the best of our time, our talent and our treasure, and as we exercise
good stewardship over the things in our lives, God provides the rest of
what we need.
God provides infinitely more. Our theme verse for Consecration
Sunday comes from John 1:16. It is paraphrased in The Living Bible:
"We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to usblessing
upon blessing heaped upon us!" The New International Version
translates it: "From Jesus fullness we have all received grace upon
grace!" It is in response to God's tremendous blessing and God's infinite
grace being showered upon us that we begin to understand stewardship.
The Apostle Paul writes, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yetfor your sakes he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich. " (II Corinthians
8:9)_ Jesus turned the values and riches of all things upside down. Jesus
made the very riches of eternity available to those who believe .. _that is,
the church. And so it is out of the overflow that God has given that we
return a portion of what God has so generously provided.
Continued blessings to all! John
Associate Pastor's Message
Grace Upon Grace
Our Stewardship scripture is John 1:16 "From Jesus' fullness e have received, grace upon grace." In John 1:14 we read HAnd the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth."
We are reminded of all we have to be thankful for. In the world in which we live things seem uncertain. Yet, we have received God's grace through Jesus Christ who walked on this earth and understands the stress of this world.
If we read the headlines we read about the healthcare debates which cause many to be fearful. We read about the continuing unrest in the Middle East. We read about a teen set on fire by 3 other teens. One can begin to wonder about God's grace. We begin to wonder about our own security.
When we are concerned about security we become more cautious. We're not so quick to help out or to give abundantly of our tithes and offerings. Yet, God's grace comes to us in all times and places. God'sgrace through Jesus Christ comes to us now. We have a faith that brings us hope and strength: Jesus came to remind us that God is here with us. God's grace, love and forgiveness are here for us. We only have to
reach out and accept them. Jesus offers us a different way of looking at things. We can see the good things and be thankful. In our thankfulness we can give our tithes. It's recognizing that all we have comes from God. Every blessing, every time we eat, every time we get in our car, every time we come to worship, we are blessed.
There are times when we are afraid that we won't have the resources that we believe we need to have the lifestyle we want to live. Jesus reminds us that if we rely on God's grace we will experience life in a better way than we could ever imagine. When we rely on God's grace and work hard great things can happen in our lives and in our church. When we experience God's grace we see all that we can do and not the things
we can't. We can find strength to-do more than we ever thought that we could. Through grace we experience a fullness of life.
Ruth Frith is an example of fullness of life. She was the oldest female athlete at the World Masters Games in Sydney. She broke a world record in the shot put -- at the age of 100. She was hoping to win gold in the shot put and feeling pretty confident as she was the only competitor in the over-100s category. Her 13 ft 4.2 inch throw on Sunday, October 11, 2009 didn't just win her gold, but also broke a world record. The great-grandmother is also a keen hammer and javelin thrower and believes other pensioners
should follow her example. Frith trains five days a week, regularly lifting 77 Ib weights. She doesn't drink or smoke and she doesn't eat vegetables either, claiming she hasn't liked them since she was young.
Ruth was clearly a star of the World Masters Games -- an event which attracts about 28,000 athletes -- and despite her age, said she has no plans to retire just yet.
The World Masters Games have been held every four years since they began in Toronto in 1985. They are open to people of all abilities and most ages. The main difference between the World Masters Games and the Olympic Games is that World Masters are open to people of all abilities rather than just elite athletes, with the emphasis on participation.
Jesus Christ 'came to the earth to offer us God's grace and to invite us to participate in life in and all its fullness. When we give of our time, talent and money to the church we participate in God's grace ...amazing and great things can happen!
December's Messages coming soon...
