Dear Church Family and Community,

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” – Psalm 34:8

Over the last few weeks, we have been learning about stewardship. We have grounded our teaching on the idea that God who owns all and created all has entrusted many blessings to us. In so doing, God Almighty humbly partners with us to do the work of the kingdom. Stewarding all God has gifted us grows us in Christlikeness and it grows our faith and trust in God and our love and care for one another.

I have learned that stewardship is both surrender and worship. Stewardship is surrender because we actively give back to God all that we have been blessed with. In giving one another, our spiritual gifts, creation, and our resources and assets back to God, we put them in God’s capable hands to mold, empower, and use. This kind of surrender takes a lifetime and it must be done daily and in every decision. This is why stewardship is worship; it is saying, “God you are Lord over me, over all I have been blessed with, over all that I say and do.”

I think stewardship is not simply what we do, or what we have to offer to God. God actively stewards us as well. God stewards us by sending the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, to direct our paths, and to transform our thinking and lives while we grow in becoming more like Christ. God stewards us by drawing us to Jesus, teaching us through Jesus, and calling us to follow Jesus as disciples in life and in practice. God stewards us by being our refuge and strength, our calm and peace, and the lover our of souls.

God also stewards us through the sacraments that have lived on since the birth of the church. For example, in baptism we have an outward commitment to all that has happened in our heart. God stewards us in baptism by reminding the witnesses that we all belong to each other, and the candidate being baptized that they belong to this body and Christians all over the world and all throughout history.

Another sacrament that God uses to steward us is communion. And like baptism, communion has lived on since the inception of the Church. In communion we follow Jesus’ command to remember through the bread and the cup. Jesus lovingly and willingly gave his body and shed his blood for us. God stewards us through communion by reminding us who Jesus was, what Jesus did, and what it means for us.

This Sunday, in place of having a pre-recorded online worship service or our meeting at Lingle Park, we will host a live Sunday morning communion service on Zoom. Our focus for this week’s service will be on how God gifts us communion to steward us by reminding us who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what it all means for us. My prayer is that we all come to the communion with all of this in mind.

Sisters and brothers, communion invites us to remember Jesus, to give thanks for Jesus, and to be stewarded by God. I look forward to this wonderful time together. God bless and take care.

Love in Christ,

Pastor Hank
(Psalm 34:8)
P: (717) 561-2170, ext. 104
E: pastorhank@harrisburgbic.org

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