Ministry Moment: Stewardship

Stewardship Moment             Sunday Feb 8, 2015

Hello,

I am Keith Howell and I am honored to serve on your Stewardship Committee. 

We all take for granted that we are able to worship Jesus in a comfortable sanctuary that is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, unlike the majority of our brothers and sisters across the globe.  Also we tend to under appreciate that we have wonderful pastors in Revs Campbell, Hopper, and Woodworth that watch over our very souls, according to Hebrews 13.  ASV / NKJV

But we on stewardship wanted to chat a little about some of the ministries that we, you and I, support as part of the regular budget and tend to go unnoticed.  Ministries that clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and shelter the homeless.

Third Street Ministries, for example, who provide warm clothes to individuals and families on the margins of society.  

Then there is The Rome Community Kitchen who feeds around 500 people every week. 

And don’t forget Rome Action Ministries’ Transitional Housing.  They recently placed a mother and her two children in a home and also provided classes on budgeting and parenting and what not. 

This congregation actively participates in clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the homeless as part of our regular budget.     

And this congregation is capable of doing so because of your faithfulness; that God’s blessings are NOT constrained within these walls, but flow beyond to have real impact on the lives in the surrounding community.

I am sure that most of us are familiar with Malachi chapter 3:10 – 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 

It’s the “ . . . throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” part of that verse which we wanted to share about this morning. 

It is because of your financial faithfulness that the blessings flow from the floodgates of Heaven out into Rome and Floyd County. 

And please never confuse tithing to be an act of generosity or benevolence, because it isn’t.  

Tithing is an act of discipleship; that is to say that it is an act of worship and obedience. 

Thank you for your obedience to Christ’s Calling.  Because of you, there is hope in our community for the naked, the hungry, and the homeless.   Hope that changes lives for Jesus Christ.