From the Desk of Pastor Diehl

November

I suppose you could say I'm one of those people who gets attached to his "stuff". My car is 15 years old, my boat is about 20 years old, I have tools that were my Dad's, and we have some furniture which we've had since we've been married....and it was old when we first got it! And it's not like I couldn't replace some of those things if I
needed to or wanted to. I just see no need to, and have kind of grown attached to some of it. But as much as we get attached to our "stuff", and those things become a part of our identity in a sense, they really are all transient.

"Everything belongs to God and we are only his stewards and caretakers," the pastor said in a stewardship sermon one Sunday. The next day a well-to-do member of the congregation showed the pastor around his large estate. "Come on now, pastor," he
teased. "Does this place belong to me or doesn't it?" The pastor said, "If you'll ask me that question 100 years from now, I'll give you a definite answer."

Stop and think about that story for a few minutes. Where will your "stuff" be 100 years from now?

We really are only caretakers, stewards of things that are only ours to use, appreciate, care for, share, etc., for a while. One of the things that has helped me keep my "stuff" in perspective is thinking about that story, and returning a portion of what I have to God on a regular basis. It's a way of helping me remember from whom all blessings come and to whom I shall one day go. Returning a portion of what God has given us is a way for us to keep our hearts and spirits in the right place, and to help us keep the proper perspective on that "stuff" which can easily cling too closely to our hearts.

During the first 3 weeks in November, we as a congregation are going to receive 3 letters which will help us reflect on what it means to be a caretaker, or steward of what God has given us. This will be an opportunity to think about our "Walk with Jesus" and how that walk affects how we think about and what we do with the "stuff"
we call our own.

To be able to regularly return an offering to God is a freeing act of thanksgiving which reminds us of the one from whom all good things come and in whom alone there is real security. These offerings then are used to be about the work of the church, telling the story of Him who walks with us, who has prepared a place for us, and who gives us so much more than the things transient...i.e. those eternal things...faith, hope, love, peace, joy. Now there's something that puts all of our "stuff" in proper perspective.

+A fell steward of God's gifts+

Pastor Jack Diehl

Biography

October
September