Sermons

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Witness” based on the scripture from Acts 17:16-23.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Witness” based on the scripture from Acts 17:16-23.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Service” based on the scripture from Mark 10:35-45.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Service” based on the scripture from Mark 10:35-45.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Gifts” based on the scripture from 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Gifts” based on the scripture from 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Presence” based on the scripture from Acts 28:11-15.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Presence” based on the scripture from Acts 28:11-15.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Prayers” based on the scripture from Luke 18:9-14.

There are promises we make in life that are meant for more than the moment in which we make them. Wedding vows. Baptismal promises. Words spoken beside hospital beds or gravesides. We say them once…but spend a lifetime learning what they mean. The vows we make when we join the Church are like that. In the Methodist tradition, we promise to faithfully participate in the ministries of the Church, that we will “uphold” it with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Together, they describe a life increasingly entrusted to God. That is the larger vision of stewardship we will explore throughout Uphold. Stewardship is sometimes reduced to money, budgets, and giving – and financial generosity is certainly part of faithful discipleship. But biblical stewardship begins much earlier and reaches much further. Everything we have has, first, been entrusted to us by God: our attention, our time, our resources, our abilities, and even the story of grace we carry into the world. “Prayers” based on the scripture from Luke 18:9-14.