Sermon: Stewardship and our relationship with God
September 1, 2024
Faith-La Fe Lutheran Church
Pastor Veronica Alvarez
Today, we begin a series of sermons on stewardship and our relationship with God. When we hear the word "stewardship," we often think of money or church finances. But stewardship is so much more than that; it’s about how we live our lives in response to God's love and grace.
Imagine a butler in a large house, responsible for managing and caring for everything inside. This butler isn’t the owner but is trusted to ensure everything is in order and well cared for. Similarly, God has entrusted us with His creation, our lives, our relationships, our talents, and everything we possess. At its core, stewardship is the recognition that everything we have and everything we are belongs to God. We aren’t owners, but stewards of the blessings God has given us.
This is a significant time for us, as we are preparing for our Planning Retreat—a unique opportunity to connect more deeply with God and each other as we chart our path forward. We’ve chosen to begin this stewardship series now to reinforce the foundation of both our faith and our community.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore five key aspects of stewardship:
How we steward our relationship with God.
How we steward our relationship with each other.
How we steward our relationship with creation.
How we steward our gifts and talents.
How we steward our words and minds.
Today, we start by reflecting on how our relationship with God is the foundation of everything and how this relationship begins with our direct connection to Him—how we worship, respect, and place Him at the center of all we do.
The concept of stewardship comes from the idea of a “steward” who cares for something that belongs to another. God has entrusted us with His creation, our lives, our relationships, our talents, and everything we own. Recognizing that all we have and are belongs to God means living in a way that reflects His character. This responsibility is manifested in how we live our lives, use our gifts, and relate to others and His creation.
To understand our role as stewards, we must first understand our relationship with God. The reading from Exodus 20:2-11 reminds us of the Ten Commandments, especially the first four that focus on our relationship with God. Here, God calls us to acknowledge His sovereignty, avoid idolatry, honor His name, and keep the Sabbath holy.
Being good stewards of our relationship with God means prioritizing this relationship above all else. It means that we must examine our hearts to see if there are modern idols, such as money, power or comfort, that compete with our loyalty to God. God calls us to live a life centered on HIM, not to make idols of ourselves, not to use His name in vain and to remember the Sabbath. These commandments are not rules to limit our freedom, but to free us from the burdens we impose on ourselves when we put anything else in God's place.
Consider a person obsessed with professional success, devoting all their time and energy to their career at the expense of their health, relationships, and spiritual life. This obsession becomes a burden—constant stress, lack of peace, and deteriorating relationships. However, when we put God first, we realize our value doesn’t depend on worldly success but on our relationship with Him. Trusting God allows us to let go of control and excessive worries, leading to a fuller, more balanced life. free from the self-imposed burden of having to be “perfect” or “successful” in the eyes of the world. Our time, our priorities and our decisions should reflect that God is first in our lives.
The commandment to keep the Sabbath holy reminds us that our relationship with God includes regular rest and worship. It calls us to stop, rest, and remember that our lives don’t depend solely on our work or efforts. So, what are we saying to God by constantly working without rest? we’re telling God we don’t trust in His promises, we are robbing Him of the opportunity to show that He always provides for us. Time is one of our most valuable resources, and how we use it reflects our priorities. Setting aside time to rest and worship cultivates our relationship with God, acknowledging His sovereignty and provision.
Psalm 24 reminds us that everything we see, everything we have, and everything we are belongs to God. We are stewards, charged with caring for what is His. This psalm also calls us to purity of heart and to seek God’s face, challenging us to live in a way that honors His ownership of all things.
When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is, He summarizes the Law in two commandments: to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Loving God and loving our neighbor are two sides of the same coin. When we steward our relationship with God well, it naturally manifests in genuine, practical love for those around us.
So how can we be good stewards of our relationship with God? First, by ensuring that nothing competes with God for our love and devotion. Second, by living with the awareness that everything we have and are belongs to Him, using our lives to glorify His name. And third, by taking time each day to pray and reflect on God’s Word, allowing His Spirit to guide our decisions and actions. This includes not only talking to God but also listening to Him.
Here are some practices we can adopt:
Evaluate our priorities. What comes first in our lives? If it’s not God, something is out of order in our stewardship.
Consider how we use our resources and time to serve others, whether through volunteering, supporting worthy causes, or showing kindness and compassion in our daily interactions.
Set personal spiritual goals, such as reading the Bible in a year, participating in a weekly Bible study, or devoting more time to community service.
Ensure our priorities reflect the importance of our relationship with God, preventing work, leisure, or daily responsibilities from taking His place.
Siblings in Christ, stewardship begins with our relationship with God. By honoring Him, worshiping Him, and putting Him first, we discover that our life has a deeper and fuller purpose. Understanding that all we have and all we are is His, we live with a sense of sacred responsibility, knowing that our lives should reflect His glory and love. In every step we take, we are reminded of how much God loves us, a love so great and transforming that it invites us to respond to Him with our whole lives, recognizing that we are His faithful and grateful servants.
Today, I invite you to reflect on your relationship with God. Are there areas in your life where you need to put God first? Are you living as a good steward of His creation and the relationship He has established with you? Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to live in a way that honors that love.
May the Lord guide and strengthen us in this path of stewardship so that we may be faithful in all we do, and may our relationship with God be the highest priority in our lives. Amen.
