Saint Matthew United Methodist Church

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Tag: Colossians

  • The Blessing of Stewardship

    Jason Hardy
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    Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 3:23

    Stewardship begins with recognizing that everything belongs to God. We are entrusted with the care of God’s creation, including our time, talents, relationships, resources, and the places where we gather. In Sunday’s message, Pastor Mary reminded us that faithfulness reaches far beyond financial giving. Preparing a meal, bringing food to the pantry, caring for our campus, and welcoming a neighbor can all become ways of glorifying God.

    That responsibility includes how we care for one another. A beautiful sanctuary and an inviting campus matter, but people also need to experience God’s compassion, hospitality, and kindness through us. Welcome should continue beyond someone’s first visit. Speaking to one another, listening carefully, and helping carry another person’s burdens are everyday expressions of stewardship. God’s blessings are entrusted to us so that we can share them.

    As we begin this month’s stewardship focus, Mary reminds us that God has entrusted us not simply with possessions, but with opportunities to reflect God’s love. Faithful stewardship means caring for creation, caring for one another, and using what we have been given in ways that bring life to our community. It also means recognizing our own need for rest and time with God. Together, we press on with love for God, ourselves, our neighbors, and creation.

    Take Time to Reflect

    • What has God entrusted to your care, and how might you care for it faithfully this week?
    • How can you help someone experience belonging beyond their first visit?
    • Where might your time, talents, or resources become a blessing to someone else this week?

  • Serve Joyfully: Living In The Ways of the Spirit

    Jason Hardy
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    YouTube player

    Watch the full service online by clicking here.

    How do we serve joyfully when life feels anything but joyful?

    This Sunday, Rev. Mary Teague reminded us that joy is not pretending everything is okay. Grief, worry, pain, and life’s distractions are real. There are seasons when healing requires us to be still before God. Yet even in those moments, God has given us practices that gently draw our hearts back to Him.

    Drawing from Psalm 100:1-5, we explored how worship, gratitude, praise, and joyful service are more than spiritual disciplines. They are gifts God has woven into our lives for our healing. These practices do not remove the chaos around us, but they help keep that chaos from defining us by reminding us that we are God’s beloved children.

    In Colossians 3:23-24, we were encouraged to approach every task with wholehearted devotion, remembering that whatever we do, we ultimately serve Christ. Whether in worship, at work, or in caring for others, even ordinary moments can become acts of joyful service.

    The good news is that God has already created us to Love Boldly and Serve Joyfully. As we choose gratitude, praise, and faithful service, we rediscover the joy that has been there all along, waiting to draw us closer to God.

    Scripture: Psalm 100:1–5; Colossians 3:23–24

    Psalm 100 (English Standard Version)

    His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
    A Psalm for giving thanks.

    100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
    2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
        Come into his presence with singing!

    3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
        It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
        we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

    4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
        and his courts with praise!
        Give thanks to him; bless his name!

    5 For the Lord is good;
        his steadfast love endures forever,
        and his faithfulness to all generations.

    Colossians 3:23-24 (English Standard Version)

    23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.