Stewardship Sermon Starters

March
April
May

Stewardship in the Lectionary Readings: Year B

Some Sundays, the stewardship message leaps from the pages. In many lectionary passages, however, the stewardship themes may not be readily apparent.

The following lectionary-based sermon starters offer clues to how stewardship can be an integral part of all our preaching and to how it can be incorporated into group worship or Bible study.

Sermon Starters for March, April, and May were written by Deb Hopper (General Council Office).

Use these lectionary-based sermon starters with Offering Invitations and Dedications and Stewardship Seconds for continuity in your worship service.

March

March 4 Second Sunday in Lent

The quiet theme running through this week's scripture is "faithful following." Abram and Sarai changed to Abraham and Sarah, they went from being parents of none to parents of the royal line. The psalmist speaks of conversion of Gentiles, a time when all people will forsake their idols and follow the one true great God. The psalmist encourages the line of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, to sing praise to God.

Jesus speaks of faithful change first to Peter, pointing out that Peter was expressing a human as opposed to a Godly, spirit-led position. Then Jesus tells the multitude to leave behind the things of this world, take up the cross and follow him. This echoes the first line of the Genesis passage in which God commands Abram to "walk before me, and be blameless."

Taking that walk with God, following Christ is the true basis for all stewardship. We are each called to walk with God and be blameless. The inference being that if you are serving Christ, walking upright in the way God wants you to go, then nobody can (or should) find fault with your course. Just like Peter should not have found fault with the human Christ.

In your reflection, think of examples of how we walk with God. How do we pick up that cross? Consider this: change itself is a tool for stewardship. What changes are needed in your congregation to answer God's call and be stewards of God's church?

March 11 Third Sunday in Lent

Ethical stewardship practices begin within your own heart. God calls each of us to serve God first. We are called to govern ourselves first. After all, if you can't govern yourself, how are you to lead others? The Exodus passage on the Ten Commandments provides the backbone for a faithful life.

Paul's letter to the Corinthians is a beautiful link to this idea of faithful living. Faithful living acknowledges that God makes worldly wisdom look foolish. Paul states that God's foolishness is still wiser than people's greatest wisdom. Of course, Paul tends to get a little dramatic in his letters, we all know that God is not ever foolish, and has no weakness.

But we, human and flawed, most certainly do have weakness—and as such we from time to time loose our tempers. The Bible always speaks to the humanity of Christ. In the passage from John, Christ totally loses control in the temple. Why is this example included in scripture?

Consider the following: how often are we motivated to actually do something in Christ's name? What does it take to govern ourselves with integrity? How angry do you have to get before you will actually step up in the face of injustice?

March 18 Fourth Sunday in Lent

Christians are blessed with God's abundance, with having their needs met, with discipline, with everlasting life—whether they have earned it or not. A place in heaven can't be earned; it is given freely from God. If God's grace were only available to those who earned it, most people would never experience God's presence.

This is the very nature of stewardship—giving to those who need, not just to those who deserve. It is so easy to judge the needy, the pregnant teenagers, the drug addicts, the criminals. To not serve those who we judge less worthy is contradictory to God's grace. Remember, Christ himself was conceived by an unwed, teenage girl!

How do we serve? How do we decide who to serve? Are we blinded by our own prejudice? How do we lift ourselves up so that we can serve everyone?

March 25 Fifth Sunday in Lent

On this last Sunday of Lent, the book of John shares the passage of Jesus seeing the wonderful, life-giving nature of death. When Christ died, his ministry spread rapidly. He faced his own death bravely and with a vision of what would be achieved by his dying and rising again.

Stewardship is like the seed in Jesus' parable from the book of John. All Christians should see themselves as one seed, with the potential to create an eventual harvest. This is God's vision. As the Facebook community would say, Generosity gone viral!

Stewardship is being the body and hands of God in the world. That means doing God's work. It also may mean personal sacrifice for the sake of the harvest.

For reflection: What are you willing to sacrifice to answer God's call? How far would you go to create an abundant harvest in God's name? What are some examples of "viral generosity" happening in your congregation, your community, and the world?

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April

April 1 Palm/Passion Sunday

Out of respect for holy week, we have not provided a Stewardship Sermon Starter for Palm Sunday.

April 6 Good Friday

Out of respect for holy week, we have not provided a Stewardship Sermon Starter for Good Friday.

April 8 Easter/Resurrection Sunday

Out of respect for holy week, we have not provided a Stewardship Sermon Starter for Easter/Resurrection Sunday.

April 15 Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:32–35

The passage from Acts provides such a beautiful vision of what society could be if we all believed in the risen Christ and everything in our lives centred on that. We would all work together for the ministry of God, for evangelizing Christ, and for the good of society. Wouldn’t that be great?!

The reality is very different. We all have our “stuff”—our car, our house, our bed, our favourite pair of jeans. Would we sell even one of them to alleviate suffering in this world? The passage says that those who owned land or houses would sell them and give the proceeds to the apostles for distribution to the needy. Would you be willing to surrender your property? Picture the folks in the pews on Sunday morning. Could you really see them living together, sharing kitchens and bathrooms? Yikes!

To ponder: What sets those early Christians apart from us? What is stopping us from living intimately with our fellow Christians? What sacrifice is too much to make to feed the hungry people in the world?

April 22 Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:36b–48

So there they were, the disciples and the other believers gathered in Jerusalem. And along came Cleopas and his friend saying, “It’s true! It’s true! We just took a walk and had a bite to eat with Jesus of Nazareth. We knew it was Jesus by how he broke the bread!” Just as the other believers start to question—poof!—Jesus appears. He looks real, he says he’s hungry and they give him some fish!

What would your response be? Especially after seeing Jesus die a horrible death on the cross—would you believe them?

It is a marvel what just the appearance of Christ can do. When Christ appears, we are saved from our own doubts, our minds are opened, and we see miracles—such as a dead man standing there talking and eating a fish!

When we embody Christ in the world, what gifts do we give? What do our actions in Christ’s name do for those who receive them?

April 29 Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 4:5–12

Peter and John are brought before the priests and rulers. They are asked to defend their healing of a crippled man. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, is outraged by the question—are these leaders really calling Peter and John to account for an act of kindness? His response is the stuff of legends and the very definition of stewardship: Peter says that they should know that the man was healed in Jesus’ name. The same Jesus they had crucified. Peter’s anger is almost a physical thing.

Time and time again over history, Christians, in the name of Christ, have provided service to those in need. The actions of Peter and John were not understood, and such is also the case for the modern-day Christian. Working in Christ’s name can put us at odds with the priorities of mainstream society.

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May

May 6 Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 8:26–40

This lectionary story is one of those great gems that have somehow never made it into the “popular” Sunday school curriculum. The story opens with Philip, under the direct instruction of an angel, heading south on a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Along the road, he meets an Ethiopian pilgrim reading from the book of Isaiah. The story that unfolds is one of discipleship, evangelism, and joy. The most riveting part of the story is the Ethiopian’s readiness. He is sitting in his chariot after worshipping in Jerusalem reading the prophecy in the book of Isaiah. He could be either Jew or Gentile, and he is ready to hear about Christ.

The story reminds us that God has placed us where we are for a purpose. Is there somebody in our lives just waiting to hear about Jesus? Are we listening to the Spirit? Are we ready to be disciples in the world?

May 13 Sixth Sunday of Easter

John 15:9–17

The instruction is straightforward: love each other as Christ has loved and go out and bear long-lasting fruit. The words are meant for us: people who sit in the pews on Sunday morning, those who work in local food banks, those who dig wells in Africa, those who build schools in Haiti, those who serve because Jesus appointed them to do the work.

What has God appointed you to do? How do you love as Christ loved? How do you face the challenges of this seemingly simple, straightforward instruction?

May 20 Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 1:15–17, 21–26

After Christ ascended, one of the first pieces of business that the apostles had to take care of was replacing Judas. So they gathered in prayer, and two names came forward for election: Barsabbas and Matthias. These were brave men. The death of Christ would still have been fresh in their minds, and those early Christians were a persecuted lot. Yet these two stepped up to serve the risen Christ.

Are we as brave as Matthias? Has God called us to serve? If God called us to danger, to risk our very lives, what would our answer be?

May 27 Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1–21

The day of Pentecost coincides with the ancient Jewish holiday of the Feast of Weeks, the celebration of the wheat harvest. So, on the day of Pentecost, the city was full of people celebrating the festival. This alone is evidence of God’s divine timing. The Bible tells us that the first evangelistic message resulted in the conversion of 3,000 Christians. And that was just the beginning.

Imagine being Peter in that moment. Peter—originally a fisherman, recruited with his brother—was a part of Jesus’ most trusted circle. This was the same Peter who walked on water. The same Peter who denied Christ and witnessed the transfiguration had just come through Pentecost. Anybody who’d seen what Peter had seen would make a convincing witness!

Are we convincing witnesses? Stewardship is living in Christ’s light. Is our witness so powerful that it draws others to Christ? Does it offer hope to a cynical world? How can our actions and speech be a testimony to Christ’s love in our lives?

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