STEWARDING YOUR RACE WELL
Stewarding Your God-Given Gifts: A Guide to Faithful Service
God has entrusted each of us with unique gifts, talents, and resources. The challenge lies not just in recognizing these gifts, but in using them effectively to serve others and glorify God.
What Does Biblical Stewardship Mean?
Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. When something is entrusted to us, it means it's put into our care and protection. This applies to everything God has given us - from our time and talents to our treasures and relationships.
How Do We Identify Our Spiritual Gifts?
According to 1 Peter 4:10, God has given each person a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. These gifts aren't meant to be hidden or used solely for personal gain - they're intended to serve others and bring glory to God.
Some common spiritual gifts include:
Jesus teaches in Luke 16 that if we're faithful in small things, we'll be faithful in larger ones. This principle applies to all areas of stewardship:
What Happens When We Don't Steward Well?
Poor stewardship has significant consequences:
How Can We Better Steward Our Gifts?
To improve our stewardship:
Life Application
This week, consider these questions:
Challenge: Take one step toward better stewardship this week. This might mean:
Remember: Every gift you've been given is an opportunity to make an eternal impact. How will you steward what God has entrusted to you?
God has entrusted each of us with unique gifts, talents, and resources. The challenge lies not just in recognizing these gifts, but in using them effectively to serve others and glorify God.
What Does Biblical Stewardship Mean?
Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. When something is entrusted to us, it means it's put into our care and protection. This applies to everything God has given us - from our time and talents to our treasures and relationships.
How Do We Identify Our Spiritual Gifts?
According to 1 Peter 4:10, God has given each person a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. These gifts aren't meant to be hidden or used solely for personal gain - they're intended to serve others and bring glory to God.
Some common spiritual gifts include:
- Teaching
- Hospitality
- Administration
- Prayer
- Leadership
- Giving
- Helping others
Jesus teaches in Luke 16 that if we're faithful in small things, we'll be faithful in larger ones. This principle applies to all areas of stewardship:
- How we manage our current resources affects future opportunities
- Being trustworthy with others' things leads to being trusted with our own
- Faithful stewardship opens doors for greater responsibility
What Happens When We Don't Steward Well?
Poor stewardship has significant consequences:
- The lost aren't reached
- The body of Christ isn't built up
- People aren't impacted
- Future generations may be left behind
- The kingdom stops being built through God's house
How Can We Better Steward Our Gifts?
To improve our stewardship:
- Identify your gifts and talents
- Check your motivations - are you serving for God's glory or your own?
- Look for opportunities to serve others
- Start with small responsibilities
- Be faithful in what you're currently managing
Life Application
This week, consider these questions:
- What gifts has God entrusted to me?
- Am I using these gifts to serve others and glorify God?
- Where could I be more faithful in my stewardship?
Challenge: Take one step toward better stewardship this week. This might mean:
- Volunteering in an area aligned with your gifts
- Mentoring someone younger
- Using your professional skills to serve others
- Supporting ministries with your resources
- Investing time in developing your gifts
Remember: Every gift you've been given is an opportunity to make an eternal impact. How will you steward what God has entrusted to you?
I'm going to pick up where Pastor Matt left off with a message that I'm calling, stewarding your race well. Stewarding your race well. And I believe that it's a perfect Mother's Day message. Okay. And I hope that you would be inspired and challenged to run the race that God has set us on.
Jesus has a lot to say in scripture about stewardship. And today we're going to look at a parable where he goes into great detail about the idea of stewardship. We're going to be in Luke 16. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there. You can get it up on the app.
We've got the notes on the Mercy City Church app. If you're like, I don't have the app, you can tap the circle in front of you. You can download the app. We've tried to make it really easy to make sure that you can follow along, or, of course, we'll have it up on the screen. So I'm going to pray for us, and then we're going to jump right in.
So, Father, we just thank you for today. We thank you for everything that you want to speak to us today. God, I believe that you have a word for what we want to do, what you want to say. God, I believe that we have a word from you. From you, Holy Spirit, specifically for each and every one of us in the room, in all of our rooms.
I just pray that our hearts would be open and that our ears would be open, God, that we would be in tune with you this morning as you gently nudge us by the power of your Holy Spirit in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. That's been my prayer. Just as Pastor Matt and I, we always pray in the truck on the way to church. And I just was really praying that we would all sense just that little nudge from the Holy Spirit.
Because today the goal is to just respond to the nudge. It's to respond not to everybody the same way, but the Holy Spirit is going to uniquely and specifically nudge you into a place of movement. Okay? Some of you, that made you nervous because you've been sitting still for a long time. But today the Lord's going to say, let's go somewhere now.
Okay? And so that's our heart for today. And you might be like, I'm just visiting. That's okay. You have ears, you have eyes.
You can move. Okay? So whatever this looks like we're gonna do this together. Okay? Look at your neighbor and say, we're gonna do it together.
We're gonna do it together, okay? Luke 16 is a parable. And what parables are, is Jesus using a story to teach and to communicate a kingdom principle, okay? That's a principle based on God's kingdom. It's the way that he wants us to live.
It's kind of his idea for us to live this way on earth. And he tell of this shrewd manager who did not handle his master's wealth and possessions well. Everybody can take a deep breath. I am not talking about money, okay? Chapter 16, verse number one.
Jesus told this story to his disciples. There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer's money. So the employer called him in and said, what's this I hear about you get your report in order because you are going to be fired? So the manager starts to panic.
And what he does is he begins to think, hmm, I wonder how I can make sure that I don't have to go dig ditches. That's what it says in the Bible. He's like, what could I do? So he gets a plan to make some friends, okay? In verse five, he says this.
So he called in each one of his master's debtors. And he asked the first, how much do you owe my master? 900 gallons of olive oil, he replied. The manager told him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it 450. Then he asked the second, how much do you owe?
A thousand bushels of wheat, he replied. And he told him, take your bill and make it 800. So the manager, or so Jesus says this. The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal. Ever met a dishonest rascal?
Some of you that own business are still like, I'm not that dishonest rascal. I know who that is for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. What is Jesus saying here? People in the world's system are more shrewd and better managers of what they've been given than the people of God are.
He's saying, sometimes in the world, people do a better job of taking care of what they need to take care of even more than people do in the kingdom. And I love what Jesus does next is he tells exactly what he means. That's what parables are so great because Jesus tells the parable, but then he says, this is what I'm saying. He says, this is what I actually mean. Just so we don't get confused about the lesson that he's trying to teach us.
In verse number 10, it says, if you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. Some of us wonder why God can't help us with more responsibility or God can't trust us with more responsibilities. It's because we haven't been faithful in the little things that he's given us. And if you're untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? You know, this reminds me of anytime we're, like, out and about and I see employees just, like, not doing a good job, you know? And I think to myself, they don't own this. That's why they don't care. They don't own this.
So they're not treating people well. They're not cleaning up. They're not making this look right. They don't own it, so they don't care. And that's what this is saying.
He's saying, if I can't trust you, to do what? Well, with things that don't belong to you, how can I give you things that do belong to you? That's what Jesus is asking, a few questions. If you're found to be untrustworthy with what you've been given here on earth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? If you're not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
This is a hard lesson for me sometimes, because if I want a new car, I want something new. But I'm not taking care of what I currently have, which. My car's kind of messy. I'm just gonna be honest with you. And my husband will say to me, well, maybe we should keep the car we have clean.
And I'm like, that's silly.
How would I have all my stuff if it wasn't in my car? You know, like, so. But that's what this is talking about. Like, you gotta take care of what you have if you wanna have something better. You've gotta take care of the things that God's already blessed you with and given you if you want him to give you something better.
So that's what we're talking about. And here today, many of us read this scripture and we assume that it's only about money and possessions. But it isn't only about that. It is about that, but it isn't only about that. You guys know it can be both and right, it can be about that, but it can also be about something else.
Because we have also been entrusted on this earth with time, talent, and treasure. That's what the Bible says. Our time. God's given us a measure of it. Our talents.
God's given each of us a measure of those and our treasures or our wealth. Over and over again in Scripture, we find encouragement about how we steward these gifts that God has given us. I want to encourage you, if you have questions about that, you can find it in the word. You can find scripture about this. Let's pause for just a minute about a couple definitions.
Stewardship is this. It's the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. So if I'm a good steward of something, I'm a careful and responsible manager of something that's been entrusted to me. Entrusted means to put something into someone's care and protection. So think of all the things that you've been entrusted with.
Those of you that are parents, you've been entrusted with the life of your children, those of you that have a home or a job or health or a car or everything that we have, we've been entrusted to steward it well. Okay? That's why God gave it to us, so that we become good stewards of all that we have. And so we believe in stewarding our resources. Absolutely.
We. You hear about it. Pastor Matt talked about it. And giving our. Your location leader talked about it.
Giving our resources our tithes, our offering. We do that. We want you to be a good steward of it. That's why we offer financial peace. That's why we have free resources so that you can learn how to steward your resources well.
But what about our time and our talents? What about our giftedness? We are responsible to steward what God has entrusted to us in this world. We are responsible. No one else is responsible to steward what you have been entrusted.
You are the steward of what God has entrusted you with. If we're adults, we are grown, and now we've become responsible stewards of what God's given us. Right? And I believe most of us at Mercy City would say, yes, this is a great idea. I love this thought to do this, you know, I want to do what God wants me to do.
I want to steward it well. But I wonder if we would each make this a personal question. How am I stewarding all that's been entrusted to me? Have I even slowed down to think about what God has entrusted to me? Have I thought about what are the things that God's given me?
And God says so much about this all through scripture. He makes it so clear that we've all been given gifts and talents. Each and every one of you has a purpose and a God given gift.
Yes. You, you, you, you, you, you. Everybody, everyone has been entrusted with spiritual gifts. You've been entrusted with something, with a talent. Some of us, you know, I mean, I've been in this situation before.
I'm like, no, I don't really have anything. Or I used to say that I was a jack of all trades and a master of none. Like, I was good at a few little things. Like when I played sports, I was like, I was never the best at any of them, but I could, you know, I could hang, I could do it. You know, I look really athletic.
And so I know that you guys can imagine me on the basketball court or playing volleyball or, you know, softball or many of the other things that I did that I was so, so moderately good at. And so, like, we have all these gifts, we have all these things and we're like, oh, I don't really know what those are good for. But here's the truth. Even if you're new to faith, God has entrusted you with gifts. Even if you're new to this whole thing, or you've been, maybe you're like, no, my gifts are gone.
I'm old now. No, you're not. You're not dead. God wants you to use those gifts. There's a grace on your life to do something specific with those gifts.
And this is what it is. 1st Peter 4. I love this verse. Verse 10. God has given each of you, everybody say, me, yes, you, a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.
Isn't that cool? Not every gift is the same. There's a variety of spiritual gifts. This is the key. Use them well.
To do what? To serve one another. It doesn't say, use them well to make a lot of money. Use them well to serve yourself. Use them well to do whatever you want.
Just tuck them away and hide them. No, it says, use them. God has entrusted you with these gifts. Not to be used for ourselves, but to be used to serve one another. And that means more than just yourself.
In case we were confused, right? It means not just me, but Also others. Verse 11. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were Speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping? You know, helping others is a spiritual gift. And here's the truth. Not everybody has it. Not everybody has it.
Do you do that, do that with all your strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ, all glory and power to him, forever and ever. All of our gifts are used why? To bring glory to God. Not to bring glory to you, but to bring glory to God.
From our money to our time, to our talents, to our giftings, to our passions, everything is used to serve one another and, and bring glory to God. That's the parameters that we view how we're stewarding what's been entrusted to us. Is it serving others and is it giving glory to God? Those are the structure. That's the structure that God gives us for how we use our gifts.
Okay, so here's a few questions for us to consider today. And remember that we love you. And so we want you to feel that nudge. Because it's when you feel that nudge that you begin to feel fulfilled. It's when you feel that nudge that you begin to make a difference, that you begin to walk in your calling, that you begin to walk in your purpose.
Pastor Matt and I will never be the pastors and our team will never be the team. Our location leaders will never be the location leaders that just are okay with you not growing. This is not that church. We want you to grow. We want you to grow in relationship with the Lord.
We want you to grow in your giftings. We want you to grow in your impact and your influence. That's who we are. That's why we came here, because we want people to move, move into the place that God has you. And that's different for everybody.
There's a great variety of spiritual gifts. Okay, so number one, question. Number one, are we adequately using the gifts and talents that God has given us? Are we adequately using the gifts and talents that God has given us? Now, I think there's two types of people in the rooms that we have.
The first is people who know your gifts. You know what your gifts are. I don't know what that was. Some of you, you know that you can sing, you know that you can play an instrument. You know that you're a great teacher.
You know that you have the gift of hospitality. You love having people over. You love serving. You're an administrative minded person. You know what your gifts are.
You love to pray. You're a great leader. You're a giver. Those are spiritual gifts. And you are aware of.
And many of you are crushing it, operating in your gifts. You're like, I know my gifts. I'm serving others. I'm glorifying God. Serving and leading as God has called you to do.
We could not do what we do, minister to hundreds and hundreds of people every weekend if you weren't doing what you're called to do in God's house. This doesn't only limit it to God's house, though. It's also your house. It's also your workplace. It's also your school.
It's not only the church, but it is the church. And also wherever you go the other six days of the week, we are called to minister the gospel, to serve others and give glory to God everywhere we go. If you save all of that for Sunday morning, think of how much smaller your impact and your influence are. Or maybe you're like, no, I do that all week. I don't want to do it on Sundays.
But then where's the eternal impact? How are you serving others and glorifying God within the context of the house and the other type of people in this room are. You do not know what your gifts are for the life of you. You're like, I don't know. I don't know what I'm good at.
I don't know where I could do what I'm good at. I don't think that's really a gift. I don't know how you would use what I think I'm good at to benefit others. And I want to invite you on that journey to figure it out. That's why we have Connect Track.
You guys are so annoyed with us constantly talking about Connect Track, but can I tell you what Connect Track is? It's a way for you to figure out what you're good at. It's a way for you to figure out how God made you and how he wired you and then figure out, how do I use that? What do I do with it? That's what Connect Track is.
It's a class that we have. It's just once a month. You just have to do it once. And the Lord will reveal to you what you're good at, where your gifts are. And I promise, we've never had anybody go through Connect Track and come out and say, I don't have any gifts.
Not one person, not ever. Okay, Everybody has a gift, and we want to help you discover it. You can sign up for that next month. The second question is this. Whose glory are we Using our gifts.
For whose glory are we using our gifts for? It's so easy in our world to use our gifts for ourselves, isn't it? It's automatic. That's our natural instinct, is to use our gifts. To do what?
To make money, to work? I mean, that's normal. It's natural and it's not wrong. From childhood, we're taught and we're trained to leverage what we're good at, right? What we have, and to use it for ourselves.
But the world bases success on that. Jesus flips that on his head. Jesus says our goal as his followers is to be less about us and more about him. If your life is only about you, it is so small and so limited, and God wants to expand your capacity to steward those gifts, to minister and impact other people. Whose glory are you using your gifts?
Yours or his? Only you can answer that. Because that's a heart posture, right? That's a heart posture. Even some of us that are doing things that look like we're serving others, really, we're doing it to bring ourselves glory.
And so you might be like, no, I'm good. I serve. I do. But are you doing it so you look good? Are you doing it so he looks good?
That's something we have to wrestle with a lot. I'm saying we have to wrestle, okay? Like, do I want to get up on stage and teach so that I look good or so that he looks good? And it's constantly a check. I don't want to do this for me.
I want to do this for you. I don't want to lead so people follow me. I want to lead so people follow you. I don't want to teach so people hear my voice. I want to teach so people hear your voice.
Everything we do, it's constantly. It's that motivation check. Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?
All right, number three, you ready for this one? This is a good one. Have we considered the ramifications on others if we don't? If we don't steward what's been entrusted to us? Well, here's what happens.
The lost aren't reached. The body of Christ is not built up. People are not impacted. Our family grows up believing that this is optional. The kingdom stops being built through this house.
That's what happens. The lost aren't reached. Your kids grow up thinking this is optional. The church stops growing. People are not impacted.
This series is all about reaching the next generation. And here's the truth. If we choose not to Steward what's been entrusted to us. The next generation gets left behind.
That's right. The next generation gets left behind. Here's the problem. We live in a world where the enemy is fighting for the souls of our kids. I've been reading this and crying, so I'm really gonna try to get through this.
He's trying to get them to doubt God, to doubt how much God loves them and even question their identity. The enemy is in full attack mode for our kids. And he's not waiting until they're teenagers. He's not waiting until they're adults, like Pastor Matt talked to us last week. There's a race that we're running towards eternity.
There's a race that's happening and it's happening all around us. It's happening in front of our eyes, in our homes, in our families, and in our neighborhoods. There is a race for the hearts of our kids. And he knows the enemy knows if he can get to their hearts first, he can set the tone for the rest of their life and even worse, for their eternity. I want you to think of those babies that we just dedicated.
I want you to think of their little faces and their little chubby legs and their sweet little smiles. Our job doesn't end with extending a right hand. We all have a responsibility to reach the hearts of our kids, no matter what your giftedness is. If it's prayer, if it's giving, if it's serving, if it's hospitality, Our mission as a church is to connect their hearts to God and to connect them in God's house, to be planted in the house of God so their lives will flourish. And we don't mess around.
We're not playing church. When our kids go to their room, they're learning how to pray. They're getting saved. They're learning how to lay hands on one another. They're learning how to give.
Here's the truth. 83% of Christians make their commitments to Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. 83%. That means that the window to shape a child's faith is narrow and the enemy knows it. The time to invest in our children, in their spirits, it's now.
It's now. It's not later, it's now. Here at Mercy City. We're not going to let that happen. We're not going to let them miss out on what God's trying to do.
We believe that God is calling us to get to the hearts the next generation first. That's why we're dedicating an entire series to this. We feel like this is our calling. It's an urgency right now for our kids. We are committed to leading them into relationship with Jesus before the world can shape their identities and their futures.
That's why we're investing in them. If you've never been to Tuesday morning prayer, you're missing it. First of all, it's the best thing that we do, I think. But we've got tons of kids that come, parents that get up or they get their kids out of bed. They get them here at 6am and they're learning how to pray.
They're being prayed over, they're being stewarded. We are praying for our kids. We're creating environments for them to meet Jesus. Every child in our house is given the opportunity to begin this journey of faith at a young age. And we believe that that's the foundation that Jesus has for them for long standing relationship with him.
These are our kids. This is our next gen ministry. Our motto is that we are raising leaders. We're not raising kids, we're raising leaders. We're raising leaders so they can go into their schools and preach the gospel.
We're raising leaders so they can go into their workplaces. We're not raising passive, timid kids. We're raising kids who are fully confident in who they are in Christ and developing a new sense of identity based on who they were created to be. And this generation needs caring and trusted adults who will show them the way. Leaders who will stand for truth and righteousness, who know how to separate the truth from a lie, who know the word, who will walk in purity, who will refuse to compromise.
What our kids are facing in their generation is unlike anything any of us ever faced. I am so thankful there are not pictures of me on the Internet from when I was in high school. Can I get an amen? Thank you Jesus that there was no social media. But our kids, they don't get to live in that world.
How are they going to understand how to steward that? Well, if we don't teach them, we've got to make deposits in them. And we have a plan and a structure specifically for our next gen ministries that starts in the nursery. It's five truths that our kids will know and the deposits that we make will lead fruit. Here's what it is.
This is our plan as a church. These are the five truths that they will learn. I know that's small. I'm sorry those of us that have old eyes can't see that. But you can get this.
I'll get you A copy of this. We'll put it on the app if you want it. Number one is I'm created in his image perfectly and uniquely. Number two, Truth that our kids learn is I belong to Jesus. I'm his son and I'm his daughter.
I would love for our kids to learn that when they're five and not 40, like I did. Number three, I was chosen by God and bought with a price. I am valuable. What if our teenagers believe that their value is found in Christ, not in what other people think about them? Number four, that God has a plan for my life, that I'm called to be a leader.
In my generation, from birth to college, everything we do is to connect their heart to God and to connect them to the house of God. This will secure them in their purpose, in their identity that they are chosen by God. This is why our kids team, our small group leaders, our teams that lead in every single one of our next gen ministries. That's why they're so important and they have the unique privilege of walking with kids, walking with young people that goes beyond just Sunday morning. I just want to say thank you to our next gen.
If you're in here and you serve with kids, thank you. If you're in here and you serve with our youth, thank you. We value you. You are shaping the spiritual journey of our kids. But we need more of you.
And you might be like, I don't know what I'm doing. That's okay. We youth pastored for 13 years. We didn't have a clue what we were doing. Many of us think our gifts are not needed.
But I can tell you that our kids need to know that they're loved. Everybody look at your neighbor and give them a high five and a smile. Go on, high five somebody. Smile at them. Maybe you're like, I don't like to touch people.
Just give them a smile. Here's the truth. You can serve in kids ministry, you can serve in revival. If you can high five and you can smile and pass a background check, you can serve in our next gen ministries.
You can serve. Here's the truth. We are in a race for the hearts of our kids and we have to get there first.
Here's an opportunity. Here's what we have right here. On any given week, we have over 400 children, almost 200 teenagers, and nearly 100 college age students who are part of Mercy City Church. And we believe that God wants to entrust us with more. And so this is what we are doing.
We've added more rooms here at broadcast to make space to fill. We need team to fill these spaces. 87 more team to serve twice a month. 87 people that would say, I would serve. You're like, wow.
We have over a thousand people that come here on Sunday morning. So, 87, we can do that. At Seward, we're getting ready to remodel our kids rooms to make more space. Those of you who gave in heart for the house, you helped provide that you helped make a way. You used your gift of giving to sow seed.
We need 10 more team to serve twice a month in Seward. At City Impact, we have the capacity to reach more kids and the need to open a new elementary room, but we don't have the team to do it yet. We need 32 more team to serve twice a month at our City Impact location. We need three to five volunteers and 10 to 12 student leaders who would host city groups this summer. In our movement ministry.
We need 8 to 10 more small group leaders and 10 more adult leaders at revival on Sunday nights so that we can prepare for more. We're fine. Right now. It's fine. But if we want to prepare for the kids, God's going to bring us through our sidewalk Sunday school that we're doing every single Saturday this summer.
We're going to have the big yellow truck out there doing sidewalk Sunday school at Peter Pan Park. We're going to have three party in the parks. We're going to have VBS and Lincoln and in Seward. What are we going to do with all those kids when they give their hearts to Jesus? What if we don't have a place and a space prepared for them?
Will God entrust us with more little hearts if we're not prepared to greet them with a smile and a high five? This is a QR code. I'm not being shy today. We want you to serve. We want you to serve in our kids.
But here's the deal. You might be like, well, I'm a prayer person. Come up here on Sunday nights and pray. You might be like, I love to give. Give to our next gen Lane.
You might be like, I do security. Great. We need it. You know, like whatever your gift is, we can use it to serve our kids. It doesn't just have to be teaching in our kids rooms or holding babies or why wouldn't you want to hold babies?
I don't know. I mean, it doesn't just have to be those things. It doesn't just have to be those things. What if you gave up one night a week to host a city group for our college students. In your home.
Our kids that need just. They need a home. They need to see a family, they need to be comfortable, they need to feel loved. There's an urgency in our spirit for the next generation. We've never done this from stage.
God has always provided team and he always will. But Pastor Matt and I feel a sense of urgency. We gotta make room, we gotta prepare for the kids that are coming, the kids that don't have moms, the kids that don't have dads, the kids that are growing up in a home where abuse is rampant. We've gotta be the safe place. The kids who are suicidal, the kids who are addicted to drugs, we want them to come here and we wanna know that they're loved and they're seen.
There's a window to impact the next generation, and we don't want to miss it. Number four and final, what are we doing with the gifts we've been given back to? Luke 16. Jesus says this. If you're faithful in the little things, you'll be faithful in the large ones.
If you're dishonest in the little things, little, you won't be honest with greater responsibility. Some of us have been trusted with something that we feel is very little. But I wonder if you'd be faithful with that very little thing. I wonder if God would use it in your time and your talents and your treasure. I wonder if you'd use it with others.
Maybe you're thinking, okay, I've got a little. I can do one more service a month. I can do one more evening. I can give up something that is mine to serve others and glorify God. I can do that.
I can do that. If you don't know what to do or you don't know what your gifts are, you don't know what the next step is. It's connect track. It's signing up to figure out, what do I do? I don't know what to do.
We made it really easy. You can tap the circle on the chair in front of you, and you can get to everything that I'm talking about this morning. And maybe kids isn't for you, but I wonder if you could wave families in the parking lot, help them find somewhere to park. Or maybe after service, you could hand out cookies. I wonder if you could greet.
I wonder if you're like, okay, I don't. I can't do Sunday mornings, but I could come up during the week and work on projects. I could help clean the buildings that we get to create atmospheres and spaces for people. I remember there are two ladies who slowed down to invest in my life when I was 10, Martha and Linda. They were my camp counselors, Martha and Linda.
And they saw me and they believed in me. They prayed with me and they loved me. They invested in my life and all the fruit of my life. All of you, everybody that's given their life to Jesus here, everybody I've led to the Lord, everybody who's been impacted by the ministry that I've had an opportunity to do over the last 25 years is not just fruit of my life, it's fruit in theirs. The seeds that they sowed in me have produced this fruit.
That's the impact that we can make. You never know whose life you're impacting. When we serve our kids and we serve our teenagers and we serve our young adults, you never know what God will do. And so I'm just going to pray. I'm going to pray that the Holy Spirit nudges you.
I've nudged you enough, but now the Holy Spirit is going to nudge us. What's our next step? Where do we move? I want everybody to just think, where do I move from here? Would you pray with me?
Father, I just thank you for the opportunity that we have to grow, the opportunity that we have to be built up in the way that you're calling us, Lord. And I just pray that this morning, whatever our next step is, we. Whatever you have for us, Holy Spirit, I just invite you to nudge us. Show us where it is. Show us where you want us.
Show us what you want us to do. God, we do not want to miss the move that you're leading us in. We want to be a part of it. So I just thank you that you're revealing your truth and your word to each and every one of us. In Jesus name, amen.
Thank you so much for watching this week's message. Our vision at Mercy City is to connect people to the heart of God and to the house of God, and that includes you. We have some amazing next steps that we want to walk you through to discover all that God has for your life. Visit our website, MercyCity Church and click on Next Steps under the Connect Dropdown. If you would like to receive prayer, please email us at PastorsMercyCity Church.
We love you and can't wait to see you in person next week.
Jesus has a lot to say in scripture about stewardship. And today we're going to look at a parable where he goes into great detail about the idea of stewardship. We're going to be in Luke 16. If you have your Bibles, you can turn there. You can get it up on the app.
We've got the notes on the Mercy City Church app. If you're like, I don't have the app, you can tap the circle in front of you. You can download the app. We've tried to make it really easy to make sure that you can follow along, or, of course, we'll have it up on the screen. So I'm going to pray for us, and then we're going to jump right in.
So, Father, we just thank you for today. We thank you for everything that you want to speak to us today. God, I believe that you have a word for what we want to do, what you want to say. God, I believe that we have a word from you. From you, Holy Spirit, specifically for each and every one of us in the room, in all of our rooms.
I just pray that our hearts would be open and that our ears would be open, God, that we would be in tune with you this morning as you gently nudge us by the power of your Holy Spirit in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. That's been my prayer. Just as Pastor Matt and I, we always pray in the truck on the way to church. And I just was really praying that we would all sense just that little nudge from the Holy Spirit.
Because today the goal is to just respond to the nudge. It's to respond not to everybody the same way, but the Holy Spirit is going to uniquely and specifically nudge you into a place of movement. Okay? Some of you, that made you nervous because you've been sitting still for a long time. But today the Lord's going to say, let's go somewhere now.
Okay? And so that's our heart for today. And you might be like, I'm just visiting. That's okay. You have ears, you have eyes.
You can move. Okay? So whatever this looks like we're gonna do this together. Okay? Look at your neighbor and say, we're gonna do it together.
We're gonna do it together, okay? Luke 16 is a parable. And what parables are, is Jesus using a story to teach and to communicate a kingdom principle, okay? That's a principle based on God's kingdom. It's the way that he wants us to live.
It's kind of his idea for us to live this way on earth. And he tell of this shrewd manager who did not handle his master's wealth and possessions well. Everybody can take a deep breath. I am not talking about money, okay? Chapter 16, verse number one.
Jesus told this story to his disciples. There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer's money. So the employer called him in and said, what's this I hear about you get your report in order because you are going to be fired? So the manager starts to panic.
And what he does is he begins to think, hmm, I wonder how I can make sure that I don't have to go dig ditches. That's what it says in the Bible. He's like, what could I do? So he gets a plan to make some friends, okay? In verse five, he says this.
So he called in each one of his master's debtors. And he asked the first, how much do you owe my master? 900 gallons of olive oil, he replied. The manager told him, take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it 450. Then he asked the second, how much do you owe?
A thousand bushels of wheat, he replied. And he told him, take your bill and make it 800. So the manager, or so Jesus says this. The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal. Ever met a dishonest rascal?
Some of you that own business are still like, I'm not that dishonest rascal. I know who that is for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. What is Jesus saying here? People in the world's system are more shrewd and better managers of what they've been given than the people of God are.
He's saying, sometimes in the world, people do a better job of taking care of what they need to take care of even more than people do in the kingdom. And I love what Jesus does next is he tells exactly what he means. That's what parables are so great because Jesus tells the parable, but then he says, this is what I'm saying. He says, this is what I actually mean. Just so we don't get confused about the lesson that he's trying to teach us.
In verse number 10, it says, if you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. Some of us wonder why God can't help us with more responsibility or God can't trust us with more responsibilities. It's because we haven't been faithful in the little things that he's given us. And if you're untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
And if you are not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? You know, this reminds me of anytime we're, like, out and about and I see employees just, like, not doing a good job, you know? And I think to myself, they don't own this. That's why they don't care. They don't own this.
So they're not treating people well. They're not cleaning up. They're not making this look right. They don't own it, so they don't care. And that's what this is saying.
He's saying, if I can't trust you, to do what? Well, with things that don't belong to you, how can I give you things that do belong to you? That's what Jesus is asking, a few questions. If you're found to be untrustworthy with what you've been given here on earth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? If you're not faithful with other people's things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
This is a hard lesson for me sometimes, because if I want a new car, I want something new. But I'm not taking care of what I currently have, which. My car's kind of messy. I'm just gonna be honest with you. And my husband will say to me, well, maybe we should keep the car we have clean.
And I'm like, that's silly.
How would I have all my stuff if it wasn't in my car? You know, like, so. But that's what this is talking about. Like, you gotta take care of what you have if you wanna have something better. You've gotta take care of the things that God's already blessed you with and given you if you want him to give you something better.
So that's what we're talking about. And here today, many of us read this scripture and we assume that it's only about money and possessions. But it isn't only about that. It is about that, but it isn't only about that. You guys know it can be both and right, it can be about that, but it can also be about something else.
Because we have also been entrusted on this earth with time, talent, and treasure. That's what the Bible says. Our time. God's given us a measure of it. Our talents.
God's given each of us a measure of those and our treasures or our wealth. Over and over again in Scripture, we find encouragement about how we steward these gifts that God has given us. I want to encourage you, if you have questions about that, you can find it in the word. You can find scripture about this. Let's pause for just a minute about a couple definitions.
Stewardship is this. It's the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. So if I'm a good steward of something, I'm a careful and responsible manager of something that's been entrusted to me. Entrusted means to put something into someone's care and protection. So think of all the things that you've been entrusted with.
Those of you that are parents, you've been entrusted with the life of your children, those of you that have a home or a job or health or a car or everything that we have, we've been entrusted to steward it well. Okay? That's why God gave it to us, so that we become good stewards of all that we have. And so we believe in stewarding our resources. Absolutely.
We. You hear about it. Pastor Matt talked about it. And giving our. Your location leader talked about it.
Giving our resources our tithes, our offering. We do that. We want you to be a good steward of it. That's why we offer financial peace. That's why we have free resources so that you can learn how to steward your resources well.
But what about our time and our talents? What about our giftedness? We are responsible to steward what God has entrusted to us in this world. We are responsible. No one else is responsible to steward what you have been entrusted.
You are the steward of what God has entrusted you with. If we're adults, we are grown, and now we've become responsible stewards of what God's given us. Right? And I believe most of us at Mercy City would say, yes, this is a great idea. I love this thought to do this, you know, I want to do what God wants me to do.
I want to steward it well. But I wonder if we would each make this a personal question. How am I stewarding all that's been entrusted to me? Have I even slowed down to think about what God has entrusted to me? Have I thought about what are the things that God's given me?
And God says so much about this all through scripture. He makes it so clear that we've all been given gifts and talents. Each and every one of you has a purpose and a God given gift.
Yes. You, you, you, you, you, you. Everybody, everyone has been entrusted with spiritual gifts. You've been entrusted with something, with a talent. Some of us, you know, I mean, I've been in this situation before.
I'm like, no, I don't really have anything. Or I used to say that I was a jack of all trades and a master of none. Like, I was good at a few little things. Like when I played sports, I was like, I was never the best at any of them, but I could, you know, I could hang, I could do it. You know, I look really athletic.
And so I know that you guys can imagine me on the basketball court or playing volleyball or, you know, softball or many of the other things that I did that I was so, so moderately good at. And so, like, we have all these gifts, we have all these things and we're like, oh, I don't really know what those are good for. But here's the truth. Even if you're new to faith, God has entrusted you with gifts. Even if you're new to this whole thing, or you've been, maybe you're like, no, my gifts are gone.
I'm old now. No, you're not. You're not dead. God wants you to use those gifts. There's a grace on your life to do something specific with those gifts.
And this is what it is. 1st Peter 4. I love this verse. Verse 10. God has given each of you, everybody say, me, yes, you, a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.
Isn't that cool? Not every gift is the same. There's a variety of spiritual gifts. This is the key. Use them well.
To do what? To serve one another. It doesn't say, use them well to make a lot of money. Use them well to serve yourself. Use them well to do whatever you want.
Just tuck them away and hide them. No, it says, use them. God has entrusted you with these gifts. Not to be used for ourselves, but to be used to serve one another. And that means more than just yourself.
In case we were confused, right? It means not just me, but Also others. Verse 11. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were Speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping? You know, helping others is a spiritual gift. And here's the truth. Not everybody has it. Not everybody has it.
Do you do that, do that with all your strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ, all glory and power to him, forever and ever. All of our gifts are used why? To bring glory to God. Not to bring glory to you, but to bring glory to God.
From our money to our time, to our talents, to our giftings, to our passions, everything is used to serve one another and, and bring glory to God. That's the parameters that we view how we're stewarding what's been entrusted to us. Is it serving others and is it giving glory to God? Those are the structure. That's the structure that God gives us for how we use our gifts.
Okay, so here's a few questions for us to consider today. And remember that we love you. And so we want you to feel that nudge. Because it's when you feel that nudge that you begin to feel fulfilled. It's when you feel that nudge that you begin to make a difference, that you begin to walk in your calling, that you begin to walk in your purpose.
Pastor Matt and I will never be the pastors and our team will never be the team. Our location leaders will never be the location leaders that just are okay with you not growing. This is not that church. We want you to grow. We want you to grow in relationship with the Lord.
We want you to grow in your giftings. We want you to grow in your impact and your influence. That's who we are. That's why we came here, because we want people to move, move into the place that God has you. And that's different for everybody.
There's a great variety of spiritual gifts. Okay, so number one, question. Number one, are we adequately using the gifts and talents that God has given us? Are we adequately using the gifts and talents that God has given us? Now, I think there's two types of people in the rooms that we have.
The first is people who know your gifts. You know what your gifts are. I don't know what that was. Some of you, you know that you can sing, you know that you can play an instrument. You know that you're a great teacher.
You know that you have the gift of hospitality. You love having people over. You love serving. You're an administrative minded person. You know what your gifts are.
You love to pray. You're a great leader. You're a giver. Those are spiritual gifts. And you are aware of.
And many of you are crushing it, operating in your gifts. You're like, I know my gifts. I'm serving others. I'm glorifying God. Serving and leading as God has called you to do.
We could not do what we do, minister to hundreds and hundreds of people every weekend if you weren't doing what you're called to do in God's house. This doesn't only limit it to God's house, though. It's also your house. It's also your workplace. It's also your school.
It's not only the church, but it is the church. And also wherever you go the other six days of the week, we are called to minister the gospel, to serve others and give glory to God everywhere we go. If you save all of that for Sunday morning, think of how much smaller your impact and your influence are. Or maybe you're like, no, I do that all week. I don't want to do it on Sundays.
But then where's the eternal impact? How are you serving others and glorifying God within the context of the house and the other type of people in this room are. You do not know what your gifts are for the life of you. You're like, I don't know. I don't know what I'm good at.
I don't know where I could do what I'm good at. I don't think that's really a gift. I don't know how you would use what I think I'm good at to benefit others. And I want to invite you on that journey to figure it out. That's why we have Connect Track.
You guys are so annoyed with us constantly talking about Connect Track, but can I tell you what Connect Track is? It's a way for you to figure out what you're good at. It's a way for you to figure out how God made you and how he wired you and then figure out, how do I use that? What do I do with it? That's what Connect Track is.
It's a class that we have. It's just once a month. You just have to do it once. And the Lord will reveal to you what you're good at, where your gifts are. And I promise, we've never had anybody go through Connect Track and come out and say, I don't have any gifts.
Not one person, not ever. Okay, Everybody has a gift, and we want to help you discover it. You can sign up for that next month. The second question is this. Whose glory are we Using our gifts.
For whose glory are we using our gifts for? It's so easy in our world to use our gifts for ourselves, isn't it? It's automatic. That's our natural instinct, is to use our gifts. To do what?
To make money, to work? I mean, that's normal. It's natural and it's not wrong. From childhood, we're taught and we're trained to leverage what we're good at, right? What we have, and to use it for ourselves.
But the world bases success on that. Jesus flips that on his head. Jesus says our goal as his followers is to be less about us and more about him. If your life is only about you, it is so small and so limited, and God wants to expand your capacity to steward those gifts, to minister and impact other people. Whose glory are you using your gifts?
Yours or his? Only you can answer that. Because that's a heart posture, right? That's a heart posture. Even some of us that are doing things that look like we're serving others, really, we're doing it to bring ourselves glory.
And so you might be like, no, I'm good. I serve. I do. But are you doing it so you look good? Are you doing it so he looks good?
That's something we have to wrestle with a lot. I'm saying we have to wrestle, okay? Like, do I want to get up on stage and teach so that I look good or so that he looks good? And it's constantly a check. I don't want to do this for me.
I want to do this for you. I don't want to lead so people follow me. I want to lead so people follow you. I don't want to teach so people hear my voice. I want to teach so people hear your voice.
Everything we do, it's constantly. It's that motivation check. Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?
All right, number three, you ready for this one? This is a good one. Have we considered the ramifications on others if we don't? If we don't steward what's been entrusted to us? Well, here's what happens.
The lost aren't reached. The body of Christ is not built up. People are not impacted. Our family grows up believing that this is optional. The kingdom stops being built through this house.
That's what happens. The lost aren't reached. Your kids grow up thinking this is optional. The church stops growing. People are not impacted.
This series is all about reaching the next generation. And here's the truth. If we choose not to Steward what's been entrusted to us. The next generation gets left behind.
That's right. The next generation gets left behind. Here's the problem. We live in a world where the enemy is fighting for the souls of our kids. I've been reading this and crying, so I'm really gonna try to get through this.
He's trying to get them to doubt God, to doubt how much God loves them and even question their identity. The enemy is in full attack mode for our kids. And he's not waiting until they're teenagers. He's not waiting until they're adults, like Pastor Matt talked to us last week. There's a race that we're running towards eternity.
There's a race that's happening and it's happening all around us. It's happening in front of our eyes, in our homes, in our families, and in our neighborhoods. There is a race for the hearts of our kids. And he knows the enemy knows if he can get to their hearts first, he can set the tone for the rest of their life and even worse, for their eternity. I want you to think of those babies that we just dedicated.
I want you to think of their little faces and their little chubby legs and their sweet little smiles. Our job doesn't end with extending a right hand. We all have a responsibility to reach the hearts of our kids, no matter what your giftedness is. If it's prayer, if it's giving, if it's serving, if it's hospitality, Our mission as a church is to connect their hearts to God and to connect them in God's house, to be planted in the house of God so their lives will flourish. And we don't mess around.
We're not playing church. When our kids go to their room, they're learning how to pray. They're getting saved. They're learning how to lay hands on one another. They're learning how to give.
Here's the truth. 83% of Christians make their commitments to Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. 83%. That means that the window to shape a child's faith is narrow and the enemy knows it. The time to invest in our children, in their spirits, it's now.
It's now. It's not later, it's now. Here at Mercy City. We're not going to let that happen. We're not going to let them miss out on what God's trying to do.
We believe that God is calling us to get to the hearts the next generation first. That's why we're dedicating an entire series to this. We feel like this is our calling. It's an urgency right now for our kids. We are committed to leading them into relationship with Jesus before the world can shape their identities and their futures.
That's why we're investing in them. If you've never been to Tuesday morning prayer, you're missing it. First of all, it's the best thing that we do, I think. But we've got tons of kids that come, parents that get up or they get their kids out of bed. They get them here at 6am and they're learning how to pray.
They're being prayed over, they're being stewarded. We are praying for our kids. We're creating environments for them to meet Jesus. Every child in our house is given the opportunity to begin this journey of faith at a young age. And we believe that that's the foundation that Jesus has for them for long standing relationship with him.
These are our kids. This is our next gen ministry. Our motto is that we are raising leaders. We're not raising kids, we're raising leaders. We're raising leaders so they can go into their schools and preach the gospel.
We're raising leaders so they can go into their workplaces. We're not raising passive, timid kids. We're raising kids who are fully confident in who they are in Christ and developing a new sense of identity based on who they were created to be. And this generation needs caring and trusted adults who will show them the way. Leaders who will stand for truth and righteousness, who know how to separate the truth from a lie, who know the word, who will walk in purity, who will refuse to compromise.
What our kids are facing in their generation is unlike anything any of us ever faced. I am so thankful there are not pictures of me on the Internet from when I was in high school. Can I get an amen? Thank you Jesus that there was no social media. But our kids, they don't get to live in that world.
How are they going to understand how to steward that? Well, if we don't teach them, we've got to make deposits in them. And we have a plan and a structure specifically for our next gen ministries that starts in the nursery. It's five truths that our kids will know and the deposits that we make will lead fruit. Here's what it is.
This is our plan as a church. These are the five truths that they will learn. I know that's small. I'm sorry those of us that have old eyes can't see that. But you can get this.
I'll get you A copy of this. We'll put it on the app if you want it. Number one is I'm created in his image perfectly and uniquely. Number two, Truth that our kids learn is I belong to Jesus. I'm his son and I'm his daughter.
I would love for our kids to learn that when they're five and not 40, like I did. Number three, I was chosen by God and bought with a price. I am valuable. What if our teenagers believe that their value is found in Christ, not in what other people think about them? Number four, that God has a plan for my life, that I'm called to be a leader.
In my generation, from birth to college, everything we do is to connect their heart to God and to connect them to the house of God. This will secure them in their purpose, in their identity that they are chosen by God. This is why our kids team, our small group leaders, our teams that lead in every single one of our next gen ministries. That's why they're so important and they have the unique privilege of walking with kids, walking with young people that goes beyond just Sunday morning. I just want to say thank you to our next gen.
If you're in here and you serve with kids, thank you. If you're in here and you serve with our youth, thank you. We value you. You are shaping the spiritual journey of our kids. But we need more of you.
And you might be like, I don't know what I'm doing. That's okay. We youth pastored for 13 years. We didn't have a clue what we were doing. Many of us think our gifts are not needed.
But I can tell you that our kids need to know that they're loved. Everybody look at your neighbor and give them a high five and a smile. Go on, high five somebody. Smile at them. Maybe you're like, I don't like to touch people.
Just give them a smile. Here's the truth. You can serve in kids ministry, you can serve in revival. If you can high five and you can smile and pass a background check, you can serve in our next gen ministries.
You can serve. Here's the truth. We are in a race for the hearts of our kids and we have to get there first.
Here's an opportunity. Here's what we have right here. On any given week, we have over 400 children, almost 200 teenagers, and nearly 100 college age students who are part of Mercy City Church. And we believe that God wants to entrust us with more. And so this is what we are doing.
We've added more rooms here at broadcast to make space to fill. We need team to fill these spaces. 87 more team to serve twice a month. 87 people that would say, I would serve. You're like, wow.
We have over a thousand people that come here on Sunday morning. So, 87, we can do that. At Seward, we're getting ready to remodel our kids rooms to make more space. Those of you who gave in heart for the house, you helped provide that you helped make a way. You used your gift of giving to sow seed.
We need 10 more team to serve twice a month in Seward. At City Impact, we have the capacity to reach more kids and the need to open a new elementary room, but we don't have the team to do it yet. We need 32 more team to serve twice a month at our City Impact location. We need three to five volunteers and 10 to 12 student leaders who would host city groups this summer. In our movement ministry.
We need 8 to 10 more small group leaders and 10 more adult leaders at revival on Sunday nights so that we can prepare for more. We're fine. Right now. It's fine. But if we want to prepare for the kids, God's going to bring us through our sidewalk Sunday school that we're doing every single Saturday this summer.
We're going to have the big yellow truck out there doing sidewalk Sunday school at Peter Pan Park. We're going to have three party in the parks. We're going to have VBS and Lincoln and in Seward. What are we going to do with all those kids when they give their hearts to Jesus? What if we don't have a place and a space prepared for them?
Will God entrust us with more little hearts if we're not prepared to greet them with a smile and a high five? This is a QR code. I'm not being shy today. We want you to serve. We want you to serve in our kids.
But here's the deal. You might be like, well, I'm a prayer person. Come up here on Sunday nights and pray. You might be like, I love to give. Give to our next gen Lane.
You might be like, I do security. Great. We need it. You know, like whatever your gift is, we can use it to serve our kids. It doesn't just have to be teaching in our kids rooms or holding babies or why wouldn't you want to hold babies?
I don't know. I mean, it doesn't just have to be those things. It doesn't just have to be those things. What if you gave up one night a week to host a city group for our college students. In your home.
Our kids that need just. They need a home. They need to see a family, they need to be comfortable, they need to feel loved. There's an urgency in our spirit for the next generation. We've never done this from stage.
God has always provided team and he always will. But Pastor Matt and I feel a sense of urgency. We gotta make room, we gotta prepare for the kids that are coming, the kids that don't have moms, the kids that don't have dads, the kids that are growing up in a home where abuse is rampant. We've gotta be the safe place. The kids who are suicidal, the kids who are addicted to drugs, we want them to come here and we wanna know that they're loved and they're seen.
There's a window to impact the next generation, and we don't want to miss it. Number four and final, what are we doing with the gifts we've been given back to? Luke 16. Jesus says this. If you're faithful in the little things, you'll be faithful in the large ones.
If you're dishonest in the little things, little, you won't be honest with greater responsibility. Some of us have been trusted with something that we feel is very little. But I wonder if you'd be faithful with that very little thing. I wonder if God would use it in your time and your talents and your treasure. I wonder if you'd use it with others.
Maybe you're thinking, okay, I've got a little. I can do one more service a month. I can do one more evening. I can give up something that is mine to serve others and glorify God. I can do that.
I can do that. If you don't know what to do or you don't know what your gifts are, you don't know what the next step is. It's connect track. It's signing up to figure out, what do I do? I don't know what to do.
We made it really easy. You can tap the circle on the chair in front of you, and you can get to everything that I'm talking about this morning. And maybe kids isn't for you, but I wonder if you could wave families in the parking lot, help them find somewhere to park. Or maybe after service, you could hand out cookies. I wonder if you could greet.
I wonder if you're like, okay, I don't. I can't do Sunday mornings, but I could come up during the week and work on projects. I could help clean the buildings that we get to create atmospheres and spaces for people. I remember there are two ladies who slowed down to invest in my life when I was 10, Martha and Linda. They were my camp counselors, Martha and Linda.
And they saw me and they believed in me. They prayed with me and they loved me. They invested in my life and all the fruit of my life. All of you, everybody that's given their life to Jesus here, everybody I've led to the Lord, everybody who's been impacted by the ministry that I've had an opportunity to do over the last 25 years is not just fruit of my life, it's fruit in theirs. The seeds that they sowed in me have produced this fruit.
That's the impact that we can make. You never know whose life you're impacting. When we serve our kids and we serve our teenagers and we serve our young adults, you never know what God will do. And so I'm just going to pray. I'm going to pray that the Holy Spirit nudges you.
I've nudged you enough, but now the Holy Spirit is going to nudge us. What's our next step? Where do we move? I want everybody to just think, where do I move from here? Would you pray with me?
Father, I just thank you for the opportunity that we have to grow, the opportunity that we have to be built up in the way that you're calling us, Lord. And I just pray that this morning, whatever our next step is, we. Whatever you have for us, Holy Spirit, I just invite you to nudge us. Show us where it is. Show us where you want us.
Show us what you want us to do. God, we do not want to miss the move that you're leading us in. We want to be a part of it. So I just thank you that you're revealing your truth and your word to each and every one of us. In Jesus name, amen.
Thank you so much for watching this week's message. Our vision at Mercy City is to connect people to the heart of God and to the house of God, and that includes you. We have some amazing next steps that we want to walk you through to discover all that God has for your life. Visit our website, MercyCity Church and click on Next Steps under the Connect Dropdown. If you would like to receive prayer, please email us at PastorsMercyCity Church.
We love you and can't wait to see you in person next week.
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