Luke 16:1
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: English, Spanish) ->Alternate
SUMMARY: The sermon is about stewardship and management of possessions, not just material possessions, but also the possessions entrusted to us by God. The goal is to build a sanctuary in the church parking lot, not just for the sake of building a building, but to enrich the congregation's understanding of stewardship in a biblical context. The preacher prays for God's blessing on the funds campaign and emphasizes that the campaign is not about manipulating people's emotions or sense of guilt. Rather, the goal is to inspire and stimulate others to give generously to the Kingdom of God. The preacher also presents a simple plan for raising a million dollars for the building project by having 200 people commit to giving $5,000 over the next two years. The sermon uses the parable of the rich man and his manager to illustrate the concept of stewardship and management of God's wealth.
The parable of the shrewd manager teaches us about the importance of stewardship, accountability, planning, and investing in eternal treasures. As stewards of God's riches, we will be called to account for how we used them. We must be diligent workers in God's kingdom and invest in eternal treasures, rather than being consumed by the present crisis of the moment. There is a connection between how we behave with respect to money and possessions here on earth and our situation in the coming life. We should commit ourselves to being grateful and joyful givers for the rest of our lives, embracing a giving attitude and rejecting the grasping mind. Fear should never prevent us from giving to the Lord.
The parable of the shrewd manager teaches us about the importance of stewardship, accountability, planning, and investing in eternal treasures. As stewards of God's riches, we will be called to account for how we used them. We must be diligent workers in God's kingdom and invest in eternal treasures, rather than being consumed by the present crisis of the moment. There is a connection between how we behave with respect to money and possessions here on earth and our situation in the coming life. We should commit ourselves to being grateful and joyful givers for the rest of our lives, embracing a giving attitude and rejecting the grasping mind. Fear should never prevent us from giving to the Lord.
Let’s go to the Gospel according to Luke chapter 16, beginning with that first verse. I will read it only in Spanish and I hope that the most of you guys have a Bible available. If you can share with somebody just in the interest of economizing time. I hope you have a Bible in English and if you don’t just raise your hand and we’ll make one available to you.
Last time I preached, a couple of weeks ago, I initiated almost in an informal fashion a series of messages which I hope to continue the next few Sundays on the concepts of stewardship, and on the concept of management of our possession, not necessarily alone just material possessions. This preaching will be part of a kind of a financial campaign for the collection of funds for our sanctuary that we want to build, I think the Lord wants us to build right here in our parking lot. What we’re seeking is not just to sort of extract money from the congregation, from all its leaders, including myself of course, it’s not just to get money to build a building, it’s not only that. We hope to leave you enriched as you give with a better understanding of how to manage God’s possessions, the things that are entrusted to us, the possessions that are entrusted to us and how to see stewardship in a biblical fashion, so we really want to put this in its proper context, in it’s proper biblical context.
Last time I preached, a couple of weeks ago, I initiated almost in an informal fashion a series of messages which I hope to continue the next few Sundays on the concepts of stewardship, and on the concept of management of our possession, not necessarily alone just material possessions. This preaching will be part of a kind of a financial campaign for the collection of funds for our sanctuary that we want to build, I think the Lord wants us to build right here in our parking lot. What we’re seeking is not just to sort of extract money from the congregation, from all its leaders, including myself of course, it’s not just to get money to build a building, it’s not only that. We hope to leave you enriched as you give with a better understanding of how to manage God’s possessions, the things that are entrusted to us, the possessions that are entrusted to us and how to see stewardship in a biblical fashion, so we really want to put this in its proper context, in it’s proper biblical context.
