Can you recall the last time you were pleasantly surprised? How about when it comes to those special gifts in life?
Take a few moments to reflect on your past gifts received. No matter how small or how big, somewhere in your life you had a surprising, unexpected gift from God.
- A member of our Congregation shared a profound experience that was harrowing, nearly life-threatening! What started as alarming quickly escalated to an emergency requiring surgery.
- As she was heading into surgery, she said a prayer to God asking Him to take care of her family if it was her time to leave this world. Fortunately for her and all of us, she came through the operation!
- You might think that was the gift, which it was, but the real gift happened at Sunday service literally a day after returning home and not looking too great! She had to be there, wanted to be there.
- No, the small gift that day was when the Pastor got to his sermon entitled “The Gift of Life”. It was then that she realized God was talking to her, that this sermon, her being there that day was the Surprising Gift from God!
- To this day, she is inspired to give gifts of time & talent in addition to monetary gifts for she knows her actions, no matter how small or how large, could lead to the Surprising Gift from God to someone else in this vast world.
Our Stewardship Committee asks you to once again reflect on those gifts from God you have received in life, from small to large, and ask, “What gifts can I give back to God that will surprise Him?” Let’s make it our goal to share with God that overwhelming feeling of joy that touches us throughout our lives.
What we are asking all in our Congregation to do over the next few weeks in preparation for Pledge Sunday on November 17th.
- Look at your life situation
- Reflect on all that God has given to you
- Determine what you can do to give back to God
- Give your Surprising Gift by filling out the “Time and Talent Pledge” and the “Faith Promise to God” pledge cards
Jesus used the mustard seed as a parable in Matthew 13:31-32 and it has profound meaning that we can apply to our Surprising Gifts Stewardship Campaign:
- From a tiny speck of a seed will come forth a great plant providing a large gift of shelter and nourishment from the smallest bird to the people of the community.
- Your gift is like that mustard seed – it is a speck that grows into so much more than you ever imagined…a gift that is sure to surprise and please God.
