Christian Pathway

This Month is stewardship month end every week we talk about how we can help this little kingdom of god thrive.

Time, Effort, gifts of all sorts. We all come to this community with things we have, things we have been given. I am good at Computers, I try and be a Good dad, I am persistent at watching West Ham and playing Golf.

I try and be a good husband because I love my wife very much, she is a properly good person and totally grounded, honest and kind. The rock I built my life around. . I had a job a few years ago that took me traveling and your in hotels and bars and offices more or less cut off on a day-to-day basis. You see these drifting souls sort of pairing up, and drifting off to their rooms.

Some of these people made it obvious there was an evening on offer if I wanted. It didn’t happen often because I never put myself in a place where it might. I know that breaking trust would ruin and pollute everything we have, and I don’t want too. She is always there for me, and when I start worrying about rubbish or coming up with mad schemes, she is the anchor that keeps my life on track. I want to be around her for all those reasons. That is part of maturity in any relationship, I have seen men never grow up and ruin their lives and marriage, I didn’t want to be that person because of love.

Love needs to give and to receive When she was poorly last year I wanted to show how much I care by being there for here. So I tried my best to be the best version of me I could manage for her. Also Jesus and my church was a towering support for me and here through prayer, through all you guys support and love and we got through. It was an expensive hospital visits cost a lot, eating out of marks and spencer’s every day, coffee from costa. Long hours, stress, parking costs a fortune every day.

I love to be here every Sunday as much as I can, and being up here happened through three years training, so many lost weekends to study, and prayer and growing. Growth is something that this place has nurtured in me since I sort of landed in the door in 2014.

I used to just rock up and sing a few songs and feel nice and go home, but wanting to be involved. I found out none of this happens by accident. Alison and Seye open the church, do so many tasks on a Sunday morning, the hymns are chosen, the tablecloths are ironed, just before easter the whole place got tided and the hard work that’s gone into the garden. The DCC’s and PCC’s . This Sermon etc etc, The rates are paid , coffee bought and tea and cake for after.

We do this through love, but love costs. Love costs in so many ways I have mentioned above both personally and privately and in this place. So many people feel the cost of this place, a famous preacher called Deitrich Bonhoeffer talks about the cost of grace , the cost of love Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack’s wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices.

But this month is about helping us discover what we contribute our church.

Essentially saying Gods love costs, its cost him his life, and if we are his disciples we want to give that back because it has value to us and to each other. When my wife was ill I never even thought about half arsing it, when opportunity arose in some foreign part it never occurred to me to partake. The good Samaritan stopped on a dangerous road and paid for the injured man at the inn.

Because we see value and we care when my studies ate every weekend for 2 years , when my daughter needed money to go to university etc etc

The list is endless. This place will give and give and give until the doors shut one day, it survives by trying to enact the will of Jesus who isn’t just all warm and cuddly, he is really hard on us!

“And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”

To my ears that’s just ridiculous what are you on about Jesus, I don’t have it in me to do that.

We don’t talk about taking we talk about receiving, but today the church is reminding us this place has value, to me , to you , to our community and like anything we love it has needs and if we love it we know it needs things from us at times as much as we need it.

Things we love , and things that love need nourishing and we want them to flourish we love them because love costs. We don’t see love as a cost though we see love as who we are when we are in love, but they do need things these things we love.

Growing up includes giving, Jesus shows us that. in all the ways I have spoken about.

Today we are talking about Money maybe you have that and don’t have time, its not how much its about the love expressed by giving. Same with your time, same with going our there and sharing his love, through mission, or with your talent.

Hopefully this sermon sounds like someone talking about the symbiotic interdependent relationship that is everywhere in nature and everywhere in love.

Its Money today if that feels like what you can give? But what is it for you?