Welcome!
“This is how people should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1)
That’s what Paul writes. It’s a beautiful phrase, isn’t it? “Stewards of the mysteries of God.” But what does it mean for First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak?
I think of our week of South Oakland Shelter—hosting the homeless in our church. We received the results of a survey of the people we hosted. Here are some of the comments: “I thought the children who helped were great. They were all so cute and they were so friendly to us.” “I thought all of the volunteers were very kind and many of them seemed very interested in my life. I really appreciated all of their prayers and I am grateful for everything they did for us.”
Are you sensing a theme? These were some of the closing comments in the survey: “There is nothing they could have done better. I wish more of the congregations were like this one.”
A “steward” is a servant who is entrusted by the Master to take care of and be responsible for what ultimately belongs to the Master. With South Oakland Shelter we were stewards of the gifts God has entrusted to us—including the children of God who were our guests, living at our church for a time.
THIS PROGRAM YEAR (2011-12), OUR THEME IS “Bear Fruit that will Last.”
We are called to be stewards of so many God-given gifts—including time, and choices, and our money, and our gifts and talents, and our body/mind/spirit, and our community, and our spiritual life, and creation. We are excited to learn about and practice and grow in our stewardship this year!
Dr. Tom Long writes that in worship we “respond to the God who is already there, and our worship is the fullness of what pours out of us when we become aware of God’s presence—awestruck praise, immeasurable joy, trembling confession, grateful self-giving.”
I invite you to join us as we celebrate the profound privilege and deep joy of being “stewards of the mysteries of God” together.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Tom Rice