I had the privilege to be with the good people of Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday March 17, 2024. Thank you to Pastor Day Hefner and the congregation’s council who invited me to come and visit and preach on stewardship. In addition to preaching, I shared words of greeting from the Bishop and the whole synod, as well as words of gratitude for all that the congregation does, especially through its continued participation in mission share. What follows is the majority of the manuscript that I preached from, which was based on the appointed reading from the Narrative Lectionary (Year 2) for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Mark 13:1-8, 24-37.
Grace and peace from God in Christ, who is with you, for you, and who loves you. Amen.
You know one of the great joys of my ministry is the ability to be out among the congregations who together are the Nebraska Synod, to say thank you, and to share God’s Word and wonder about what God might be inviting. But there are some weeks that I really should look at what the appointed readings are before saying “yes,” to visiting. I mean, Jesus teaching about signs and the End Times? Really, Pastor Day? Really? And you want me to preach on stewardship too. Okay. Well, let’s see what happens.