The Lord’s Day
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| Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps. 127:1). The blessings of faithful stewardship are passed from age to age. In 2005, First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights celebrated its 150th birthday. As we celebrated the vitality of this congregation’s mission and ministry, we were mindful of all the saints who served here before us—those through whom God established this ministry and placed it in our hands. Indeed, there was a time when the future of the congregation seemed unsure. In 1936, in the wake of the Great Depression, unresolved debt led to the initiation of foreclosure proceedings against the 236-member church. Threatened with bankruptcy, the leadership negotiated a schedule for satisfying its creditors and challenged the congregation to save the church and preserve its ministry. Ten years later, the church celebrated the retirement of its debt. Contributions came from every group in the congregation: the choir and Bible classes, the Men’s Club and the Ladies Aid Society, the children’s Sunday school, and the congregation at large. Thanks to the commitment of so many, the church’s ministry was entrusted to another generation, positioning the congregation for dramatic growth of membership, ministry, and mission. That’s the spirit of stewardship. Christ himself entrusts us with a ministry. God blesses us with gifts that make that ministry possible. It is the collective commitment of all of us together, the body of Christ with its varied gifts, that makes ministry possible. From age to age this ministry is passed on, entrusted to each generation to continue with its own gifts. —Rev. Dr. John G. McFayden, senior pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois |
 Ruth 3:1–5, 4:13–17 O God, in a Mysterious Way PH 270 God Moves in a Mysterious Way HB 112 Ps. 127 Unless the Lord the House Shall Build PH 238 Heb. 9:24–28 At the Name of Jesus PH 148, HB 143 Mark 12:38–44 We Give Thee but Thine Own PH 428, HB 312 I Bind My Heart This Tide HB 286 |
 Gracious God, who has blessed the church from age to age with gifts for faithful service, grant us an appreciation of the ministry and mission entrusted to us, an awareness of our own gifts, and a generous commitment of those gifts to the ongoing work of Christ’s realm. Make us faithful stewards. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Lord of the church. Amen. |
