Tag: stewardship

The Responsibility of Life

Rob Woodrum3 Comments

Money is deadly.  I was perusing the headlines of MSNBC just today, and saw so many stories of trouble that had as their basis the issue of money.  A senator indicted, a stalled economy…as we drill down we read of killings during robberies and the heartbreak of those who’ve lost great sums of money.  We use money every day of our lives…do we ever stop to think about what a powerful force in this world it is?  It’s pretty important that we consider it now and anon.

We’re going to read Luke 16:10-18 this Sunday, and Jesus will go from telling a parable which uses commerce as a vehicle for truth, to actually talking about money and it’s place in our lives.

V10-12 transition from the story about how to live with eternity in mind, to v13, a warning about loyalties.  The over-arching idea is that of stewardship…of properly managing what God has entrusted to us…our time, talents, resources and money.  When we think of someone SERVING money, what do we normally think of?  Do we ever consider OURSELVES as people who serve money?  If we use serving God as a template, how would we define serving money, and what ways could we recognize this behavior in our own lives?

By v14, the Pharisees are upset (again….those guys were seriously no fun to be around).  Their reason for offense?  Their true religion was being challenged.  Jesus then launches into an expose of their fraudulent religious practices, culminating with v18.  PLEASE, don’t let v18 throw you…Jesus is making a point about heart-faithfulness, NOT a commentary on intricacies of human relationships.  I did a teaching in Mark 10 about Jesus’ sayings concerning the issue of divorce, I’d implore you to hear my whole argument before you make up your mind about v18.

Ok…well…we’ll see you Sunday, hopefully!

Relational Stewardship

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

This is Memorial Day Weekend.  While we’ll have our fun doing what we do best as Americans (BBQ), lets enjoy ourselves for all its worth, but not forget the price that gets paid to ensure our freedom to do so. Lets pray for peace and an end to madness…that’s the best gift we can give to any solider far from home.

Ok…well, this Sunday we’ll be reading Luke 16:1-9  …it is a serious WTF passage. (WTF=”where’s this fit?”…..why, what did you THINK I meant?)

Scholars have had headaches for hundreds of years trying to puzzle through what this story is trying to say…and how we apply it to life as the church.  I scoured through a lot of writings by experts from  N.T. Wright and Eugene Peterson to John Piper and John MacArthur (different ends of the doctrinal spectrum, FYI),   and taking their thoughts in overview provided  the footing I needed to try and exegete this passage.  I’m no scholar…so you may disagree with me, and that’s totally cool…but I think we CAN learn some valuable principles from this passage that are at very least in harmony with the rest of Scripture.

I won’t throw out a lot of questions in this post….just one main one:  What do you think Jesus’ point is in telling this parable?  Can you decipher a context that could help this make sense?

I’d be interested in your thoughts….but it’s an odd passage, so I’m not pressuring you to weigh in.  You’d be surprised how many scholars just say “We can never understand it”, and move on to the next verses.  Not US though…we’re taking this passage to the mattress!   Hope you can be there to join the exploration!