RCL Reflection for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost Year A, August 9, 2020
Learning to be a disciple of Jesus is like learning to swim. It doesn’t come naturallyLike Peter, we must “swim” as Christians, entering fully into the chaos and beauty and brokenness of our world. We must keep our eyes upon the Christ and trust the wisdom and accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. (Photo: Jon Connell, Creative Commons)
Money isn’t bad, but Jesus warns in Luke 15:12, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.” What is greed, and how does it affect us? The Catholic Church ranks greed as one of the seven “deadly” sins. This resource from Tithe.ly looks at greed by examining Bible passages. (Photo: © f9photos – Fotolia.com)
During the Sunday offering, are you asking your congregation to “give money” or are you inviting them to participate in what God is doing in the world? Sadly, most stewardship efforts fail to inspire generosity, but United Methodist Church has suggestions on how to change that. (Photo: Gayle Nicholson, Creative Commons)
Theory is great, but putting it into practice is even better. Here are eight steps you and your leadership team can follow to develop a written theology of stewardship to guide and grow your church’s culture of generosity. By Horizons Stewardship’s Joel Mikell, via Vanco. (Photo: Photo (c) Keren Tan, ShareAlike License)
When the pandemic hit several months ago, church leaders were immediately thrust in the position of being both generosity and digital experts overnight. How have churches responded? In lots of different ways, although some interesting patterns have emerged, says this article from LifeWay. (Photo: Eugene Zemlyanskiy, Creative Commons.)
Plastic is already a big problem in the world’s oceans, but it will triple in 20 years unless we take drastic action. That’s the conclusion of a study by the Pew Charitable Trust, which estimates 11 million metric tons of plastic is dumped into the oceans yearly. They spell out what we need to do. An alarming report by Treehugger.com. (Photo: Bo Eide, Creative Commons)
Stretching is much like flossing. You know it’s good for your health, but for whatever reason, you may not always make time for it. Regular stretching becomes especially important as you age. Flexibility naturally declines over time, as muscles lose strength and tone, and ligaments and tendons get tighter. Harvard Medical School offers a simple plan.
