Preached by Rev. Erik Kindem.
Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16; Mark 12:41-44
Summary
On this, the second week of our 3 week SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY Stewardship emphasis, the theme is SPIRIT OF GIVING. The texts of two widows living on the edge of poverty helped to reframe our lives as people who have so much.
What is the basic paradigm, the primary lens, through which we live our lives? Is it a paradigm of scarcity? Or a paradigm of abundance? A story from Rachel Naomi Remen's book KITCHEN TABLE WISDOM illustrates how the attitude that frames our lives can limit or expand our sense of generous living.
The God we have come to know in Jesus doesn’t ration out love, but hurls it out exuberantly, extravagantly, lavishly! And because this is true, we in turn are free to share generously with others. When we live with the same generous spirit as Jesus lived, his love flows through us and we become agents of God’s transforming work within and beyond this place.