Celebrating Our Past, Embracing Our Future
“Abundance isn’t God’s provision for me to live in luxury. It’s God’s provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with God’s money not to build my kingdom on earth, but to build God’s kingdom in heaven.” ― Randy Acorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity
How do you understand and live each day in God’s abundance and generosity? How can you grow in your own generosity? What are the ways that we can allow God’s generosity to flow through our lives, not just now, but for many years to come? Our stewardship focus this year is about not just remembering all the wonderful stuff God has accomplished over the years here at Alpine, but also embracing our future. The future might look to be very different from the past – the world after all has changed quite a bit over the past few years – but looking forward in faith we can see that God will still be among us. God will still be changing lives. God’s mission will not stop.
As we celebrate 80 years of God’s faithfulness, I am reminded of our stewardship theme from 5 years ago, A Living Legacy. In its basic meaning, a legacy can be seen as what we leave behind for the next generation. Our legacies can be money, property, life lessons, examples of living, ways of communicating grace, etc.… The important thing to understand is that we are always leaving behind a legacy; either a bad one or a good one. A Living Legacy is a legacy that God uses to breathe life into people, long after we are gone. Often we fail to realize that we are called to be stewards of our legacy as well as our lives.
There are two principles that lie at the heart of our shared legacy. The first is that our generosity, in all its forms, is a joyful and faithful response to God’s giving of Jesus Christ and the grace-filled life that comes through Him. The other principle that underlies our legacy is an intentional act of sharing gifts so the ministries of our congregation can remain bold and vibrant in sharing God’s grace by what we do in Christ’s name for our members and community for generations to come.
I am so grateful for the wonderful stories I continue to hear about all the wonderful ways you have seen God change lives here at Alpine. I am excited about the lessons learned and the examples left behind. I am also encouraged by how we can pick up these examples/legacies and pass them along to a new generation of people who long to experience the good news of God’s wonderful love. “
You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us, for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God (2 Corinthians 9:11-12).”