Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity (2025)

Stewardship

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this is going to be a stewardship sermon. It will focus on the role of the Pastoral office and the care for workers in the Church and how God has arranged for the Church to operate. For what we have here is a biblical teaching about the care and support of those entrusted with the proclamation of God’s Word. Not that they might get rich off of God’s people, but that they might be provided for that they can focus on the ministry of the Word. We see this happen in our Old Testament passage, for this has its foundations all the way back to the Levitical priesthood.

The Tribe of Levi

God set aside this tribe for service.

Unlike the other tribes of Israel they weren’t given one section of land for them to dwell in, but they were spread out that they might be of service to the entire nation of Israel. They were given limited resources compared with the other tribes. Because

They were to be focused.

They were to tend to the spiritual well being of the tribes of Israel and help with the Sacrifices, diagnosing illnesses, and encouraging the people to attend to the word. But this meant they wouldn’t be out in the fields tending to crops or the livestock and so

God gave them a portion of the sacrifices.

So those who served at the temple would be provided for and might make sure they were not distracted in their service but could tend to the people of God, and devote themselves to God’s Word. It also involved God’s house here on earth.

The House of the Lord

There was also upkeep.

The tent of meeting that was first established needed to be maintained, and then the temple as it was constructed by Solomon was a beauty to behold, and the levites continued to watch over the house of the Lord. When you read about it, they spared no expense, and gave of their silver, gold, bronze, fine linens, gemstones, and the list goes on.

Why adorn it in beauty?

To be holy is to be set apart, to be different than the common, ordinary and every day. What happened at the Temple, and in Churches was sacred, and didn’t happen in other places. While the working of God doesn’t depend upon all of those fancy parts, the sacrifices offered at the Tent of Meeting were just as beneficial as those offered at the Temple of Solomon. We don’t want people to confuse what is sacred with what is common, and this is especially important today,

We don’t have many holy spaces.

Spaces that are set apart and different from the World. The world encroaches constantly upon God’s people, but what happens here is different than anywhere else and we want to keep the focus on the Lord and the precious gifts he gives. So we make use of what God has given us to glorify His Work in our midst.

Stewardship in Life

This isn’t limited to money.

No when they setup the tent of meeting and the temple of the Lord, those that God had gifted as Craftsmen made use of the talent that God had given to adorn the temple in beauty for the benefit of their neighbor. That is why God has given us all these different talents.

Sin is to misuse God’s creation.

You are part of that Creation, there is a reason that God had created you and placed you here. Stewardship is connected with Sanctification that is our holy living, because of instead of just serving ourselves we are to look and see our neighbor who is in need, and when we sin, we reject God, and turn away from our neighbors.

That’s why it follows the works of the flesh.

We read through that list last week, and there were numerous sins included, but each one of them rejected the original purpose that God had created us for, and would have us glorify ourselves over God. That is why we must come back to the foundation of the Faith which is found in Christ for we are

United in Christ

Jesus is the one who saved us.

He rescued us from our sins, and saved us that we might belong to God’s Kingdom. He did this by His death and resurrection. For he took those sins that we had committed, and had inflicted pain upon our neighbors, and offended God, and He bore them on the Cross for you and laid them to rests in the tomb. Then rose again for your salvation and gave you life through the gift of the Holy Spirit. What did Jesus desire of his disciples?

Jesus desired that we be one.

He prayed for that in the Garden that we might be united, not that we might be exact copies of each other, but that we might be united in faith in Jesus’ work. That is why its important for us to gather together around the Word and glorify Jesus. That we would make right use of what God has given us not for our own benefit but the benefit of our neighbors.

If someone is caught in sin, seek their restoration.

For if they have fallen don’t abandon them, for that is not what God’s people have done, but have consistently called people to repentance. For God has called us to the

The Field of Harvest

We are to be sowers of the Word.

To share the Word of God with our neighbors that they might hear the Law which condemns our sins and warns us away from that evil which seeks to destroy us, but that we might also be given the Gospel of Salvation and restored to life. Not that we are greater or mightier than they, but we come alongside them, not joining them in their sins but showing them the real trouble they are in, and point them to their savior. In order tto

To do that we have to learn.

We have to know our faith, and what we believe and how it is that we are going to accomplish this great and mighty task. For the Scriptures refer to us a royal priesthood, this is not everyone a pastor, but as Christians we are of that tribe that has been set apart to share the Gospel with the World, and we need to know the Word.

For that we need a space and teachers.

This is why we set aside our offerings for the sake of the Gospel, and all of us do it, for we want to be able to learn the Word, to receive God’s gifts, and to have place where we can gather together around the word. In order to do that, we must practice

Stewardship for the Gospel

We make sure to plan.

Like most things in life, this means we need to sit down and figure out how to accomplish. A building doesn’t just show up, and so as God’s people, we want to watch over it, and that’s why we raise up leaders to serve.

We use our gifts.

We use them all, we set aside time not only to attend services, but also to care for the building, and we use our talents to help make sure it looks good. Think about it in terms of a visitor coming into the building for the first time. What does the Church look like to an outsiders eye does look like a space we consider to be holy? We also make use of our money to make sure that there is a pastor to preach the word.

This is god’s plan.

It is how God has from the Old Testament through the New Testament arranged for these holy spaces and the teaching of the Word to happen. It seems rather mundane, and ordinary, but that is how God works through this world. He attaches His Word to Bread, and Wine, and to Water for our salvation. He entrusts to us the care and the teaching here at our Church. This is the same for churches all across the world and throughout history.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, let us take up this good responsibility for Christ has set us aside from the World by shedding his blood for us. It is our joy to be able to learn about it here on a Sunday morning. Let us not lose that, let us keep the holy space, holy and separate from the world, and make sure that we use all of our talents, time, and treasures to support the continued proclamation of the gospel in our community. For there are still many that do not know Christ and we want them all to know about His great love. In Jesus name. Amen.