Second Sunday after the Epiphany (2026)

Romans 12:6-16

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we pick up where we left off in our Epistle lesson, last week, we were reminded that God has called us together through Baptism to be part of the family of God, and that we are united as the body each with a different role, that is vocation, but with a common purpose and goal as we move forward together towards heaven to live in the Kingdom of God together. The journey there is not easy, for many fall to the wayside as the years go by and we don’t wish to abandon or forsake each other, but that is why God has called each of us together with our different skills, and abilities. That’s where we pick up today. I asked you this last week to consider what God has given you this past week and how it might be used to serve your neighbor, and here the discussion continues.

Using Our Gifts for Others

Why are our gifts different?

Often in life we lament that each one of us has different gifts, or we see the talents, skills, and abilities of another and we covet what they have for ourselves. In turn we grow a bit bitter about what we have. The old phrase, that youth is wasted on the young. Not realizing that the very reason you are able to discern that, is because you gained wisdom with age. Wisdom ought to be shared, and not just lamented. WHen both work together, you have wisdom and energy working in unison.

This is good and it is from God.

He brought each of us together to accomplish these tasks that are we are unable to do on our own. The old adage that no man is an island remains true to this day, and we are meant to be in fellowship within families, and to be able to help our neighbors in their need. For no one is self-made, we all come from a mom and a dad, and are dependent upon each other.

We aren’t to neglect these gifts.

To let them waste away, and perish, but rather we ought to cultivate them for the benefit of our neighbors. For God gave each of these things to us for a reason, and not just to benefit ourselves, but to use them to help our neighbors and build our neighbors up and to grow in Love for each other.

Genuine Love

Love is pointed outward.

This is vitally important to understand, love is directed first towards God, and then is directed towards our neighbor. This drive comes originally from God, for God is love, and that is shown in all that He does. Think of what God has provided for you, food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, family, weather, government, the list goes on, but because of sin,

We tend to look inward.

We focus on ourselves instead of looking out to our neighbors. This is the natural disposition that brings with it much pain and suffering. Consider the parent who instead of looking to care for their child, focuses only on their wants, or a spouse who gets so wrapped up in their desires, that they no longer see their spouse at all. This is the natural state when we come into the world and can think only of providing for our own wants. If this is how we live, then we neglect the very reason God gave us these gifts.

This is why many feel unfulfilled.

We are going to study the book of Ecclesiastes coming up in Sunday Bible Study, and Solomon was a man who had everything, all material goods and blessings, and yet despite everything he had, it didn’t satisfy, it still left him empty and wondering what is the point of all this stuff that he had accumulated, worked for, saved, accomplished, because in the end he knew that what would happen the slave would happen as well to him the king. The book wrestles with that very question, if the same thing happens to the rich that happens to the poor, and that you don’t get to take any of it with you, then whats the point? I would encourage you to set aside the time to study it with us. This is where love comes in.

Christ’s Love for Us

There is perfect love.

It is important that we understand the difference between the command that tells us to love, which is the love, and the Gospel, which speaks of God’s Love, father, son, and holy spirit, for you. God’s love wasn’t just in feeling, but it was found in the actions that were carried out for your sake. Love that saw your need, and didn’t abandon you, but came to save you.

Jesus had everything.

Jesus is the second person of the trinity, the one through whom all things were made. He is Alpha, and the Omega, the beginning and the end, we squabble over ounces of gold, while the universe and all its riches are in his hand. But He set aside His heavenly crown and became impoverished, not just in terms of material wealth, but he took upon our spiritual poverty by becoming sin in our place to save us. For

We had nothing.

Everything we have here on earth doesn’t belong to us, it has been entrusted to us and given to us for a time, but the true owner of all things is God above. That is why the scriptures refer to us as Stewards of what God has entrusted to our care and has laid out ways in which we are to use it, and when we sin, we misuse what God has given us.

Stewards of God’s Gifts

This does take work.

It takes planning and effort, and its something that from getting to know many of you, I don’t think you shy away from, we are in a farming community and learned to grow up doing hard work and understand the importance of taking care of what is around us. But in order to do that, we have to know where

You are called to serve

...at home.

At your house, what do you do to make sure things operate smoothly? You make sure bills are paid, that chores are done, that food is the on the table, and that you spend time together as a family.

...in community.

We are blessed here in White Lake that our small town has so many gatherings and outings that take place. This also includes our jobs, we don’t just work and provide services for ourselves,

...at church.

It isn’t just something that we come in and then walk away. This isn’t like a business in the traditional sense, but it is a place where the family of God gathers to hear God’s Word, receive the gifts that Christ won for us on calvary, and to make that happen just like caring for a home, the church needs help.

How Can We Serve?

The Church is our home.

We are God’s children and we want to make sure that the home is taken care of. These responsibilities aren’t meant to fall all upon one person, but the work is divided up in order that each person. For imagine what would happen as kids if right after dinner everyone left as quick as they could without clearing their plates? What if they didn’t sweep up the mess that was left behind when they came into the house, but just assumed that the someone else will take care of it? Now there are some different

We set aside time.

Now we have talked about trying to make this available when folks can come in, but like many other things, when we try to schedule something whenever a person is free, it often becomes never, that’s why it is better to set a time to come in and clean. In the Old Testament it was filled with gold to show God’s incorruptible holiness, we aren’t looking to plate the inside with gold to clean up the dust, the mud, and the sand, to empty trash or make sure there is toilet paper in the bathrooms. These are all things we do regularly, but let us also do them in the house of our heavenly father.

We also set aside offerings.

When we talk about offerings. Out of this we give proportionally out of what God has first given to us. I know times are tight, but when haven’t they been tight? We have people in a variety of financial situations, but just as God brought together each of us with different talents, he also brought together those of different incomes, and by focusing on the percentages made everyone’s contribution equal. So I would encourage you, look at your income, and figure out what percent you are giving right now. The Old Testament called for a Tithe which is 10%. How are we as New Testament believers comparing? I know stuff is tight, that’s why we are doing a Stewardship workshop on January 29th. Because quite often we let our money slip through various cracks that we don’t realize are there until we sit down and examine it. Because as Stewards we want to manage what God has given us well, and we don’t want to come before our Father in heaven and have him ask, Why did you let my house be treated so poorly when I provided for you everything you have?

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it is a bit daunting to have these responsibilities upon our shoulders, but that doesn’t mean we should flee from them, for when the time came Christ did not flee from Jerusalem, He did not abandon us at Golgotha, but He laid aside what He had to give His life for us. He freed us from the powers of sin, death, and the devil, and secured a spot in His Kingdom by the blood He shed for us, the work of salvation is complete, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good works for us to do. Be it with our families by blood, our neighbors, or here in God’s House. Let us not flee from these callings, for Jesus did not flee from us. In Jesus name. AMen.