Over the past few weeks we've been working our way through this teaching series entitled “The Temple.” The deeper we've gotten into it, the more important I believe this is. I will confess that there were a number of years in my life when I was not nearly as focused on being a good steward of the temple of God. And I’m still not where I would like to me, but I’m getting better.
As I have grown a little older, and perhaps a little wiser, I've come to see what are the important spiritual issue this really is. Our bodies are a gift from God. It is through this physical body that we do the work of Christ. And if we are to do it well we must be good caretakers of the Temple.
Regardless of what stage of life we are at, I believe God has important and purposeful work for us. I believe that we all have something to contribute to the work of the kingdom of God at every stage of life. And I know that in my own life, when I have taken better care of myself, I am stronger, more capable of, and have more energy for, the important work to which Christ has called us.
Over the course of the series we will have talked about a numbers areas that, quite honestly, can be uncomfortable. Like the dreaded “E-word” (if you are not sure what that is, you can see that message at this link) there parts of this that we don't necessarily like to think about. But my hope is that, as we go through these messages, it will help us to prayerfully consider the importance of some of these things we do not always think of as spiritual matters. The stewardship of God's gifts is always a spiritual matter. And keeping ourselves healthy and well enough to serve Christ through our entire lifetime is also a spiritual matter.
I hope you all know that the goal is not to add guilt, but encouragement, to this this important area of life. And I hope that you, like me, desire to be used of God in the best ways possible, in as many ways as possible, for as long as possible. So I invite us to move more, stress less and join us this Sunday as we take on the next important subject.
Love you all,
Pastor Steve