9/20 - Living Generously

Greetings St. Andrew's Family 

This week, our worship continues the stewardship journey by beginning with surrender. Take Up Your Cross calls us to release our desire to live solely for ourselves and place our lives in the hands of Christ. Stewardship begins here—not with what we give, but with recognizing that our whole lives belong to God.
From surrender, we recenter our desires. The Heart of Worship reminds us that worship is not ultimately about what we receive, accomplish, or possess. It is about returning our attention to God and allowing God to become the center of our lives. When our hearts are centered on God, our understanding of what we have and what we are called to do with it begins to change.
James 3:11 then asks us to consider what flows from us. If our lives are being shaped by Christ, what should others experience through our words, choices, relationships, and resources? In Our Homes, Lord Be Glorified takes that question beyond Sunday morning and into the places where our faith becomes visible. Stewardship becomes a way of living, not simply a financial decision.
The sermon, “Living Generously is the Redemptive Corrective to Living Selfishly,” names the transformation at the heart of this week. Generosity is not simply giving something away; it is a redirection of the self. As God's grace reshapes our hearts, we move from asking, “What is mine?” toward asking, “How can what God has entrusted to me become a blessing to others?”
That transformation leads us to guided identity as the Choir lifts up Be Thou My Vision (Will You Guide Me?) becomes our prayer that God would shape not only what we do, but who we are becoming. We surrender ourselves, recenter our desires, and allow God to guide our vision and identity.
Finally, Lord, I Want to Be a Christian becomes our sending and formation. We leave worship not simply having learned something about stewardship, but having been invited to become people whose lives increasingly reflect Christ. The arc moves from surrendering self, to recentering desire, to discovering a God-guided identity, and finally to being sent into a life of generous Christian formation.

May you all be blessed in the week ahead. 

Music Tom  

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