Stewardship Theme 2006
This year the Stewardship Committee has chosen this classic hymn as the theme of our program. We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words. Over the course of the next few months we will take a closer look at each verse.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our first fruits give.
O hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace—
It is a Christ-like thing.
And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be;
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
“All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.”
Can you think of anything you might have, that you could have obtained without God? Could you have obtained your hands and feet, or your brain, or your mouth, or your eyes and ears? If God had withheld these from you, what could you have obtained? Of what God has given you, do you think He gave it with a purpose in mind? Do you think it’s right that we try to fulfill that purpose?
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
Verse Two
May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our first fruits give.
“When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
What portion of our bounty should be used to serve God? Should we serve our own needs first and only then serve God with the remainder? Or should we serve God first, and only then, after God has been well served, divide the remainder among our various needs?
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
Verse Three
O hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
What would Jesus do for the lost sheep of His flock? Is there anything He wouldn’t do, wouldn’t give, wouldn’t sacrifice? Is He setting us an example to follow?
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
Verse Four
To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
When Jesus says they who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted, who do you think should perform the act of comforting? When our neighbors mourn the loss of mother or father, sister or brother, son or daughter or dearest friend, do you think Jesus means for them to wait till they meet Him face to face, before they receive the blessing of comfort’s balm?
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
Verse Five
The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace—
It is a Christ-like thing.
And [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Will 2006 be an acceptable year of the Lord? Will the way of life and peace be taught? Will good news be preached to the poor? Will captives be released? Will the blind see and the oppressed be set free? Will Christ have our help in doing all of this?
Stewardship Theme 2006
We invite you to read, reflect, and pray on these beautiful words.
Words: William W. How, 1864.
Verse Six
And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be;
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
Matthew 25:37-40
What would you do, or give, or sacrifice, if you knew it would comfort a suffering Jesus? If Our Lord stood before you, hungry and thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison, what would you do, or give, or sacrifice to comfort Him?