Freedom from Striving (Stewardship 2025)

We live in a world obsessed with comparison. From social media feeds to career ladders, we are constantly measured—and measuring ourselves—against one another. This relentless "striving for superiority," as Miroslav Volf says, is exhausting. It promises fulfillment but often leaves us feeling anxious and inadequate.

What if there was a different way to live? What if our true worth wasn't based on how we "stack up against others" at all?

This November we will explore this question with a four-part sermon series: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God: Trust in God and Freedom from Striving."

Inspired by Miroslav Volf's The Cost of Ambition (Brazos, 2025), we will explore how our identity in Christ frees us from the toxic cycle of comparison and competition. True stewardship isn't about outdoing others; it's about discovering God's grace, which allows us to live with joy, gratitude, and genuine freedom.

Join us for this four-week journey.

The Sermon Series

November 2, 2025: "Safe from Comparison"

Scriptures: Luke 6:20-31 and Ephesians 1:11-23.  The series begins by tackling the root of our anxiety: the "worry of comparison". We will look at Luke's Beatitudes to discover how God’s economy radically upends the world's standards of "winning" and "losing," offering us a peace that the world cannot give.

November 9, 2025: "Safe from Satan"

Scriptures: Luke 4:1-13 and Revelation 12:7-12. Volf identifies the drive to be "highest" as a core temptation. We’ll examine Jesus's own temptation in the wilderness to see how he confronts and defeats the ultimate "striver for superiority," offering us a fortress against the one who seeks to divide us through envy and ambition.

November 16, 2025: "Safe from Want (You Have it All)"

Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 1:7-13 and Ephesians 1:3-14. On Consecration Sunday, we celebrate the core of Reformed theology: everything we have is a gift. Paul reminds us that we are "blessed... with every spiritual blessing" (Eph. 1:3). When we realize we "have it all" in Christ, the compulsion to compete for more is broken. We give not out of obligation, but from the joyful freedom of abundance. We hope you will stay for our Thanksgiving Celebration Luncheon following the service!

November 23, 2025: "Safe from Climbing (Honoring Others)"

Scriptures: Proverbs 3:21-35 and Romans 12:1-13. The series concludes on Reign of Christ Sunday. Because Christ is our King, the world's power games are over. The Christian alternative is a radical call to "outdo one another in showing honor" (Rom. 12:10). We are freed from climbing over others and freed for lifting them up.

We invite you to join us for this powerful series as we discover the rest and freedom that come from finding our security not in what we achieve, but in who God is. A mighty fortress is our God!