Day 1:

DiAnn Perry – Devotion
Ps. 24:1; 1 Chronicles 29:14-18

Psalm 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 2:14-18 remind us that everything is God’s because He created it.  He sustains it all. Good managers remember … God is the owner and we are the stewards or managers. It is not ours. He created it and it belongs to Him.

Being a good steward or manager gives God glory.  We strive to give Him all of the praise and glory for all we have.  Also, being faithful and a good manager gives God great pleasure.  Just as a parent enjoys giving gifts to their children, He enjoys giving to us.

The owner of a large grocery store agreed to allow a neighboring church to use the store’s parking lot for overflow church traffic on Sunday mornings. “However, pastor,” he said, “one Sunday morning a year, you will find a chain across the parking lot.”

“That,” he said to the puzzled pastor, “is so the church never forgets the parking lot belongs to the grocery store and not to the church.” The sign across the parking lot of our lives is a reminder and our acknowledgment that God is the owner of all we have. We are merely the temporary stewards.

Do you remember when Bud Adams, owner of the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans), fired head coach Bum Phillips? Phillips was fired because two years in a row, the team failed to advance to the Super Bowl on the last play of the game. Everyone was appalled at the firing of the popular coach. Why did Bud Adams do this? Because he was the owner of the team. Aren’t we fortunate that God doesn’t fire us when we fail or disappoint Him?

We, as a church, have a wonderful opportunity to renew our faithfulness and stewardship to the Lord as we seek His will to further His kingdom through First Baptist Nashville.

Day 2:

Don and Janis Aston

 Dear Lord,
You provide more than I need. Everything I have is from You and everything belongs to You. I am continually amazed by Your creation and overwhelmed and humbled that you have shared it with me. You designed your church to be a sanctuary for believers and a haven for non-believers. I ask for Your continued blessing upon our church as we seek Your will in finding the lost and ministering to our community. Help me to be as generous in my giving spirit to others as You have been to me.

In your precious name I pray, Amen

Day 3:

Chase Worrell 

Lord, we thank You for the opportunity we have been given as a church to demonstrate our commitment to You and this simple truth from Your Psalms … that the earth, and everything in it, is Yours. Through this, we understand that our gifts should not be boastful advertisements to the world around us, but rather humbly, and joyfully, delivered directly from our heart to You. We know that what we give is already yours, and that we are only stewards. The true gift is what you provide to us, most importantly the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross as recompense for our sin.

Day 4:

Leigh Hitchcock

Almighty Creator,
You spoke creation into being with a word and called it good. You breathed life into us, making us in your image and calling us your own.

You have given us everything; entrusted us as caregivers and stewards of all you have made, even of each other.

Who are we that you would nurture us, sustain us and seek us out when we go astray?

Humbly, we return to you the gifts you have so graciously bestowed on us. May these offerings be an act of worship from a truly grateful heart that finds its rest in thee.  Amen

Day 5:

Ken Curtis

Father of Mercy, help us to embrace the ministry of Your grace.
The grace that is sufficient,
The grace that saves through faith,
The grace that is greater than all our sins.

May we minister generously and cheerfully as we see
The hungry and give them food,
The thirsty and give them drink,
The stranger and take them in.

May we worship through giving that
Strengthens, not weakens,
Enlightens, not confounds,
Empowers, not enables

And teach us and those we serve to be stewards of Your grace.
In the name of the Father of Mercy, Amen

Day 6:

Rebecca Clay

Dear Lord, search our hearts and see our desire to obey You and praise You. We know Your love for us never changes; help us to grow in our love for You daily. Help us to give willingly and joyously to this campaign. Let us use our gifts, given by you, to help our church grow and reach those who do not know You. May Your will be done.

In Jesus’ name, Amen 

Day 7:

Pam Carris

 Almighty God,
I praise Your glorious name. I honor You as my Lord and give every aspect of my life completely to You.

Help me, Lord, to be a good steward of the riches and blessings You have freely given me. Keep my heart firmly set on You and on the work of Your church. Help me to give from the heart, with gratitude and willing obedience. May these gifts be always used for Your glory and spreading Your word throughout our city and to the ends of the earth.

It is with great joy that I give You all glory and honor.

In Jesus’ name, Amen