Weekly Update// Pastor Chris

Dear Asbury Family.

 Last Sunday we started a new preaching series titled “Earn. Save. Give.” In this 3-part series – which ties directly with the information you should have received in your stewardship packet – we are looking at John Wesley’s rules for managing money God's way. In a sermon he preached in 1760, Wesley said we as Christ-followers should earn all we can, save all we can, and give all we can. 

 In the first sermon, we talked about earning all we can. I’ll remind us of Wesley's practical guidelines for earning all we can.  

 1. Recognize our work as a calling from God. 

 We shouldn’t see our job simply as a way of making money. Rather, we should see it as a way of fulfilling God’s call on our lives to serve and be about the kingdom of God. 

 2.  Use common sense 

We should seek counsel from other people as we’re earning money, especially people who are wiser and more experienced than ourselves (mentors, parents, financial advisers, etc.) 

 3.  Don’t pay more for it than it is worth. 

 We shouldn’t neglect our health and our families while making money. Along this same line, we should do right by our neighbor, which includes the people with whom we do business. We shouldn’t sell our clients something they don’t need, and we shouldn’t charge them more than we should be charging them. Jesus puts it best, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36 NLT) 

 I hope you find these guidelines helpful as you attempt to live out this first rule of John Wesley.

 We’re going to pause our “Earn. Save. Give.” series this weekend in order to observe All Saints Sunday. During this festival, we remember all the Christ-followers who have gone before us in the faith and now rest from their labors in heaven (Revelation 14:13). Speaking of John Wesley, he enjoyed and celebrated All Saints Day. In a journal entry from November 1, 1767, Wesley calls it "a festival I truly love." On the same day in 1788, he writes, "I always find this a comfortable day." The very next year he calls it "a day that I peculiarly love." I hope you’ll join us for Sunday worship at 9:30am or 11am as we remember and celebrate the saints, particularly those who were a part of our church family. 

 Additionally, since this Sunday is the Sunday before Veterans Day, we will acknowledge all our veterans in worship. Thank you so much for your service! We certainly appreciate all of you.

Have a great a weekend. And, oh, for you men out there, I hope to see you at the Men’s Prayer Breakfast this Saturday from 7:30am-9am as John Lowndes, the Mayor of Maitland, shares with us.

Blessings,

Chris