Kingdom Stewardship sermon 1 on Matthew 5:1-12:  "Blessed to Be a Blessing"

Scripture Readings: 

- Sermon Text: Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes)

- Liturgist’s Reading: Psalm 24:1-6 (The Earth Is the LORD's)

Overview: 

We begin our stewardship journey by exploring the Beatitudes, where Jesus outlines the values of God's kingdom. Recognizing that all blessings come from God, we are called to be a blessing to others. Psalm 24 reminds us that the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord. This sermon emphasizes that stewardship starts with acknowledging God's ownership of all things and our role as caretakers. We are blessed not just for our benefit but to extend God's grace and mercy to the world.

Kingdom Stewardship:

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount

Sermon 1 - October 12, 2025

Blessed to Be a Blessing

Last month, I sat across from a successful Houston businessman at a coffee shop near Rice Village. Corner office downtown. Great family. Good life by every measure. But he looked tired, not from lack of sleep but from a deeper exhaustion.

"Pastor Jon," he said, stirring his coffee absently, "I've been blessed in my career. Things are going well. But I keep asking myself... is this it? Is there something more?"

He wasn't depressed. He wasn't ungrateful. He was asking the question that lives in every honest heart: What am I supposed to do with all this?

That's the stewardship question. And Jesus answers it in the most unexpected way imaginable.

The Upside-Down Kingdom

Picture this scene. Jesus has been healing people throughout Galilee, and crowds are following him everywhere. So he climbs a mountainside, sits down (what rabbis did when teaching something crucial), and opens his mouth to turn the world upside down.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit," he begins. "Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek."

Wait. What?

In Jesus' day, like ours, everyone knew what "blessed" looked like. Wealthy. Healthy. Powerful. Respected. The ancient equivalent of a six-figure salary and a house in River Oaks.

But Jesus stands there and calls the spiritually bankrupt blessed. The grieving, blessed. The powerless, blessed.

This is like Tony Robbins opening a success seminar with "The secret to winning is admitting you've already lost." It's like your financial advisor saying, "True wealth begins with recognizing you're broke."

Jesus isn't just adjusting our perspective. He's introducing a completely different operating system. A kingdom economy where the currency isn't what you have but who you're becoming.

Who Really Owns Your Life?

Before we talk about what to do with what we have, we need to settle something more fundamental: Who does it all belong to?

Psalm 24 cuts straight to the heart: "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."

Everything. Your house, your car, your career, your Saturday mornings, your retirement account, your very breath. All of it is on loan.

Now this might sound heavy, but it's actually the most liberating truth you'll ever hear. Because if God owns everything, you're not responsible for creating your own meaning or security. You're not the anxious owner trying to protect it all. You're the steward. The manager. The trusted friend given the honor of caring for something precious.

And that changes everything.

Stewardship Starts with Seeing

Here's what most people miss: Stewardship doesn't begin with what you give. It begins with how you see.

When Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit," he's talking about people who've come to the end of themselves. People who've stopped pretending they're self-made. People who realize everything they have, everything they are, is gift.

That's not weakness. That's clarity.

Look at every Beatitude. Each one describes someone recognizing their need:

• - Poor in spirit: "I don't have it all figured out"
• - Those who mourn: "I've experienced real loss" 
• - The meek: "I'm not in control"
• - Those who hunger and thirst: "I'm desperate for something real"

These aren't problems to solve. They're doorways to kingdom life. They're invitations to stop trying to be God and start trusting God.

I've been in ministry long enough to notice something: The most generous people aren't usually the wealthiest. They're the ones who've been broken open by grace. They know what it's like to be spiritually empty and then filled. To mourn and then be comforted. To hunger and then be satisfied.

They've tasted the kingdom, and now they can't stop sharing it.

From Blessed to Blessing

Right after the Beatitudes, Jesus tells his followers, "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world."

Notice he doesn't say "Try to be salt" or "Work hard at being light." He says you ARE. Present tense. This is who you are when you live in the upside-down blessing of the kingdom.

You're blessed to be a blessing. You receive to give. You're filled to pour out.

This is the heart of kingdom stewardship. Not obligation but overflow. Not duty but delight.

Tuesday Morning Stewardship

So what does this look like when you're stuck in traffic on 610? When your boss is being impossible? When you're staring at another ordinary week wondering if any of it matters?

It looks like remembering your life is not your own. And that's not a burden. That's your freedom.

Your job isn't just a paycheck. It's a place where God has positioned you to bring salt and light into spreadsheets and conference calls. To treat people with dignity. To do good work that matters.

Your family isn't just your responsibility. They're gifts entrusted to your care. Every dinner conversation, every homework session, every mundane Tuesday night is a chance to steward love into the lives of people you've been given the privilege to know.

Your resources, whatever they are, aren't primarily about your security. They're tools for participating in what God is doing in Houston, in this neighborhood, in the world.

The Honest Truth About St. John's

Can I tell you what I love about this church? We're not perfect. Not even close. But something beautiful is happening here.

I see people who are poor in spirit showing up on Sunday mornings, not because they have it all together but because they know they need community and grace. I see people who mourn walking alongside others in grief, sometimes without saying a word, just being present. I see people hungering for righteousness showing up week after week to teach children, serve meals, love neighbors in quiet, unglamorous ways.

This is what it looks like to be blessed to be a blessing. It's not flashy. It's faithful.

Last week, I watched one of our members, a woman who's been through her own financial struggles, quietly hand an envelope to a young mother who just lost her job. No fanfare. No announcement. Just one person who's been blessed in brokenness blessing another.

That's kingdom stewardship. That's what happens when you realize everything is gift.

The Invitation

Over the coming weeks, we're walking through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount together. We'll explore what it means to steward our influence, our resources, our relationships. We'll ask hard questions about where our treasure really lies.

But today, start here: What if everything you have is a gift?

What if you're not the owner desperately trying to hold it all together? What if you're the steward, invited into the most important work in the universe: participating in God's mission to restore this broken world?

The earth is the Lord's. Everything in it. Including you.

And that's not a limitation. That's your liberation.

Because when you belong to the One who made you, who loves you, who died and rose for you, you're free. Free to stop protecting and start giving. Free to stop accumulating and start blessing. Free to discover that in losing your life, you actually find it.

That businessman I mentioned? He's been going to church for three months now. Last week he told me, "I'm starting to see it differently. My success isn't mine to keep. It's mine to steward."

He's learning what the Beatitudes teach: True blessing doesn't come from having more. It comes from recognizing what you've already been given and opening your hands to share it.

The kingdom is here. The invitation is open. And you, friend, are blessed to be a blessing.

Not because you're strong enough or good enough or rich enough. But because God's grace is sufficient. Because when you're poor in spirit, the kingdom of heaven is yours. When you mourn, comfort comes. When you're meek, you inherit the earth.

This is stewardship that starts not with your wallet but with your heart. Not with guilt but with gratitude. Not with what you must give up but with what you've already received.

Welcome to the upside-down kingdom. Welcome to the blessing that flows from empty hands and open hearts. Welcome home.

Continue reading this sermon series:

Click here for Sermon 2.