Stewardship Sunday October 10-11, 2026
“We Belong To The Lord” Romans 14:7-8
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-8)
Every-once-in-a-while you see a big sign over the entrance to a business that shouts: Under New Management. Maybe it is a restaurant, a dry cleaner, a car wash, or some other business.
I can read between the lines when I see that sign. It isn’t just about who is running this business now, it is about who ran the business previously. The old owners weren’t good businesspeople. They ran that place into the ground. The service and the food were substandard. But, they promise, that they are going to do better. “Give us a shot. This place is under new management.”
If that promise can be made about a place to eat or get your clothes cleaned or to spiff up your car, God concerns Himself with something bigger and more important than any of that – He concerns Himself with you. His concern is that all of His creation – every single person – comes under new management. His management.
“If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die, we die to the Lord.” Before I talk about this living to the Lord – the emphasis of this sermon – I want to talk about dying to the Lord. Dying in the Lord. Dying in faith.
The Bible spends a lot of time speaking about what is next for us after this life. The thief on the cross, minutes away from taking his final breath said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)
In our reading we are told, “Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Forever. You belong to your creator and your redeemer forever. Now and when you die. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
You belong to the Lord forever. In life and in death. Someone is in control of what happens to you. It is Jesus. He has the right to forgive sins and to declare that death will not envelop you. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
The hymn, In Christ Alone, in its first verse says:
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease;
My Comforter, my All in All;
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
Back to the text. “None of us dies to himself alone.” Christ has taken care of death. “None of us lives to himself alone.” Now, that is our problem. Living. Living to self is a problem. It is a sin. It is a very poor person, in their soul and mind, who only considers themselves. Life turns inward. Their own pleasures and their own ambitions become what runs and controls them.
God warns us about such a life. We read, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (II Corinthians 5:15)
Someone else is in charge of you now. Sometimes we bemoan that fact all of our life. When we are younger parents and teachers call the shots. When you grow up a little and get a job some boss has the final word. You own or run a business, and you find out that the bank or the government seems to have too much say about what you can do or can’t do. If you get married that person you married has some control over you. (Maybe a lot!!) Maybe it is an understatement – “None of us lives to himself alone and none of himself dies to himself alone.” Everyone wants a piece of us.
I went to see my 97-year-old mom in Phoenix this week. As I was driving across New Mexico and Arizona, I saw a pick-up truck pulling an RV. Probably some snowbird getting a head start on their winter home. The spare tire on the RV cover read, “I go where I am towed.”
Under new management for our life is actually not a bad thing. And when God is the new manager, it is a good thing. I Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
You are not your own. You are His. “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
We belong to the Lord. Forever. Jesus said of our eternity, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)
We belong to the Lord now. We live to please the Lord. We make this our prayer every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done.” Thy will!!
But we don’t just belong to the Lord forever when we get to heaven. And we don’t just belong only to the Lord now. We belong to others. We live for others. Today we call this Sunday “Stewardship Sunday”. I renamed it. It is Discipleship Sunday. We commit ourselves to how we are going to serve God and others through our life. Our gifts of money to others, even in the work we do together through this church, and our gifts of service to others, are the life of a disciple of Jesus. Live generously with your time and hands and mind. We are under new management with how we will live our life.
Jesus, when asked what the greatest commandment was, said, “Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, was gushing about another church who showed amazing love to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. He writes, “For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” (II Corinthians 8:3-5) He would add this to his word, “But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (II Corinthians 8:7)
Today is Discipleship Sunday. And so is tomorrow. And the next day. Why is that? We belong to the Lord. Forever – due to the merits of Jesus Christ for us. We belong to the Lord – in life, until we have no more days. We belong to the Lord and therefore our lives are filled with service and sacrifice and love for others.
There is another sign that is placed above the name of a number of businesses. As I told you, some signs say, “Under New Management”. But sometimes you’ll have one that says, “Celebrating 50 Years of Service to You.” How in the world could they make it that long? I guess they remembered what the purpose of being in business was all about – others and serving them.
I hope we remember what the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ and the purpose of being Ascension Lutheran Church is:
None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live, or we die, we belong to the Lord.
Around here we are Under New Management. His management. Amen!!
