Most of us think of a mortgage as a loan on a house. We receive something valuable today and agree to pay for it over time. At its best, a mortgage helps build a future. A family finds a home. A community grows stronger. An investment today creates something of lasting value tomorrow.
But not every mortgage builds the future.
Sometimes we trade what matters most for what matters now. We sacrifice lasting goods for temporary pleasures. We exchange truth for convenience, relationships for success, stewardship for profit, and contentment for endless accumulation. We consume gifts we did not create and borrow against tomorrow, leaving someone else to pay the bill.
Whether we realize it or not, every life leaves an inheritance.
The question is not simply whether we are borrowing. The question is: What are we leaving behind?
Scripture begins with a gift. Before there was work, there was a garden. Before there was ownership, there was trust. Before there was abundance to enjoy, there was abundance to steward.
Everything we cherish—our lives, our families, our faith, our communities, even the earth itself—has been entrusted to us by God. We did not create these gifts. We received them.
Every generation must answer the same question: What will we do with what we’ve been given?
Beginning July 12, we’ll explore that question together in Mortgaged, a new worship series about stewardship, inheritance, gratitude, community, and joy. Together we’ll wrestle with questions that touch every part of life:
What has God entrusted to us?
How much is enough?
What do we owe one another?
Can we love a future we may never see?
What kind of life bears fruit?
Along the way, we may discover something surprising. Stewardship is not primarily about giving things up. It is about discovering a better way to live.
Our culture often promises that joy can be purchased through more—more wealth, more possessions, more influence, more success. Yet Jesus points us toward a different kind of abundance. The deepest joy is found not in what we accumulate, but in what we cultivate. Joy grows in relationships. It grows in gratitude. It grows when we participate in God’s work of bringing life, hope, and healing into the world.
That is why one question will guide us throughout this journey:
Are we leaving behind a harvest—or a bill?
Our companion book for this series is The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Drawing on the life of the humble serviceberry tree, Kimmerer invites readers to imagine an economy shaped not by endless consumption, but by gratitude, reciprocity, and shared abundance. Though not written as a Christian book, it beautifully complements our exploration of biblical stewardship and the common good.
Whether you join us for worship, participate in a Life Group, read the companion book, or simply come with an open mind and heart, we invite you to become part of the conversation.
Summer is a season of gardens, orchards, berries, and harvests. It reminds us that every seed matters, every season has its purpose, and every harvest begins with someone willing to plant.
What kind of future are we cultivating?
Are we leaving behind a harvest—or a bill?
Here is our schedule of episodes for our series. Sometimes details change based on what’s going on in the world or simply because God has a better idea:
| Episode | Sunday | Title | Scripture |
|---|---|---|---|
| One | July 12 | Entrusted | Genesis 2:4–15 |
| Two | July 19 | Enough | Luke 12:13–21 |
| Three | July 26 | Inheritance | Deuteronomy 34:1–12 |
| Four | August 2 | Common Good | Acts 2:42–47 |
| Five | August 9 | Harvesting | John 15:1–17 |
Please join us each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. We share our weekly episodes on Facebook and our YouTube channel, and go live at 10:30 a.m. You can find these links and more information about us, or join our live broadcast on our website, FlintAsburyChurch.org.
Pastor Tommy
Our companion book for this series is Robin Wall Kimmerer. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World. New York: Scribner, 2024.