Managing What Matters | A Stewardship Series

Jun 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Swing Assembly Without Instructions

The frantic scramble to build life without guidance mirrors our tendency to bypass God’s wisdom. Like a man stubbornly piecing together furniture without directions, we often default to self-reliance. True stewardship begins when we humbly consult the Manufacturer’s manual. Every mismatched bolt and crooked beam reveals our need to surrender control. Time becomes sacred when we stop assuming we know better than the One who designed our days. [23:27]

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15–17, ESV)

Reflection: What “hang glider moment” in your life—a project, relationship, or habit—reveals your need to consult God’s instructions first? How might today look different if you opened His Word before making your next move?

Day 2: Kindergarten Graduation Gowns

Celebrating spiritual infancy as achievement keeps believers sipping milk when they should crave steak. A cap and gown on a five-year-old may charm us, but a forty-year-old clutching a sippy cup alarms us. Maturity demands moving beyond basic truths to deeper discipleship. God’s Word invites us to trade performative rituals for transformative study, exchanging surface-level faith for unshakable conviction. [34:29]

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12, ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual “kindergarten skill” have you treated as a graduate-level accomplishment? What one step could you take this week to move from milk-fed faith to meat-filled maturity?

Day 3: The Bank App Never Lies

Financial statements and calendar audits expose our true priorities with surgical precision. Just as transactions reveal where money flows, time logs show what captivates our hearts. Stewardship isn’t about guilt over Netflix hours but clarity about what we’re funding—God’s kingdom or our comfort. Every scroll, errand, and conversation becomes a ledger entry in eternity’s accounting. [55:58]

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9, ESV)

Reflection: If you printed your screen time report and bank statement as worship bulletins, what would they proclaim about your actual gods? What single time/money expenditure most needs realignment this week?

Day 4: Holy Spirit’s Hold My Beer

Surrendering control to the Spirit transforms reckless impulses into divine appointments. Just as alcohol lowers inhibitions for folly, the Spirit emboldens us for holy risk-taking. Being “under the influence” of God turns grocery runs into gospel opportunities and frustrations into praise choruses. Time becomes a dance rather than a drudgery when we let Him lead. [48:53]

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” (Ephesians 5:18–19, ESV)

Reflection: When have you last felt the Spirit’s nudge to do something “out of character” for Christ? What practical step prepares you to say “yes” next time He whispers, “Hold my dove”?

Day 5: Devil’s Arrows as Kindling

Every attack becomes fuel for worship when we stop dodging trials and start disarming them. Like a blacksmith hammering enemy spears into ploughshares, redeemed time transforms Satan’s distractions into devotion. The same minutes once wasted on worry now forge perseverance. What the enemy intends for shame becomes the anthem God uses for His glory. [57:57]

“Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20, ESV)

Reflection: What current frustration or failure could you reclaim today as raw material for praise? How might thanking God for this battle shift your perspective from victim to victor?

Sermon Summary

Paul calls the church to look carefully how it walks, not as unwise but as wise, because the days are evil. The text presses the claim that time is not owned but entrusted, so each moment must be stewarded as God’s time. God sets the benchmark: when time is invested well as his steward, every moment becomes an opportunity to show a living relationship with Jesus in both living and thinking. Paul then locates three gauges that reveal whether time is being redeemed: how a believer lives, how a believer thinks, and what or who controls a believer.

Paul first aims at life-patterns. Compartmentalized “God time” on Sundays will not do. God owns the minutes on Monday, the late nights, the scroll-time, the hobbies, and the hidden places. Wisdom does not improvise life from the picture on the box; wisdom reads the Manufacturer’s instructions and bows human plans to the Lord who establishes steps. Unwise living chases what seems right to the flesh and ends in emptiness; wise living surrenders schedules and ambitions to God’s order and finds fruit.

Paul then turns to the mind. Folly talks as if tomorrow is guaranteed; faith understands the Lord’s will. Kindergarten faith is real, but it is not graduation. Milk may be fitting for a baby, but a maturing disciple must hunger for meat. Biblical illiteracy keeps a believer stuck; Scripture read, searched, and obeyed grows the believer from mimicry of others’ faith into personal conviction under the authority of God’s word. When opinions collide, the word of God remains right, even when it cuts across preference.

Finally, Paul names control. Drunkenness is a picture of life under the wrong influence; the Spirit-filled life is a life gladly under holy influence. The Spirit can and does lead believers into words and works they would not choose in the flesh, turning ordinary days into Spirit-ordered steps of obedience, gratitude, and song. The question is not whether something will control the clock; the question is whether the flesh will set the agenda or the Spirit will.

God’s grace meets wasted hours with a fresh start. The text invites believers to log their days, look at where time truly goes, and then ask the Spirit to take the reins. Whether swinging a club, digging a trench, or writing a loan, the believer can spend those moments for the glory of God and aim to hear, at the end, well done.

Key Takeaways

1. Time belongs to God, not self [17:06] Every hour is entrusted, not owned. When a believer treats minutes as on loan from God, ordinary choices come under his glory. Accountability shapes priorities, and wasted time stops feeling harmless. Life is a mist, so stewardship stops being theory and becomes today’s obedience. [17:06]
2. Wisdom bows plans to the Lord [20:26] Proverbs 16 frames the contrast: self-led paths feel right and end in loss; surrendered plans get established by God. Wisdom still plans, but it hands the pen back to the Author. That posture redeems days, because divine order replaces scattered hustle. [20:26]
3. Scripture must grow the mind [41:18] Milk is mercy for the new, but meat is the call for the maturing. Biblical illiteracy freezes a soul at kindergarten, content with secondhand faith and thin views of God. Regular, searching engagement with the word trains discernment, deepens worship, and exposes opinions to the truth. [41:18]
4. The Spirit, not the flesh, controls [49:09] Drunkenness shows what influence does: it makes a person say and do what the substance wants. Spirit-filling is holy influence, empowering surprising courage, gratitude, and song. Daily yielding turns schedules into altars and interruptions into assignments. [49:09]
5. Every task can carry God’s glory [53:41] Vocation is not neutral space; it is a field for stewardship. The banker, the retiree, the laborer, and the golfer can all let God leverage their moments for witness, service, and gratitude. When identity rests in Christ, even routine becomes worship. [53:41]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:27] - Scripture Reading Ephesians 5:15-21
[04:06] - Christians marked by love and light
[06:01] - Everyone has the same hours
[07:34] - Main idea: stewarded time shows Christ
[08:20] - Three gauges: life, mind, control
[10:49] - Life is a mist, not guaranteed
[12:16] - Point 1: How living redeems time
[13:36] - Sunday compartmentalization exposed
[16:48] - God owns time; believers do not
[18:35] - Unwise vs wise: Proverbs 16
[22:07] - Manufacturer’s instructions analogy
[27:48] - Point 2: How thinking redeems time
[31:28] - From kindergarten faith to maturity
[41:01] - Milk vs meat: hunger for the word
[43:24] - God’s word over personal opinions
[45:26] - Job meets God and repents
[47:27] - Point 3: Be filled with the Spirit
[48:00] - Under the influence: alcohol vs Spirit
[51:25] - Grace for wasted time, fresh start
[52:32] - Everyday work as worship
[54:56] - Two diagnostics: time and money
[56:20] - More than an hour on Sunday
[57:33] - Joy that arrows cannot steal
[59:39] - Closing prayer and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ephesians 5:15-21 (ESV)
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:25 (ESV)
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Observation Questions

What two contrasting lifestyles does Paul highlight in Ephesians 5:15-16, and what reason does he give for choosing wisdom?
How does Proverbs 16:25 describe the danger of self-directed living, and how does Proverbs 16:9 balance human planning with God’s sovereignty?
According to the sermon, what three areas reveal whether time is being redeemed (life-patterns, mindset, and control)? [08:20]
What analogy does Paul use in Ephesians 5:18 to contrast being controlled by the flesh versus the Spirit?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Paul use drunkenness as a metaphor for being controlled by the flesh, and how does being “filled with the Spirit” counter this?
Proverbs 16:9 says God “establishes” our steps even as we plan. How does this shape our understanding of daily priorities and long-term goals?
The sermon warns against “compartmentalized ‘God time’” and calls every moment “God’s time.” [12:16] Why is this distinction vital for a believer’s witness?
How does biblical illiteracy hinder spiritual growth, and why is moving from “milk to meat” essential for maturity? [41:18]

Application Questions

What practical step could you take this week to intentionally view your work, hobbies, or routines as opportunities to glorify God? [53:41]
Identify one area of your schedule (e.g., scrolling, leisure, relationships) where time feels “wasted.” How could you surrender that time to God’s purposes? [17:06]
When have you prioritized personal opinions over Scripture’s authority? What would it look like to align your next decision with God’s Word instead? [43:24]
How could you create space this week to intentionally listen for the Spirit’s guidance in moments you’d normally rely on your own instincts? [49:09]
What habit (e.g., Scripture reading, prayer, serving) could you start or deepen to move from “kindergarten faith” to maturity? [34:29]
If you tracked your time for a day, where do you suspect God would prompt you to adjust your priorities? What would obedience in that area require? [55:10]
How might gratitude and worship (Ephesians 5:19-20) transform your attitude toward interruptions or mundane tasks this week? [49:31]

Sermon Clips

48s

#ListenToTheCreator

“``Friends, it's the same way with this life that we live. If we would learn to listen to the manufacturer, to the one who created us, the one who created this life, the one who gives us this life, if we would learn to listen to him, our lives would take on a character far better than anything we could ever dream of. Amen? how we live is affected deeply by whether or not we believe that God provided us this life and I wanna ask ask you this question.”

54s

#SurrenderYourPlans

“But that's not how it works, is it? God doesn't create sanctified robots. He gives us a brand new life and he invites us to follow him. And so what we see expressed in proverbs sixteen nine is a manner of life that says, God, I want you to take these plans that are in my heart. I wanna I wanna bow those plans to you because I realize it's you that establishes my steps. So father, I bow my will. I bow my my thought. I bow my plans to you, and I want you to order my life. See, that is living wisely.”

58s

#FaithBeyondAttendance

“How much time do you consciously invest every week in living out your faith for Christ. Oh, pastor, I go to church. I go to church. You do realize I could train chimpanzees to sit in this room. You you get that. Right? Sitting in this room will no more make you a Christian or a follower of Jesus than sitting in your garage will make you a Buick. I want you to understand that. Nothing magical about sitting in this room. How much time are you investing? I'll come to church. I'll come on Sunday morning at 10:30, but that's it.”

59s

#InvestInSpiritualGrowth

“My point is this, we're motivated by what our true desire is. If I wanna progress in the the things of the world, guess what? That's where my focus is gonna be. That's where my mind is gonna be. But friends, if you are going to have the mind of Christ, if you are gonna grow as a disciple of Jesus, here's your path. is your path. And we've got to invest time in learning the word of God. We've got to invest moments. And and so I wanna ask you, how much time do you actually invest in deepening your understanding of God?”

50s

#HoursRevealFaith

“What you do with the other hours, how you invest those hours, how you view those hours, says more about the state of your relationship with God than the fact that you're sitting in this room this morning. We need to come to terms with that. We need to come to grips with that. You see, when I view my time and say, almost hesitate to to put that qualifier on to my time. I don't own it. You don't own time. You don't is that correct? None of you can declare you have one more day on this planet. You can't declare that”

47s

#GodOwnsYourTime

“because you don't own the time. God owns the time. It's his. God is the one who gives life and is God that takes it. Amen? Because it belongs to him. He's taking what belongs to him. He's giving what belongs to him. It belongs to God. When you live that way and you see every second of this life that God graciously gives you as belonging to him and you be you seek to glorify him in every minute of your life, that's when we begin to see our lives taken on a totally different character.”

52s

#HonorEveryMinute

“Now, I wanna be clear here. What I'm I'm not saying that you have to spend every minute of your life looking like one of those medieval monks. That means dudes, we've got to shave our heads, know, leave the little, you know, oval thing in our head with the ball top and walk around chanting all day. No. That's not what God wants us to to to do with the time that he gives us. But what he does want us to do is look at every minute of our day as belonging to him. It all belongs to him. How you live deeply matters.”

51s

#PrioritiesRevealFaith

“Have you ever had somebody tell you, I don't have time for that? You you know what they were really saying to you? That's not a priority. Whatever you're asking me to do, whatever you want me to do, that's just not a priority because we all have exactly the same amount of time. So that's not the question. It's not a question of how much time we have. The question is, how do we invest the time that we have? How do we use it? Do we do we use it as children of light? Or or do we invest it as children of darkness?”

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Managing What Matters | A Stewardship Series

Devotional

Day 1: Swing Assembly Without Instructions

Day 2: Kindergarten Graduation Gowns

Day 3: The Bank App Never Lies

Day 4: Holy Spirit’s Hold My Beer

Day 5: Devil’s Arrows as Kindling

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Managing What Matters | A Stewardship Series

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