Belonging to God in Real Life

Over the past several weeks, we have walked together through the stories of God’s people. Kings, prophets, disciples, and ordinary men and women whose lives were interrupted by grace. Each week invited us deeper into one question:

What happens when we stop living on our own terms and step into the life that God is offering?

If you missed any of the sermons, or want to revisit them, you can find the full series here: Sermon Series // Generosity 2025

We discovered that God does not want something from us. God wants us. We explored how treasure reveals what we trust, how encounter reshapes what we love, and how grace calls us away from pretending and into honesty before God.

Through every passage the invitation remained the same.

Let the love of Jesus reach the real places of your life.

Let it change you.

Let it free you.

This Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, we bring the series to a close by remembering that the One who reigns over us is the One who gives Himself for us. His leadership is not control but self-giving. When we belong to Christ our lives begin to take on that shape too.

Giving is not about guilt. It is about alignment of the heart.

When we give our time, our gifts, and our resources we are quietly saying: My life belongs to Jesus. My resources exist for love. My faith is not just words.

This year our stewardship campaign draws from the image in Acts 1:8 where Jesus sends His followers to Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

That pattern shapes our campaign in three circles of care.

Jerusalem // Caring for the life of our church

This circle supports the daily life of our parish. Worship, music, teaching, pastoral care, Banff Food and Friends, Bible Study, Philosophy Club for kids, Junior Church, and the ministries that form children, youth, adults, and newcomers. All the life that happens here week by week.

Judea and Samaria // Building for the future

This circle focuses on two key projects that ensure St. George’s can serve the Bow Valley for generations.

The Electrical Upgrade is a $20,000 investment that will allow us to host ministries, community groups, and partnerships safely and reliably across the church halls and the Upper Room.

The Accessory Dwelling Unit, the ADU, will transform the rectory garage into a small housing unit. There is up to $30,000 of grant funding available from the Town of Banff, and with an additional $50,000 of congregational support we can build something that responds to the housing shortage in our valley and creates a new stable income stream for the church long term.

Of all our stewardship goals this year, the ADU will require the most support. It is also one of the most important steps toward ensuring our church’s long term financial sustainability while serving the real needs of our community.

The Ends of the Earth // Caring for the persecuted church

This circle directs our compassion outward beyond our parish and even beyond our country. This year we are inviting our parish family to support our Nigerian brothers and sisters who are suffering violent persecution for their faith. In the name of Jesus, we encourage you to give directly through Open Doors Canada, a trusted Christian organization that provides practical support, spiritual care, and advocacy for vulnerable believers around the world.

If this series has stirred something in you, whether a desire to trust God more deeply, to live a more generous life, or to step into the freedom that grace offers, we invite you to pray about participating in this year’s stewardship campaign.

Not because the church needs to collect from you, but because your participation builds the future of this community for you, for your family, and for the town of Banff.

Together we can strengthen the ministries that are changing lives now, build structures that sustain the church in the decades ahead, and care for believers beyond our walls who suffer for their faith

Every gift of every size truly matters.

Join us this Sunday at 10am for Christ the King Sunday as we bring this season to a close with thanksgiving, celebration, and hope for the year ahead.

May Jesus, our Shepherd and King, continue to shape our hearts until everything we are and everything we have bears His generosity.

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