First Things First: Enough to Share

A weekly newsletter from First Lutheran Church, created to inspire and connect you with meaningful ministries and opportunities to live out your faith - within our church, our community, the world and your everyday life.

Highlights for the Week of October 28, 2026

“…so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”

— 2 Corinthians 9:8

One of the books on my sabbatical reading list was Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community by Leah Kostamo. Leah wrote about the ministry of creation care she and her husband Markku established near Vancouver, BC, through A Rocha, an international family of Christian conservation organizations.

Leah writes about practices for breaking our addiction to consumption and encouraging joyful, simple living: 1. Practice gratitude 2. Practice generosity and 3. Practice keeping the Sabbath. She gives this beautiful prayer exercise as a way of practicing gratitude:

“Gratitude is the heart of faith,” writes Mary Jo Leddy. In this vein, she relates a lovely prayer of gratitude the Jewish people pray every Passover as they celebrate the deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt. The prayer centers around the Hebrew word Dayenu, which in English, means, It would have been enough.

If you had only led us to the edge of the Red Sea but not taken us through the waters, it would have been enough.
If you had only taken us through the Red Sea but not led us through the desert, it would have been enough.
If you had only led us through the desert but not taken us to Sinai, it would have been enough.

Leddy suggests using this template as a helpful spiritual exercise in reflecting on one’s own life. For example: If I had only been born but not had a twin sister, it would have been enough. If I had only had a twin sister but hadn’t visited Orcas Island, it would have been enough. If I had only seen the sun set off Otter’s Point on Orcas Island, but hadn’t experienced a snowfall in the Rockies, it would have been enough.

When we are satisfied with our lives as being enough, we are able to resist the whispers of consumerism that tell us we don’t have enough or we are not enough. When our sense of satisfaction is rooted in an amazement at the givenness of every gift—from friends to home to our very own lives—then we are grounded in the firm grace of abundance.

This week, try this prayer practice for yourself. And then, “grounded in the firm grace of abundance” reflect on this: What has God placed in your hands that you can share with others?

Grace and peace,

Pastor Erin

Hear This Week's Abundance Story

Enough to share.

Sometimes generosity requires trust.

It can be easy to hold tightly to what we have—our money, our time, our energy, even our gifts—because we wonder: What if I need it later? What if there isn’t enough?

Yet this week’s stewardship scripture invites us to see abundance differently. God’s promise isn’t that we will always have everything we want, but that what God provides can be enough—enough to sustain us and enough that something can still flow outward in love and service to others.

In his Temple Talk, Travis Kahl reflects on our theme, Enough to Share, and invites us to consider generosity through the blessings already entrusted to us.

Maybe generosity begins by loosening our grip just a little and trusting that God’s abundance is bigger than our fear of not having enough.

Reflect & Pray

Reflect: What has God placed in your hands that you can share with others?

Pray: Generous God, you have blessed us in more ways than we often notice. Open our eyes to what you have already placed in our hands—our time, our abilities, our resources, our compassion and our care. Free us from the fear that there will not be enough and teach us to trust in your abundance. Show us where our gifts can meet another’s need and give us joyful and generous hearts to share what we have. May what we offer become a blessing in your hands. Amen.

Let Your Blessings Flow

Continue exploring our stewardship journey at flclincoln.org/stewardship and reflect on the many ways we can share God’s abundance through our financial gifts, time, talents and care for others.

Each household’s 2027 stewardship packet is now available for pickup in the Gathering Area at church. Inside, you’ll find the information and resources you need to reflect, make your pledge and consider the gifts you have to share in the year ahead.

If you are ready to make your financial commitment, you can submit your 2027 pledge online at any time.

And your early pledge can help us meet a special challenge: If we reach 40% of our financial pledge goal by this Sunday, November 1, Church Council will donate $1,000 to the Lincoln Lutheran Food Pantry. Every pledge helps First Lutheran plan faithfully for 2027 and moves us closer to sharing an additional gift with neighbors in our community.

Visit Our Stewardship Abundance Page to Learn More!

Sharing What We Have: Supporting Las Abejitas

Sharing what we have can look like making room for others. At First Lutheran, one way we do that is by sharing our building with Las Abejitas Bilingual Education Center, where children can learn, grow and belong.

It also means supporting their mission of providing affordable, high-quality bilingual child care. Like many child care programs across Nebraska, Las Abejitas is facing rising costs, delays in state subsidy payments and families who are struggling to afford care. More than half of their revenue comes from state child care subsidies, making those delays especially difficult.

One way Las Abejitas is responding is through a Fall Fun Carnival on Thursday, November 5, from 5–7 PM at First Lutheran Church. Admission is free, with carnival games, a bounce house, food, prizes and more.

You can help by attending, donating a raffle basket or prize, making a financial contribution, sponsoring a carnival game table for $100, or simply spreading the word. All proceeds will support their scholarship fund, helping families who are struggling with child care expenses.

As we reflect this week on what God has placed in our hands to share, this is one more way we can make room and help make that room accessible to families who need it.

For more information or to help, contact office@lasabejitas.net.

Learn More About the Fall Festival and Ways You Can Support the Event

Enough to Share: Accompanying Our Veterans

The Community Connections & Collaborations and Social Ministry teams are supporting veterans who live at Victory Park Veterans Residence on Lincoln’s historic VA campus by providing a catered Veterans Day lunch and collecting everyday essentials.

Beginning Sunday, November 1, stop by the Gathering Area table to pick up an envelope and contribute toward the meal. Through November 8, we’ll also collect body wash, shampoo, shaving supplies, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, nail and hair care items, laundry essentials, household cleaners, dish soap and dishwasher detergent. Most residents are men, so please keep that in mind when selecting personal care items.

Thank you for sharing what you have and helping us live out our call to welcome, embrace and partner with our veteran neighbors through a warm meal and practical care.

Honoring Our Veterans on November 15

Join us for a Veterans Day recognition on Sunday, November 15, during morning coffee hour. A continental breakfast begins at 9:30 AM, followed by a short program around 9:50 AM to introduce and thank veterans present or represented.

If you are a veteran—or would like to honor a deceased spouse, parent or child who served—please send the veteran’s name, rank, branch and dates of service to Linda Carlson.

Veterans are welcome to bring memorabilia, photos, medals and other items to display. Please let Linda know if you need table space and arrive by 9:15 AM to check in and set up.

Before and after the program, everyone is invited to browse the displays, visit with our veterans and hear their stories.

Recycle Your Plastic Bags at First Lutheran

Have plastic bags at home you’re ready to recycle? Bring them to First Lutheran! A new plastic bag recycling bin is now located in the Gathering Area near the food collection grocery cart.

The bags we collect will be shared with food distribution sites such as ConnectioN Point and the Lincoln Lutheran Food Pantry, where shoppers can reuse them to carry groceries and other essentials home.

It’s a simple way to reduce waste while also supporting neighbors in our community. Bring your clean plastic bags with you the next time you come to church and add them to the bin!

The Coffee Roaster Fundraiser - Sunday, November 1-Saturday, November 14.

Confirmation and Supper with Parents - November 4 at 6:00 PM.

High School Youth Group - November 4 at *6:15 PM (*note the time change!).

Register for the Winter Retreat for 7-12th Grade - December 27 (5:00 PM)-December 29 (11:00 AM) at American Lutheran Church! Sign up! Pay the $20 registration fee with cash or check to Lillie. Checks can be made out to First Lutheran Church with "Winter Retreat" in the memo line.

First Friday Jazz - November 6, 11:30 AM-1:00 PM, featuring The Lightning Bugs.

Commitment Sunday Lunch and One Worship Service - November 8 at 10:45 AM (no 8:15 AM worship). Enjoy a catered hot lunch by Chef au Chef!

Christmas Trees Needed - Have a Christmas tree to lend for the Gifts of Hope Market, December 5–6? Contact Sunni Richardson or Kari Hoeft. Trees will be returned after the event.