Sunday, June 14, 2026
Turning Toward the Light: Generosity, Intimacy and Trust
Scripture: Matthew 6: 1 -6, 16-21

Rev. Dr. Leslie Taylor, preaching

In a culture obsessed with visibility, likes, and public applause, where does our faith find its true home? This week, our community dives into Matthew 6:1 -6, 16 -21, exploring a timely message from Rev. Daphne Gascot Arias, who wrote one of the commentaries for our Stewardship Campaign this year, that challenges the performance-driven rhythm of modern life.

Jesus invites us into the “secret place” — not a space of hiding or exclusion, but a sacred sanctuary of deep intimacy with God. Drawing a beautiful illustration from the Puerto Rican yagrumo tree, Rev. Daphne notes how the tree’s leaves possess two distinct sides: a deep green and a shimmering, light-reflecting silver. While culture sometimes dismisses this double-sided nature as hypocrisy, the yagrumo actually shows us what authentic generosity looks like. Its silver side turns upward not to boast, but to receive the life-giving rain.

Our spiritual disciplines — giving, praying, and fasting — are meant to operate the same way. They are not instruments for public recognition, but practices designed to tilt our hearts toward divine love. True stewardship isn't measured by a spreadsheet; it is an overflow of trust in the One who sees in secret.

Where is your treasure? Toward what light is your heart turning? Join us this Sunday as we gather to recalibrate our desires, practice "inconvenient selflessness," and learn together how a hidden, faithful life can quietly shake the world with grace.

 Music this week:

• Because of Your Love

• I Want to Know You (in the secret)

• Remind Me Who I Am

• Start a Fire

• Hide Me in the Shelter

• The Way I Was Made

• Peace in Christ