I have a single goal today. When you leave church this morning, I want you to be focused on the freedom you have in Christ. I want you to leave this building today with a smile on your face knowing that your Lord Jesus Christ became poor so that you might become rich. My dad used to say that there are two states of wealth: no money and not enough money. I’d like to propose a third state: rich! Sometimes that involves lots of 0’s and often it does not. As Paul points out about the Macedonian church, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” I want you to leave here today rich and free.
Not so that you might feel bad, or guilty or wrong for being rich, but so that you might really and truly believe that God can provide and has provided you with everything that you need or want with 0’s at the end! Because God loves you that’s why! I want you each to have the knowledge that you are leaving here today rich and that God has given you the freedom to use the money he has blessed you with—no strings attached. Is it dangerous to say that? Yes.
This is not your parents’ stewardship sermon. It’s much more dangerous than that. My goal is that you will leave today free. I do not want to put any burdens on you or make demands on your money because God does not. Is that dangerous to say? Yes. If you do not feel that you HAVE to give, this church may fall into disrepair. The lights might be turned off. Ministries might end all because you heard that your salvation is not dependent on your giving.
If you knew that you didn’t have to do anything to be saved, you could do anything, couldn’t you, including never getting a penny and yet continuing to hear that God loves you unconditionally? Is that dangerous? Yes. So let’s dangerous today. Because it is the truth and I pray that this truth sets you free. The danger is worth it because you might finally realize that just as salvation is free of charge so is church. It’s free. You don’t HAVE to give, you CHOOSE to. Jesus Christ didn’t HAVE to die for you; it was necessary for him to die on the cross because he CHOSE to love you and forgive you. And when you leave today knowing that you don’t have to give anything, what will you do? You’ll have the opportunity, the choice to give, so that others might hear the promise of salvation. And it won’t be about just today’s offering plate, but about how you want to live and give the rest of your life. You don't come in to give, you are sent out to give.
I believe that Jesus has a much bigger goal in mind for your life and for your money than a ten percent tithe. He referred to a widow who gave all she had, two pennies, as a model to be followed. He demanded that a rich young ruler give all his possessions to the poor. In the gospel of Luke, he said, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” You think God wants 10%? You are wrong. He wants everything that you have. 100%. It’s not about your money, it’s about your faith. When you live your life in faith, every dollar you have is an opportunity. To enjoy the life God gave you, to bless your children and to be sent out in mission for Christ.
There are two main issues when it comes to giving: Having the tools to give and having the faith to give. What do I mean by tools? Having a plan and sticking to a budget for example. Giving you the tools to give involves a lot of things: helping you make good career choices, encouraging hard work, supporting good pay practices, helping you make a budget, looking at long term financial planning and getting out of debt.
Over the next thirteen weeks, you can learn some tools and techniques for managing your money in a program we are holding here called, “Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.” There are no doubt many great ways to get control of your money that I don’t know of, but this is one that I know works and so I encourage you to do it. If you are having trouble in your life because of money or if you simply want to use your money more effectively to carry out your goals, come to this course and get the tools. You’ll hopefully find the freedom to live and give like you’ve always wanted to.
Why are tools important? Well, even if you desire to do something you need the right tools to get r’ done. Last week, on the way to breakfast, I had a flat tire (the first of three that morning by the way) and I wanted to change it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the tools to do it because the bolts were rusted stuck. Thankfully, one of the men in the men’s Bible Study had an impact wrench. Without this tool, it wouldn’t have mattered how much I wanted or desired to change that tire. I simply would not have been able to. I know that some of you want to give, but you can’t figure out how you would be able to with the way your finances are going right now. What might you do with the right tools?
When Kristy and I first started ministry in Connecticut, we wanted to tithe, but we were using our credit card even to go out to eat. We didn’t have any money to do what we wanted! We decided to tithe anyway, but that credit card bill made giving seem like a huge sacrifice. Once we started this Dave Ramsey thing, got on a budget and told our money where to go, we put the money into tithing BEFORE the month started. When we made a budget, got on a plan and stuck to it, we found there was more money there than we thought. We finally found freedom and that made giving a joy and not a curse. We could start living according to what was important to us rather than feeling “poor”.
However, giving is not just about tools—it is also about faith. I want to expose you today to something Dave can’t give you—the faith to give. Faith comes from God alone. Not from feeling guilty about not giving. Not from feeling shamed for not giving enough in the past. The faith to give comes from God and only from God.
How many of you are excited about Tax Day? Not many. And yet, when the moment is right, you’d give all you had for a friend. You’ll never find joy in being generous by following particular laws or commands. That’s why the apostle Paul points to an impoverished church in Macedonia as a symbol of hope for us saying that when this church found freedom in Christ they became rich in generosity. When you hear and believe what Jesus has done for you, I believe that you will find yourselves rich and generous as well. You won’t be able to help yourself.
Why? Because freedom alone leads to generosity. Only when you realize that you are free can you feel the joy of generosity. But the Devil doesn’t want you to know all this, you see. He wants you to stay away from hearing God’s word, from sharing God’s love and involving yourself with a church or with ministry because of those little offering plates over there. He wants you to feel poor whether you’ve got a little or a lot. He wants you to believe that you don’t have enough.
The Devil makes us believe that a 10% tithe is impossible, a ridiculous demand, even though through the abundance of God, many of you might spend that much going out to eat each month. Stewardship is not about money—it’s about having the faith to give and learning the tools to put that faith into practice. Paul told the Corinthians, if you have the desire (the faith) to give, then finish the work (find the tools) so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” It’s not about how much, but having the faith to give.
But the Devil wants you to believe differently. He wants you to believe that your faith has nothing to do with your money. The Devil wants you to believe that you can be a Christian on the inside and never let it show on the outside. But faith involves everything you have: your heart, your mind, your actions and yes your money too. The Devil is a liar. But what does God say? “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, Says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Give me ten percent and I’ll give you 110%. Test me and prove me to be a God of abundance in your life.
Giving is not a salvation issue. Jesus’ death on the cross gives you eternal life with God. Your trust in that gift seals the deal. There is nothing left to be done . . . so what are you going to do? Giving is not a salvation issue for you, but your gifts are used for God’s ministry. We are called in to be sent out. We don’t come in to give, we are sent out to give. Let me say that again, We don’t come in to give, we are sent out to give. To share the gift of salvation with others, to feed those who cannot find food, to heal those who are sick
It’s only by faith that you can give, when you believe that being a Christian is more than just a name, but a way of life. When you start realizing that you really are free from sin, death and the power of the Devil. Then your money becomes a tool that you can use to do what you think is important in this world, whether it is to build a hospital to care for those that are sick, pay for your child’s college education or send out missionaries to the ends of the earth. It’s your freedom, it’s your money and it’s your choice. By His death on the cross, Jesus has give you freedom, and by His poverty He has made you rich. Amen.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Sermon for August 1st (Sent Out To Speak)
Now it’s time for the TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOUR FRIEND DOESN’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH . . . Number 10: The church is full of hypocrites. Number 9: I like to have one day to sleep in. Number 8: Religions all teach the same things. Number 7: God loves me even if I don’t go to church. Number 6: Churches just want money. Number 5: But I’m not baptized. Number 4: But I’m not Lutheran. Number 3: I’m a good person even if I don’t go to church. Number 2: But I don’t believe in God. And the number one reason you might hear for why your friend doesn’t want to go to church: I’m spiritual, not religious.
Jesus gave this commandment, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Great. But what are you going to say? Saint Paul told us to say this, “We proclaim Christ crucified!” But what does Christ crucified mean?
Let me break this down for you a second. Christ is the term for the coming and expected Messiah. How many people you know are expecting the Messiah to return? Your Jewish friends maybe, but that’s it. No one would even know what a Messiah would look like it was standing right in front of them walking and talking like one. And what does it mean to have the Christ be crucified? It means that this long expected Messiah was killed on a cross, a most shameful death for what was supposed to be a magnificent King of kings. For a Jew, the words, “Christ crucified” would certainly be offensive, a stumbling block, but how many Jewish friends do you come into contact with each week? Probably not too many.
That means, for you and I, we are going to be focusing mostly on non-Jews, what the Bible calls Gentiles. What’s a Gentile? You. You are a Gentile. Look in the mirror. That’s a Gentile. And if you come up to a Gentile, like you, that is any non-Jewish person and tell that them, “Christ crucifed” they are going to give you a look like—what! Do you need a Kleenex or something. It doesn’t mean anything to people. Christ crucified! It’s silliness! Or as Paul says: it’s Foolishness. I have two objectives today. First, I want to help you see why you should care to be foolish and tell anyone about Jesus. Second, I want to equip you with something to say.
So let’s dig right in. Why should you care. Why. If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead YOU will be saved. And that’s nice. It’s nice to know. As Paul put it, “For the message about the cross if foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s right! The power of God! And it’s for us!
Not so fast. There was just that little part in there about those who are perishing. What does perishing mean? Dying. Those who are dying. Imagine that you were walking along a beach and you looked out into the cool waters as the waves cascaded across the sand and, what’s that, someone is out there in the water, gasping for air and then they just stopped doing anything all together—and you suddenly realize: That person is perishing! They are drowning! What would you do?
Of course, if you jumped in and tried to save them they might be offended. They were probably just trying to swim all on their own. You might look foolish jumping right in there. You’ve probably never even done this before! Do you even know CPR? Shouldn’t you call the lifeguard first? But then again they ARE drowning. What would you do? Would you just let em die or would you try? What if it was your friend? Or your child? I bet that most of you would jump in and try to save them, no matter what the cost, because even if you failed, you couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. They might die if you did nothing.
Why should you care to tell anyone about Jesus? Because many of your friends, your neighbors, your children, your parents, your coworkers and your acquaintances are perishing . . . they are dying and you are just standing there watching them do it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To you, that might be good news, because you have Jesus. But for many others it is offensive, because they don’t know why Jesus matters at all. Yes, you might look foolish, especially if your friends and family don’t realize that they are about to drown. But God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
You Savior has given you a command. “Go. Make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey my commandments.” Some of you might go and share your faith because of this command, because you desire to walk as Jesus walked, but that’s not good enough. God doesn’t just want you to “follow the rules”. Because people will know it. They will know if you are just talking to them because you’re trying to be a “good little Christian.” People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
They might think that you are foolish sometimes for caring so much, but only when we realize that salvation is a matter of death and life will we have the heart to speak up. “Faith comes through hearing” Saint Paul says in Romans. Oh that God would break our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh! That we would care, each and every one of us, enough for people, that we don’t just look onto the world like they don’t matter. Like we’ve got salvation and that’s good enough. They might not be your children, drowning out there, but they are God’s children and he is calling you to jump in, start swimming and speak up.
God has placed you in this world, in your town, in your job and in your neighborhood for a purpose. Your circle of friends is not an accident. But if you asked a friend who was struggling with their life to come to church some Sunday here at Emmanuel to meet Jesus, to get faith, and they gave you some excuse, what would you say? I’m here to help you start responding. Who knows what you or I might say in the heat of the moment. But here are some examples of how you might respond if your friend told you something like, “Thanks, but no thanks. The church if full of hypocrites.”
“Yes, the church is full of hypocrites and liars and adulterers and addicts. I go to church to hear that God forgives me even though I don’t always live the way I want to. You’re my friend and I know that you aren’t perfect just like I’m not. God loves you and forgives you too even though you’re not perfect. I want you to hear that and believe it. You don’t have to go alone, I’ll pick you up Sunday morning at 8:15.”
“But I like to have one day to just sleep in.” Me too, but I have to get up even earlier every other day of the week for work or to get the kids off to school. I choose to get up for church because it gives me the strength to get through my week. Once you get into the habit, you might even like going to church. I do. You could come with me if you want.”
“Religions all teach the same thing.” Well, a lot of religions teach you to be a good person or to DO good things for others, but only Jesus Christ died to forgive you unconditionally. Other religions don’t teach that. You know me. I’m no saint. Church is the ONLY place where I can hear that I’m forgiven and then go back out and try to love people again.”
“Listen God loves me even if I don’t go to church.” Yes, God does love you no matter what! But you know what. I know my wife loves me, but I like to hear her say it. In fact, I NEED to hear her say it. I can’t hear it often enough! That’s one reason I go to church every Sunday. I think that you’d have a great time and meet some great people at Emmanuel. Can I pick you up this Sunday?”
“Churches just want money.” Yeah, I’ve felt that way along the way. You don’t have to give that’s for sure, but, for me, I want to give money to something that is meaningful in my life and to the lives of others. I want to be a part of the vision of our church and I just wish I could give more! But just come. Don’t worry about that whole giving thing until you love doing it as much as I do.”
“But I’m not baptized.” You don’t need to be baptized in order to come to church. Baptism is just a special way to hear God’s promise of love and forgiveness. Now, if you ever want to be baptized then just ask, I would love to talk with you about that. But don’t let any of that stop you from coming. I’m going to the contemporary service this Sunday. Why don’t you ask at home and I’ll call Saturday night to see if you have any more questions.”
“But I’m not Lutheran!” Yeah, so what? You are a Christian! Jesus died for you. You don’t have to be Lutheran to come to Emmanuel. God’s promise is for everyone and you are definitely welcome. Lutherans simply believe that Jesus loves you because you have faith in him and that it’s not because you do enough good things. Why don’t you just come and see if you love it there as much as I do.”
“I’m a good person, even if I don’t go to church.” I know that. You help me out all the time. But church isn’t for good people, church is for people who make mistakes, who sometimes do bad things. That’s me and that’s you too right? Church is where you can hear that God forgives you . . . even if you’re not always perfect. But here the thing, I’m not trying to convince you. Just come and see what it’s like. You might even like it.”
“But I don’t believe in God.” Well, I do, but that’s not a prerequisite for coming to church. Church is where you hear that God believes in you! That he loves you and forgives you. You don’t have to say or do anything that you don’t want to. Just come and listen. If you have questions, you can talk with me or the pastor after the service.”
“I’m spiritual, not religious.” For me, church isn’t about being spiritual or being religious, it’s about hearing that Jesus loves me and forgives me. It’s about faith. Being inspired and reconnecting with God’s Word and others Christian people who love and support me. I just think it’d be really cool to have you come this Sunday. What time could I pick you up?
When you have the chance, listen to your friends and their concerns about faith and church. Be honest and open about your failures and your need for Christ. Talk about God’s love. Tell them about God’s forgiveness. Tell them about why faith matters to you. And, finally, either bring them here or encourage them to find another faith community.
God has commanded us to speak, but I hope that today you understand why. It’s about death and life. If you get the chance, speak up, but above all, trust in this: you are only planting the seeds. God gives the growth. You are only speaking, God gives the faith. You are only loving, God changes hearts. God does the saving, but he intends on using you to give his message. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Amen.
Jesus gave this commandment, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Great. But what are you going to say? Saint Paul told us to say this, “We proclaim Christ crucified!” But what does Christ crucified mean?
Let me break this down for you a second. Christ is the term for the coming and expected Messiah. How many people you know are expecting the Messiah to return? Your Jewish friends maybe, but that’s it. No one would even know what a Messiah would look like it was standing right in front of them walking and talking like one. And what does it mean to have the Christ be crucified? It means that this long expected Messiah was killed on a cross, a most shameful death for what was supposed to be a magnificent King of kings. For a Jew, the words, “Christ crucified” would certainly be offensive, a stumbling block, but how many Jewish friends do you come into contact with each week? Probably not too many.
That means, for you and I, we are going to be focusing mostly on non-Jews, what the Bible calls Gentiles. What’s a Gentile? You. You are a Gentile. Look in the mirror. That’s a Gentile. And if you come up to a Gentile, like you, that is any non-Jewish person and tell that them, “Christ crucifed” they are going to give you a look like—what! Do you need a Kleenex or something. It doesn’t mean anything to people. Christ crucified! It’s silliness! Or as Paul says: it’s Foolishness. I have two objectives today. First, I want to help you see why you should care to be foolish and tell anyone about Jesus. Second, I want to equip you with something to say.
So let’s dig right in. Why should you care. Why. If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead YOU will be saved. And that’s nice. It’s nice to know. As Paul put it, “For the message about the cross if foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s right! The power of God! And it’s for us!
Not so fast. There was just that little part in there about those who are perishing. What does perishing mean? Dying. Those who are dying. Imagine that you were walking along a beach and you looked out into the cool waters as the waves cascaded across the sand and, what’s that, someone is out there in the water, gasping for air and then they just stopped doing anything all together—and you suddenly realize: That person is perishing! They are drowning! What would you do?
Of course, if you jumped in and tried to save them they might be offended. They were probably just trying to swim all on their own. You might look foolish jumping right in there. You’ve probably never even done this before! Do you even know CPR? Shouldn’t you call the lifeguard first? But then again they ARE drowning. What would you do? Would you just let em die or would you try? What if it was your friend? Or your child? I bet that most of you would jump in and try to save them, no matter what the cost, because even if you failed, you couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. They might die if you did nothing.
Why should you care to tell anyone about Jesus? Because many of your friends, your neighbors, your children, your parents, your coworkers and your acquaintances are perishing . . . they are dying and you are just standing there watching them do it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” To you, that might be good news, because you have Jesus. But for many others it is offensive, because they don’t know why Jesus matters at all. Yes, you might look foolish, especially if your friends and family don’t realize that they are about to drown. But God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
You Savior has given you a command. “Go. Make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey my commandments.” Some of you might go and share your faith because of this command, because you desire to walk as Jesus walked, but that’s not good enough. God doesn’t just want you to “follow the rules”. Because people will know it. They will know if you are just talking to them because you’re trying to be a “good little Christian.” People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
They might think that you are foolish sometimes for caring so much, but only when we realize that salvation is a matter of death and life will we have the heart to speak up. “Faith comes through hearing” Saint Paul says in Romans. Oh that God would break our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh! That we would care, each and every one of us, enough for people, that we don’t just look onto the world like they don’t matter. Like we’ve got salvation and that’s good enough. They might not be your children, drowning out there, but they are God’s children and he is calling you to jump in, start swimming and speak up.
God has placed you in this world, in your town, in your job and in your neighborhood for a purpose. Your circle of friends is not an accident. But if you asked a friend who was struggling with their life to come to church some Sunday here at Emmanuel to meet Jesus, to get faith, and they gave you some excuse, what would you say? I’m here to help you start responding. Who knows what you or I might say in the heat of the moment. But here are some examples of how you might respond if your friend told you something like, “Thanks, but no thanks. The church if full of hypocrites.”
“Yes, the church is full of hypocrites and liars and adulterers and addicts. I go to church to hear that God forgives me even though I don’t always live the way I want to. You’re my friend and I know that you aren’t perfect just like I’m not. God loves you and forgives you too even though you’re not perfect. I want you to hear that and believe it. You don’t have to go alone, I’ll pick you up Sunday morning at 8:15.”
“But I like to have one day to just sleep in.” Me too, but I have to get up even earlier every other day of the week for work or to get the kids off to school. I choose to get up for church because it gives me the strength to get through my week. Once you get into the habit, you might even like going to church. I do. You could come with me if you want.”
“Religions all teach the same thing.” Well, a lot of religions teach you to be a good person or to DO good things for others, but only Jesus Christ died to forgive you unconditionally. Other religions don’t teach that. You know me. I’m no saint. Church is the ONLY place where I can hear that I’m forgiven and then go back out and try to love people again.”
“Listen God loves me even if I don’t go to church.” Yes, God does love you no matter what! But you know what. I know my wife loves me, but I like to hear her say it. In fact, I NEED to hear her say it. I can’t hear it often enough! That’s one reason I go to church every Sunday. I think that you’d have a great time and meet some great people at Emmanuel. Can I pick you up this Sunday?”
“Churches just want money.” Yeah, I’ve felt that way along the way. You don’t have to give that’s for sure, but, for me, I want to give money to something that is meaningful in my life and to the lives of others. I want to be a part of the vision of our church and I just wish I could give more! But just come. Don’t worry about that whole giving thing until you love doing it as much as I do.”
“But I’m not baptized.” You don’t need to be baptized in order to come to church. Baptism is just a special way to hear God’s promise of love and forgiveness. Now, if you ever want to be baptized then just ask, I would love to talk with you about that. But don’t let any of that stop you from coming. I’m going to the contemporary service this Sunday. Why don’t you ask at home and I’ll call Saturday night to see if you have any more questions.”
“But I’m not Lutheran!” Yeah, so what? You are a Christian! Jesus died for you. You don’t have to be Lutheran to come to Emmanuel. God’s promise is for everyone and you are definitely welcome. Lutherans simply believe that Jesus loves you because you have faith in him and that it’s not because you do enough good things. Why don’t you just come and see if you love it there as much as I do.”
“I’m a good person, even if I don’t go to church.” I know that. You help me out all the time. But church isn’t for good people, church is for people who make mistakes, who sometimes do bad things. That’s me and that’s you too right? Church is where you can hear that God forgives you . . . even if you’re not always perfect. But here the thing, I’m not trying to convince you. Just come and see what it’s like. You might even like it.”
“But I don’t believe in God.” Well, I do, but that’s not a prerequisite for coming to church. Church is where you hear that God believes in you! That he loves you and forgives you. You don’t have to say or do anything that you don’t want to. Just come and listen. If you have questions, you can talk with me or the pastor after the service.”
“I’m spiritual, not religious.” For me, church isn’t about being spiritual or being religious, it’s about hearing that Jesus loves me and forgives me. It’s about faith. Being inspired and reconnecting with God’s Word and others Christian people who love and support me. I just think it’d be really cool to have you come this Sunday. What time could I pick you up?
When you have the chance, listen to your friends and their concerns about faith and church. Be honest and open about your failures and your need for Christ. Talk about God’s love. Tell them about God’s forgiveness. Tell them about why faith matters to you. And, finally, either bring them here or encourage them to find another faith community.
God has commanded us to speak, but I hope that today you understand why. It’s about death and life. If you get the chance, speak up, but above all, trust in this: you are only planting the seeds. God gives the growth. You are only speaking, God gives the faith. You are only loving, God changes hearts. God does the saving, but he intends on using you to give his message. “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Amen.
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