Ephesians 4:14, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Perhaps the title of this sermon on stewardship should be simply: Grow up!
Is your faith still in kindergarten? Now, for some you, your faith is still in kindergarten because, well, you are a kindergartner. Very understandable. For some of you, you’re not even that ar. Your faith is still in infancy. You’ve just recently come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and maybe you are crawling through life just learning to walk upright like my youngest son. Just like with him, we, as a faith community, are going to clap and sing your praises every single time you take another step of faith on your own. It’s as joyful of an experience for us as it is for you. Having a young faith is a blessing from God.
However, having an immature faith is a very different story. For some of you, your faith is in kindergarten not because of your age and not because you just became a Christian but because you are scared to grow up. You are like Peter Pan who wants to stay a little boy forever! Or, maybe, you just have never cared to take on the responsibilities of adulthood. God has given you gifts and talents and you’ve buried them underneath fear, doubt and ambivalence. And, in doing this, you have not only affected your own relationship with God, but you’ve affected this church and you’ve affected your family. Until you start using your gifts as God intends, you, this community and your family will suffer the consequences.
“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” What could this community become if we used our talents and gifts according to God’s will and not our own? But, unfortunately, we are still stuck with our minds in this old world. Conformed to what we believe the world wants us to be.
Romans chapter 12, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” When it comes to our talents and gifts, what is the pattern of this world for sharing them? Well, think about it. What are the things that you are really good at? What do you use them to do?
To get paid, right? To enhance your career. To get ahead. Or maybe you write them down on your college resume so that you can get into the best schools. Perhaps you use your skills to become popular in school or calm yourself down at the end of the day. We are driven and encouraged in our society to use our skills to better our lives and gain respect from others, whether that means we are known as the best knitter in Southwestern Iowa or the most organized secretary in the company. It would appear to most people that God has given us gifts and talents so that we might live a happy and fulfilling life. They are called “gifts” after all. Gifts from God for us!
But, believe it or not, that’s not what God gave you gifts for. Even in the church, we have misused the concept of spiritual gifts to enhance our own reputations and make ourselves feel more “spiritual”. It’s so easy to be deceived into following this world’s way of thinking. But the gifts that God has given you aren’t for you, they are for the sake of someone else. Perhaps that’s why God created us to be in relationship to other people, in communities with others, so that he’d always be able to use us as his hands and feet for someone else and get us fed and supported through the hands and feet of others. Saint Paul says, “For no one lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.”
How are your gifts used at home? How might you be a good steward of your gifts at home? Remember the reading from Romans, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Like it or not (and, by the way, I DON’T like it) do you want to know what the most “spiritual” gifts are that I can use at home? Cleaning the toilets, taking out the trash, changing diapers, fixing supper, brushing teeth and doing our monthly budget. For some reason, God has blessed me with these jobs because I can do them pretty well. And, no, they are NOT gifts for me—they are gifts for my wife and family. God gives us gifts so that we have something to GIVE to someone else. Or, as it is put in 1st Peter chapter 4, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others.” I am a “gift” to my family as far as I am willing to use my skills for their sake.
Let me explain this another way. I remember one time visiting my mom who was sick in the hospital when my parents were still married. Before we went up to the room, we stopped by the gift shop and my dad had me pick out something to give to her. I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember giving it to my mom. She smiled and said she loved it. In other words my father gave me a gift that I used for someone else. But who REALLY received the gift? My mom probably got a stuffed animal or a plant. I received the joy of giving, but my dad received the greatest gift. Seeing my mother loved and me able to show her my love.
I heard a story about what one pastor in North Dakota did to explain the story of the talents that we read today. He asked several people in his congregation to donate large sums of money for a “project” he would do at the next week’s service. He handed out five envelopes. Each envelope had $500 dollars in it. The envelopes were handed out to random people and the only rules, as far as I remember them, were this: you can use this money for any purpose you want, but you’ll have to promise to come back here next week and share with the congregation what you did with it. It was FREE money. A gift.
By the next week, the stories were astounding. People used the money for tons of different benevolences sometimes multiplying the amount ten times through matching funds and from their own pocketbooks. And while none of them used these generous gifts for themselves, they all felt like they had received quite a substantial gift in being able to give it away. Here’s the point: As long as you think that your spiritual gifts are for you, you will always feel like someone else is using you, or you HAVE to do things, or life is unfair. This is called immaturity. When couples come into my office and talk about wanting “my stuff” “my way” and that type of thing, they are normally not the 80 year olds, but the newly married. The “immature” you might say. But if you see your gifts as gifts for others, then you will start to understand what Paul is saying in Romans about your spiritual act of worship being to “offer your body as a living sacrifice.”
That’s NOT the way the world thinks is it. According to the world, you should use your gifts to make your life better. But according to God, your gifts are yours for making the lives of others better. As Jesus put it, the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. God has given you talents and gifts and skills because he loves you and he trusts you to use them for the sake of this world. The best gifts I’ve ever received are the ones I’ve given.
If you do not use your gifts for your calling at home, your whole family suffers. If I do not clean the bathrooms, take out the trash, change diapers and cook food, my family suffers in many diverse ways. And I will not be living out the very spiritual calling God has given me to be a good husband and father. In addition, God has called each and every one of you into this household here at Emmanuel and, beyond that, into the household of Christians on this Earth. If you, as a member of this congregation, do not start using your gifts to serve others the whole body suffers and you suffer as well. Not only that, but the world suffers and so does the name of Christ. So often, when we talk about spiritual gifts, it all about you. But God calls us to realize that he gave us these gifts, as presents to give to others.
According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” One of the best gifts I have ever been given by God is the opportunity to serve this congregation as its pastor. I love it. It’s strenuous at times, overwhelming even, but serving you and your families blesses me with love, meaning and joy. But, as many pastors in many different churches have found out, if I start becoming focused on my own abilities, on my own ego and pride thinking that God has somehow blessed me with spiritual gifts for fortune and fame, I have no doubt that God will take away this great congregation from me in an instant. It’s happened to many much more skilled pastors in much larger congregations before me. Pride comes just before the fall, they say. When your gifts become all about you, you lose their blessings.
My prayer for you and for me, is that we stop looking at our gifts, our talents and our skills like the world would have us see them: as ways to get ahead and serve ourselves. Instead, maybe we might see them as opportunities to be of some earthly good others. Because, when that becomes the truth for you, when your mind is transformed in this way, you will have received the greatest gift that God could ever give you. Amen.
Showing posts with label Stewardship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stewardship. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sermon for April 3rd (Stewardship of Time)
(Pause 15 ten seconds) That’s the power of time. That was fifteen seconds of silence (at least from my end). Fifteen seconds. What did you imagine was going on? That I had forgotten my sermon? That I was in some kind of religious trance? That I was having some type of a mild seizure? What a powerful thing time can be.
Do you ever feel that your life is out of control? Much of the pressure, stress and fear we experience in our lives is affected by how we manage our time. We don’t know how much time we are each given in this life, but God wants us to make the most of it. However, sometimes, I think we are confused by what “making the most of time” actually means.
There are two words that are translated as “time” from Greek into English. The first is the Greek word kronos meaning chronological time. This refers to time moving ever and ever onward. It’s quantitative in nature. No matter how much I want to say today, I realize that if I don’t pay attention to the kronos, how much time is passing, someone will eventually notice and try to stop me. On the other hand, there is the Greek word kairos referring to what you might call the “right” time or the “perfect” time. When is corn ready to be harvested? Is it after a particular number of days? Well, we might count on that to an extent. But, depending on how much sun and moisture there has been, corn is ready when IT’S ready, not when we are necessarily ready. When is a baby due? We know that humans have a forty week gestational period—that’s kronos time. But when does a baby actually come? Well, at the right time for the baby—that’s kairos time.
One of the struggles we have as human beings with managing our time is differentiating between kairos time and kronos time. Most Americans understand kronos time. We work by the clock. We meet our expectations. We show up on time and stay until the final bell rings. We compartmentalize our lives so that we have exactly one hour for lunch and six and a half hours of sleep. We are efficient. If we can’t work more hours, we can at least multi-task! But we don’t always know when the “right” time is to do things or why, despite our long hours of work, we are never able to do the things we want to do.
Why is this? For a lot of reasons. We value people who “do” things in society. Just ask one of the stay-at-home moms in the room how much fun it is to answer the question, “What do you do?” We also value doing things ourselves. I can imagine that the only thing harder than having to answer that question as a mother is to answer it for themselves. After a day of fighting with kids, doing dishes, doing laundry, changing diapers, answering the phone and cooking, you look at your messy house, dirty laundry, and pile of dishes next to the huge to-do list and ask, “Did I accomplish ANYTHING today?” Sometimes, the hardest work is the work that is never finished.
Furthermore, we understand that in order to HAVE things, we need to BUY things and, in today’s society, you can’t buy as much with one income as you can with two. And you can’t buy as much with two incomes as you can with two overtime incomes. Finally, we start to believe that, as Christians, our church and even God most likely wants us to work harder, work longer and do it all with a smile. In fact, this attitude is defined as the “Protestant Work Ethic”.
But what does God say? In the book of Ecclesiastes we read, “There is a time for everything.” Do you believe that? Is there time for everything in YOUR life? Why not? The book of Ecclesiastes says “there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal.” This isn’t a to-do list. This is saying there is a “right” time, a kairos time, to do everything in life. By definition then, there is also a “not quite right” time to do these things as well. When managing your time, it’s important to notice what you are doing and whether it’s the right time to do it.
How about an example. When is suppertime in your house? What do you do during suppertime? Eat, right. Is that all? Probably not. What else are you doing while you are eating? Families used to sit around the dinner table and take that time to talk, to laugh, to communicate and even, believe it or not, would sometimes begin or end with a prayer or devotions. But now? Well, IF we eat together, we are watching TV at the same time, or searching for something on the internet, or working on the finishing touches of a project or driving. God says, “There is a time—a perfect time—for everything. “ Perhaps part of the problem is that there is never enough time to eat, because you are working, and there is never enough time to work, because you are eating.
One of the first steps in managing your time as God intends is to distinguish between spending time doing things and taking time to do things when the time is right to do them. You’ve heard stay-at-home parents say this very thing, “I want to be home while my children are still little.” What they are saying, in essense, is that this is the kairos time, the perfect time, to stay at home instead of working outside of the house. Other parents discover that, for them, when their children are little it is the perfect time to be able to go to work.
If you feel like your life is overwhelmed and that there is no time for anything, I challenge you for a week, a day or even a morning, to give each activity you do not just a certain amount of time, but the “right” amount of time to do it. If you are talking with your child, listen to them until they are done talking. Finish the conversation. That way you won’t have to take other time later to try and remember what it was they talked about. Pray for peace in the morning before your day becomes so hectic and unpeaceful that you don’t have time to pray. When you come home at night, give your spouse a hug until they are ready to let go. Then, maybe, you won’t be staying up later arguing about never paying attention to one another.
A second step to good stewardship of time deals with prioritizing. Are you spending your time doing the things that you want to spend time doing? In the book of Acts, the twelve disciples noticed that the widows in their church “were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” it says. In other words, widows were not being fed because they disciples had too much to do and not enough time to do it all! So, what did they do? Work a few more hours, work a little bit more efficiently, and try harder? No. “The Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” They didn’t work more. They shared the work with someone else. What was the effect of doing this? “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” How we use our time can affect God’s kingdom either positively or negatively, but doing more isn’t always the most Godly thing to do.
In the book, Time For All That’s Important by Tamyra Horst, she encourages people to try this exercise: 1. Write down what the most important things are in your life—your top priorities. 2. Write out your schedule for the week listing everything you do and plan to do even things like cleaning the house, fixing meals, playing and quiet time. 3. Write your priorities on a piece of paper in columns and list your activities in their respective category. 4. Reflect on how you are spending your time now and how you would like that to change.
Finally, Jesus has taught us a lot about how to manage our time. Remember, his ministry only lasted three years. He didn’t start until the “right” time, the kairos time, when he was around 30 years old. But his short ministry changed the whole course of history. We might assume that he spent every waking moment serving, healing, preaching and doing something knowing that time was so short, but our gospel lesson today gives us a different view of what was important to Jesus, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them . . . “Great job fellas! That’s the spirit! We’ve got a lot of work to do again today, lots of needs to address, I’m sure you can eat later but, for now, the church NEEDS you.” No! That’s not what Jesus said. The apostles were impressed by how much they got done. And yes, there were a ton of people whose needs were still important, but Jesus actually said this, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”
In Jesus’ mind, there was a time to work, a time to minister, and a time to rest and be quiet. Your life may be so impossible and out of control NOT because you don’t prioritize or give activities their needed attention, but because all you do is work-work-work. Even in your rest time, you work silently in your head. You are talking while you drive and texting while you eat. God does not want you to do this! Of all the things to write down about what Jesus did on this earth, isn’t it interesting that this episode is one of them? Why? Because it is important to rest, to recuperate, to be quiet and to sleep. Saying “Yes” to everything doesn’t make you more holy and Christian. Sometimes saying, “No” is the most Christian thing you can do. Sometimes saying “NO” and taking time to rest is what God intends for you to do even if it looks selfish to those on the outside.
God intends on you to have time to rest in your life. Have you ever wondered why the Bible tells us there were seven days of creation even though God only worked for six? I mean, it would have been more impressive to make the world is six days than seven, right? And yet, God knew that we needed to see how important rest was in our lives. The third commandment calls us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. We are to take time out of our week to rest, to be quiet and to worship God. To stop speaking and to listen instead. To stop doing and just be still and know that God is God and we are not.
At the end of the story in the gospel of Mark, Jesus showed us what happens when we rest. The text says that even though Jesus and his disciples left to be alone, the crowd ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. Sometimes saying, “No” to people doesn’t mean they won’t still try and make you help them and use up your time!. The needs are still there. But it is only by trusting in the miraculous power of God that the disciples actually do what God is calling them to do. They have to just sit there, wait, be quiet and listen while God feeds these five thousand people miraculously. What can we learn from this? We don’t accomplish everything through our work. In fact, we don’t need to accomplish everything. Part of the Christian life is to wait for God to do HIS work on HIS schedule in his perfect kairos time and then worship Him for what He has done.
Time is powerful. How you use your time not only affects you, it affects others, it affects your relationship with God and it even affects God’s kingdom. So, perhaps today is the right time, the perfect time, the kairos time to start managing your time as God intended. Don’t just spend time doing things, do things at the right time, do things according to the priorities and values you hold dear and then, finally, take time to rest and trust God to work powerfully in your life in His time. Amen.
Do you ever feel that your life is out of control? Much of the pressure, stress and fear we experience in our lives is affected by how we manage our time. We don’t know how much time we are each given in this life, but God wants us to make the most of it. However, sometimes, I think we are confused by what “making the most of time” actually means.
There are two words that are translated as “time” from Greek into English. The first is the Greek word kronos meaning chronological time. This refers to time moving ever and ever onward. It’s quantitative in nature. No matter how much I want to say today, I realize that if I don’t pay attention to the kronos, how much time is passing, someone will eventually notice and try to stop me. On the other hand, there is the Greek word kairos referring to what you might call the “right” time or the “perfect” time. When is corn ready to be harvested? Is it after a particular number of days? Well, we might count on that to an extent. But, depending on how much sun and moisture there has been, corn is ready when IT’S ready, not when we are necessarily ready. When is a baby due? We know that humans have a forty week gestational period—that’s kronos time. But when does a baby actually come? Well, at the right time for the baby—that’s kairos time.
One of the struggles we have as human beings with managing our time is differentiating between kairos time and kronos time. Most Americans understand kronos time. We work by the clock. We meet our expectations. We show up on time and stay until the final bell rings. We compartmentalize our lives so that we have exactly one hour for lunch and six and a half hours of sleep. We are efficient. If we can’t work more hours, we can at least multi-task! But we don’t always know when the “right” time is to do things or why, despite our long hours of work, we are never able to do the things we want to do.
Why is this? For a lot of reasons. We value people who “do” things in society. Just ask one of the stay-at-home moms in the room how much fun it is to answer the question, “What do you do?” We also value doing things ourselves. I can imagine that the only thing harder than having to answer that question as a mother is to answer it for themselves. After a day of fighting with kids, doing dishes, doing laundry, changing diapers, answering the phone and cooking, you look at your messy house, dirty laundry, and pile of dishes next to the huge to-do list and ask, “Did I accomplish ANYTHING today?” Sometimes, the hardest work is the work that is never finished.
Furthermore, we understand that in order to HAVE things, we need to BUY things and, in today’s society, you can’t buy as much with one income as you can with two. And you can’t buy as much with two incomes as you can with two overtime incomes. Finally, we start to believe that, as Christians, our church and even God most likely wants us to work harder, work longer and do it all with a smile. In fact, this attitude is defined as the “Protestant Work Ethic”.
But what does God say? In the book of Ecclesiastes we read, “There is a time for everything.” Do you believe that? Is there time for everything in YOUR life? Why not? The book of Ecclesiastes says “there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal.” This isn’t a to-do list. This is saying there is a “right” time, a kairos time, to do everything in life. By definition then, there is also a “not quite right” time to do these things as well. When managing your time, it’s important to notice what you are doing and whether it’s the right time to do it.
How about an example. When is suppertime in your house? What do you do during suppertime? Eat, right. Is that all? Probably not. What else are you doing while you are eating? Families used to sit around the dinner table and take that time to talk, to laugh, to communicate and even, believe it or not, would sometimes begin or end with a prayer or devotions. But now? Well, IF we eat together, we are watching TV at the same time, or searching for something on the internet, or working on the finishing touches of a project or driving. God says, “There is a time—a perfect time—for everything. “ Perhaps part of the problem is that there is never enough time to eat, because you are working, and there is never enough time to work, because you are eating.
One of the first steps in managing your time as God intends is to distinguish between spending time doing things and taking time to do things when the time is right to do them. You’ve heard stay-at-home parents say this very thing, “I want to be home while my children are still little.” What they are saying, in essense, is that this is the kairos time, the perfect time, to stay at home instead of working outside of the house. Other parents discover that, for them, when their children are little it is the perfect time to be able to go to work.
If you feel like your life is overwhelmed and that there is no time for anything, I challenge you for a week, a day or even a morning, to give each activity you do not just a certain amount of time, but the “right” amount of time to do it. If you are talking with your child, listen to them until they are done talking. Finish the conversation. That way you won’t have to take other time later to try and remember what it was they talked about. Pray for peace in the morning before your day becomes so hectic and unpeaceful that you don’t have time to pray. When you come home at night, give your spouse a hug until they are ready to let go. Then, maybe, you won’t be staying up later arguing about never paying attention to one another.
A second step to good stewardship of time deals with prioritizing. Are you spending your time doing the things that you want to spend time doing? In the book of Acts, the twelve disciples noticed that the widows in their church “were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” it says. In other words, widows were not being fed because they disciples had too much to do and not enough time to do it all! So, what did they do? Work a few more hours, work a little bit more efficiently, and try harder? No. “The Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” They didn’t work more. They shared the work with someone else. What was the effect of doing this? “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” How we use our time can affect God’s kingdom either positively or negatively, but doing more isn’t always the most Godly thing to do.
In the book, Time For All That’s Important by Tamyra Horst, she encourages people to try this exercise: 1. Write down what the most important things are in your life—your top priorities. 2. Write out your schedule for the week listing everything you do and plan to do even things like cleaning the house, fixing meals, playing and quiet time. 3. Write your priorities on a piece of paper in columns and list your activities in their respective category. 4. Reflect on how you are spending your time now and how you would like that to change.
Finally, Jesus has taught us a lot about how to manage our time. Remember, his ministry only lasted three years. He didn’t start until the “right” time, the kairos time, when he was around 30 years old. But his short ministry changed the whole course of history. We might assume that he spent every waking moment serving, healing, preaching and doing something knowing that time was so short, but our gospel lesson today gives us a different view of what was important to Jesus, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, Jesus said to them . . . “Great job fellas! That’s the spirit! We’ve got a lot of work to do again today, lots of needs to address, I’m sure you can eat later but, for now, the church NEEDS you.” No! That’s not what Jesus said. The apostles were impressed by how much they got done. And yes, there were a ton of people whose needs were still important, but Jesus actually said this, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”
In Jesus’ mind, there was a time to work, a time to minister, and a time to rest and be quiet. Your life may be so impossible and out of control NOT because you don’t prioritize or give activities their needed attention, but because all you do is work-work-work. Even in your rest time, you work silently in your head. You are talking while you drive and texting while you eat. God does not want you to do this! Of all the things to write down about what Jesus did on this earth, isn’t it interesting that this episode is one of them? Why? Because it is important to rest, to recuperate, to be quiet and to sleep. Saying “Yes” to everything doesn’t make you more holy and Christian. Sometimes saying, “No” is the most Christian thing you can do. Sometimes saying “NO” and taking time to rest is what God intends for you to do even if it looks selfish to those on the outside.
God intends on you to have time to rest in your life. Have you ever wondered why the Bible tells us there were seven days of creation even though God only worked for six? I mean, it would have been more impressive to make the world is six days than seven, right? And yet, God knew that we needed to see how important rest was in our lives. The third commandment calls us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. We are to take time out of our week to rest, to be quiet and to worship God. To stop speaking and to listen instead. To stop doing and just be still and know that God is God and we are not.
At the end of the story in the gospel of Mark, Jesus showed us what happens when we rest. The text says that even though Jesus and his disciples left to be alone, the crowd ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. Sometimes saying, “No” to people doesn’t mean they won’t still try and make you help them and use up your time!. The needs are still there. But it is only by trusting in the miraculous power of God that the disciples actually do what God is calling them to do. They have to just sit there, wait, be quiet and listen while God feeds these five thousand people miraculously. What can we learn from this? We don’t accomplish everything through our work. In fact, we don’t need to accomplish everything. Part of the Christian life is to wait for God to do HIS work on HIS schedule in his perfect kairos time and then worship Him for what He has done.
Time is powerful. How you use your time not only affects you, it affects others, it affects your relationship with God and it even affects God’s kingdom. So, perhaps today is the right time, the perfect time, the kairos time to start managing your time as God intended. Don’t just spend time doing things, do things at the right time, do things according to the priorities and values you hold dear and then, finally, take time to rest and trust God to work powerfully in your life in His time. Amen.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sermon for March 27th (Stewardship of Money)
Let’s look at the gospel story from the gospel of Luke that was read earlier this morning. It is the story of the rich young ruler, “A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
In the gospel of Luke, this is the second time that someone has asked Jesus this question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The first time was back in the 10th chapter when an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. In that story, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.
How are these two passages similar and how are they different? The same question is asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life, but there is a difference between these two passages as well, namely, where Jesus ends up sending each person. With the teacher of the law, Jesus calls on him to be merciful. Why? Perhaps it is because, as a teacher of the law, this man would have been focused on justice and righteousness and easily would have lost track of love and mercy.
So when a lawyer comes to Jesus asking how to inherit eternal life, Jesus knows where this man’s treasure lies: in keeping the law, in fairness, in justice! So, of course, he calls on him to seek not simply justice but mercy, not only fairness, but love. Have you ever been angry after hearing the story of the Good Samaritan and said, “How unreasonable! To have to help out my neighbor even though they might not deserve it! That’s impossible!” I’ve never heard a reaction like that. We all understand that necessity of mercy, the importance of taking care of those less fortunate even if it’s difficult. So then, why is today’s story met with a different reaction?
In today’s story, the person asking the questions is not a lawyer, but a rich young ruler it says. He’s got youth, he’s got money and he’s got power. This time, Jesus does not call on him to be merciful. Is it because mercy is no longer important to Jesus? Well, no, that’s not why. For the rich young ruler, Jesus understands that his treasure lies in those very things that even our society today still looks at as beneficial: youth, money and power. If Jesus had sent this man to take care of his neighbors, like he did with the lawyer, I bet that it would have been simple to do. He would have had the energy, since he was young. He would have had the time to do it, since he had the power and he would have had the funds to give a lot away and still have some left over since he had so much money. So Jesus asked him to do that which would have been the hardest for him: “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Just a quick question before we move on: How would you feel about being asked to do that? To sell everything you have and give it to the poor in order to inherit eternal life? Doesn’t that seem utterly unreasonable?! Impossible? Doesn’t it seem inherently wrong to ask so hard a thing? I want you to ask yourself this question, “Who are you more like? The lawyer? Or the rich young ruler?
Back to the story. Isn’t interesting how Jesus starts his statement about selling everything to the poor by saying, “You still lack one thing.” LACK one thing. What could this guy lack? He’s got youth. He’s got power. He’s got money! What else could this guy need? Well, look in the mirror. What do YOU need? You’ve GOT everything. I know, I know. Not EVERYTHING. Not EVERYTHING you want. You have to work hard for your money. You need a new car. The kids need braces. You barely make ends meet. I understand that. But let’s be honest.
I looked up some statistics. Our average income in Adair county is a little under 43,000 a year (pretty low compared to the rest of Iowa which is around 48,000). Some of you are no doubt higher and some lower. The poverty level in America at this time, for a family of four, is a little over 22,000. That means that, making less than 22,000 a year, you would have trouble meeting your basic needs according to the federal government. What about compared to the rest of the world? Comparing the whole of humanity and trying to keep a similar basis of the dollar, it would be as if 80% of the world’s humanity was living on less than 10 dollars a day. That would be $3650 a year. I know, I know, we all could use a new car and gas prices are really tough right now but who are we like in the eyes of 80% of the world’s population? The rich young ruler. So, what do YOU lack in your life?
Still not sure? In another reading from today in proverbs 23 we hear this, “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony”. What does that mean? Gluttony means to just eat without noticing the food or the consequences of eating that food. Think about a buffet, where you get to eat as much as you can eat just because it says you can (even though you weren’t that hungry in the first place). Gluttony doesn’t simply mean eating a lot, it’s a matter of not paying attention to the blessings God is feeding you with.
And this can happen with money too, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.” Sometimes, we believe that just because we CAN get money that we should do so and, in so doing, we find ourselves turning into people we do not like. For example, a good husband and father finds that he has a knack for working longer and harder than the rest of the people in his business and, thus, can make more money than all of them. By making more money, he can buy his wife the clothes she wants and his children the toys they want. On the down side, he is never home to enjoy his family which isn’t really want he wanted either. But, he never noticed what the consequences were, he just thought about it like an “all you can eat buffet”. If I can make more money, therefore, I should. He thought that he valued money more than time with his family. Possessions over experiences. Money over meaning. And despite everything he has, he still misses a lot.
God says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” What is this talking about? How about our most recent economic downturn? How quickly did your retirement accounts “fly off to the sky like an eagle?” or shall we say drop into the bottom of the sea like a 100 pounds of deadweight. Was it because you didn’t work as hard? Probably not. Was it because you invested poorly? Well, I guess if you did, so did everyone else in America, right? If the stock market crashed or you lost your job. If you lost your wealth and your money, would your good mood fly away too? Will your peace leave as soon as your money does? Like the rich young ruler in today’s story, maybe you have misplaced your treasure. What do you still lack?
Among all the treasures of this life, the rich young ruler lacks one singularly precious treasure—the treasure of heaven. Jesus tells the young ruler to get rid of those things that he thought were so important, his possessions and his money and, instead, become rich in meaning, become rich in experiences, become rich in faith. Do you notice that Jesus doesn’t just send the kid away and tell him to sell all he has and live like a hermit in a shack on the outskirts of town? No, he says, “Sell all you have and then come, follow me.” This is an opportunity like none other! We might have been talking about the 13th disciple here had the rich young ruler done what was asked of him. Instead, he became very sad because his possessions, his money, his youth and his power were more important to him than anything else. Even more than a once of a lifetime experience with Jesus. What would you have chosen?
We have choices in our lives. We can use money to buy safety and possession or we can use money to create meaning and purpose for our lives and for the lives of others. I had a choice today. I could have tried to convince all of you that you should just give a little more than what you have been giving. I could have explained to all of you that God has blessed you with abundance and you had extra to give. And if I had made that choice, it might have worked. You would have given more. You would have tried harder. You would have felt better.
But that isn’t what Jesus asked the rich young ruler in this story and it’s not what he would ask you or I were he standing here face to face with us. We are the rich young rulers in this world and, while that is a great blessing, we’ve taken and taken from the all you can eat buffet and haven’t realized how hungry we are for meaning, purpose, joy and faith in our lives. That’s why my friends from Ethiopia and Tanzania would say that Americans are rich in material things but poor spiritually. That’s why they felt they needed to send missionaries here to America to help us even though we thought we had everything we needed because they know, like Jesus, that we still lack one thing. Jesus doesn’t want your money, he wants your heart. He wants a full relationship with you.
Giving is a privilege. It’s not something that we are forced to do, it’s something that we have an opportunity to do. In 2nd Corinthians, chapter 8, the Macedonians are said to have urgently pleaded to have the privilege of giving. Nobody wants to be known as being bad at making money in America and yet so many of us accept mediocrity in giving. Giving is not a command, it is an opportunity. Don’t miss the opportunity to become rich in meaning, in purpose and in faith by giving. If you’ve ever given a gift that cannot be repaid, you know how rich it makes you feel.
When you look at money, what do you see? I pray that you see opportunities. Opportunities to use all of it—all of it!—for God’s sake in order to create a life full of meaning and purpose. You’ll still buy food for your family and go to baseball games with your kids (God still wants you to love and cherish your family) but you’ll also be aware that, instead of buying a bigger car, or a newer technological gadget, you’d probably be more happy by using that extra money to sponsor an impoverished child, buy groceries for another family in need, or maybe save up and buy a car for someone who doesn’t even have one. God doesn’t want you to be chained to wealth by your love of money—he wants you to be free to use it as creatively as your love can imagine.
“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.” Jesus never asked for somebody else to die instead of him so that he could keep the riches of divinity. Jesus never asked if he could just give you 10% of eternal life—if that would be enough to make his Father happy. He gave all he had to make you rich. Maybe you’ve put your treasure in the wrong place up until now. Hear this: every dollar you have right now is a new opportunity to create a life full of meaning, faith and purpose. So that your life on this earth isn’t just blessed with the abundance of God’s blessings, but so that heaven is full of your treasure as well. Amen.
In the gospel of Luke, this is the second time that someone has asked Jesus this question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The first time was back in the 10th chapter when an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. In that story, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.
How are these two passages similar and how are they different? The same question is asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life, but there is a difference between these two passages as well, namely, where Jesus ends up sending each person. With the teacher of the law, Jesus calls on him to be merciful. Why? Perhaps it is because, as a teacher of the law, this man would have been focused on justice and righteousness and easily would have lost track of love and mercy.
So when a lawyer comes to Jesus asking how to inherit eternal life, Jesus knows where this man’s treasure lies: in keeping the law, in fairness, in justice! So, of course, he calls on him to seek not simply justice but mercy, not only fairness, but love. Have you ever been angry after hearing the story of the Good Samaritan and said, “How unreasonable! To have to help out my neighbor even though they might not deserve it! That’s impossible!” I’ve never heard a reaction like that. We all understand that necessity of mercy, the importance of taking care of those less fortunate even if it’s difficult. So then, why is today’s story met with a different reaction?
In today’s story, the person asking the questions is not a lawyer, but a rich young ruler it says. He’s got youth, he’s got money and he’s got power. This time, Jesus does not call on him to be merciful. Is it because mercy is no longer important to Jesus? Well, no, that’s not why. For the rich young ruler, Jesus understands that his treasure lies in those very things that even our society today still looks at as beneficial: youth, money and power. If Jesus had sent this man to take care of his neighbors, like he did with the lawyer, I bet that it would have been simple to do. He would have had the energy, since he was young. He would have had the time to do it, since he had the power and he would have had the funds to give a lot away and still have some left over since he had so much money. So Jesus asked him to do that which would have been the hardest for him: “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Just a quick question before we move on: How would you feel about being asked to do that? To sell everything you have and give it to the poor in order to inherit eternal life? Doesn’t that seem utterly unreasonable?! Impossible? Doesn’t it seem inherently wrong to ask so hard a thing? I want you to ask yourself this question, “Who are you more like? The lawyer? Or the rich young ruler?
Back to the story. Isn’t interesting how Jesus starts his statement about selling everything to the poor by saying, “You still lack one thing.” LACK one thing. What could this guy lack? He’s got youth. He’s got power. He’s got money! What else could this guy need? Well, look in the mirror. What do YOU need? You’ve GOT everything. I know, I know. Not EVERYTHING. Not EVERYTHING you want. You have to work hard for your money. You need a new car. The kids need braces. You barely make ends meet. I understand that. But let’s be honest.
I looked up some statistics. Our average income in Adair county is a little under 43,000 a year (pretty low compared to the rest of Iowa which is around 48,000). Some of you are no doubt higher and some lower. The poverty level in America at this time, for a family of four, is a little over 22,000. That means that, making less than 22,000 a year, you would have trouble meeting your basic needs according to the federal government. What about compared to the rest of the world? Comparing the whole of humanity and trying to keep a similar basis of the dollar, it would be as if 80% of the world’s humanity was living on less than 10 dollars a day. That would be $3650 a year. I know, I know, we all could use a new car and gas prices are really tough right now but who are we like in the eyes of 80% of the world’s population? The rich young ruler. So, what do YOU lack in your life?
Still not sure? In another reading from today in proverbs 23 we hear this, “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony”. What does that mean? Gluttony means to just eat without noticing the food or the consequences of eating that food. Think about a buffet, where you get to eat as much as you can eat just because it says you can (even though you weren’t that hungry in the first place). Gluttony doesn’t simply mean eating a lot, it’s a matter of not paying attention to the blessings God is feeding you with.
And this can happen with money too, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.” Sometimes, we believe that just because we CAN get money that we should do so and, in so doing, we find ourselves turning into people we do not like. For example, a good husband and father finds that he has a knack for working longer and harder than the rest of the people in his business and, thus, can make more money than all of them. By making more money, he can buy his wife the clothes she wants and his children the toys they want. On the down side, he is never home to enjoy his family which isn’t really want he wanted either. But, he never noticed what the consequences were, he just thought about it like an “all you can eat buffet”. If I can make more money, therefore, I should. He thought that he valued money more than time with his family. Possessions over experiences. Money over meaning. And despite everything he has, he still misses a lot.
God says, “Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” What is this talking about? How about our most recent economic downturn? How quickly did your retirement accounts “fly off to the sky like an eagle?” or shall we say drop into the bottom of the sea like a 100 pounds of deadweight. Was it because you didn’t work as hard? Probably not. Was it because you invested poorly? Well, I guess if you did, so did everyone else in America, right? If the stock market crashed or you lost your job. If you lost your wealth and your money, would your good mood fly away too? Will your peace leave as soon as your money does? Like the rich young ruler in today’s story, maybe you have misplaced your treasure. What do you still lack?
Among all the treasures of this life, the rich young ruler lacks one singularly precious treasure—the treasure of heaven. Jesus tells the young ruler to get rid of those things that he thought were so important, his possessions and his money and, instead, become rich in meaning, become rich in experiences, become rich in faith. Do you notice that Jesus doesn’t just send the kid away and tell him to sell all he has and live like a hermit in a shack on the outskirts of town? No, he says, “Sell all you have and then come, follow me.” This is an opportunity like none other! We might have been talking about the 13th disciple here had the rich young ruler done what was asked of him. Instead, he became very sad because his possessions, his money, his youth and his power were more important to him than anything else. Even more than a once of a lifetime experience with Jesus. What would you have chosen?
We have choices in our lives. We can use money to buy safety and possession or we can use money to create meaning and purpose for our lives and for the lives of others. I had a choice today. I could have tried to convince all of you that you should just give a little more than what you have been giving. I could have explained to all of you that God has blessed you with abundance and you had extra to give. And if I had made that choice, it might have worked. You would have given more. You would have tried harder. You would have felt better.
But that isn’t what Jesus asked the rich young ruler in this story and it’s not what he would ask you or I were he standing here face to face with us. We are the rich young rulers in this world and, while that is a great blessing, we’ve taken and taken from the all you can eat buffet and haven’t realized how hungry we are for meaning, purpose, joy and faith in our lives. That’s why my friends from Ethiopia and Tanzania would say that Americans are rich in material things but poor spiritually. That’s why they felt they needed to send missionaries here to America to help us even though we thought we had everything we needed because they know, like Jesus, that we still lack one thing. Jesus doesn’t want your money, he wants your heart. He wants a full relationship with you.
Giving is a privilege. It’s not something that we are forced to do, it’s something that we have an opportunity to do. In 2nd Corinthians, chapter 8, the Macedonians are said to have urgently pleaded to have the privilege of giving. Nobody wants to be known as being bad at making money in America and yet so many of us accept mediocrity in giving. Giving is not a command, it is an opportunity. Don’t miss the opportunity to become rich in meaning, in purpose and in faith by giving. If you’ve ever given a gift that cannot be repaid, you know how rich it makes you feel.
When you look at money, what do you see? I pray that you see opportunities. Opportunities to use all of it—all of it!—for God’s sake in order to create a life full of meaning and purpose. You’ll still buy food for your family and go to baseball games with your kids (God still wants you to love and cherish your family) but you’ll also be aware that, instead of buying a bigger car, or a newer technological gadget, you’d probably be more happy by using that extra money to sponsor an impoverished child, buy groceries for another family in need, or maybe save up and buy a car for someone who doesn’t even have one. God doesn’t want you to be chained to wealth by your love of money—he wants you to be free to use it as creatively as your love can imagine.
“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.” Jesus never asked for somebody else to die instead of him so that he could keep the riches of divinity. Jesus never asked if he could just give you 10% of eternal life—if that would be enough to make his Father happy. He gave all he had to make you rich. Maybe you’ve put your treasure in the wrong place up until now. Hear this: every dollar you have right now is a new opportunity to create a life full of meaning, faith and purpose. So that your life on this earth isn’t just blessed with the abundance of God’s blessings, but so that heaven is full of your treasure as well. Amen.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sermon for August 22nd (Sent Out To Give)
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.
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, May 25, 2010
Sermon for May 23rd (Fruits of the Spirit)
“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.” Have any of you read the book, Lord of the Flies, or seen the movie. That iconic story portrays what happens when people are left up to our own devices, without guidance or rules. They end up trying to kill each other. It’s in our nature, what the apostle Paul calls our sinful nature. God created us good, but we choose to do things that are not good. It’s not that we aren’t able to do good, but each one of us is driven, compulsively, to follow our own desires rather than to follow the desires of God. We want what is best for ourselves—not others.
Paul says that our sinful nature and God’s Holy Spirit, are in conflict with one another. There is an ultimate fight going on within each of us, all the time. Some of you might experience this as anxiety, or guilt, or just plain indecision. God sends us his Holy Spirit in order that we might follow God’s will despite our temptations to do just the opposite. When the Holy Spirit starts working in your life, the effects are what the book of Galatians calls the fruit of the Spirit.
The apostle Paul gives us nine examples of this fruit in Galatians chapter 5. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I will be focusing on three of them this morning. I want you to better understand both how God creates these fruits in you and how you and I can cultivate this fruit in our lives. I intend on planting seeds this morning, seeds of faith, so that you might realize that this fruit comes from God alone for, as Jesus put it, “Apart from me (apart from God) you can do nothing.” But I also want to equip you with ways to nourish this fruit in your life.
Today I will focus on just three fruits of the Spirit, namely: peace, generosity and self-control. So let’s get started.
The fruit of Peace
In the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun”, the main character, Francis, has recently gone through a bad divorce and is trying to put her life back together. She is struggling especially with how to deal with romance and finding new love. Another woman speaks to her about being at peace in her life until the time is right for love to come her way. She explains, “Listen, when I was a little girl, I used to spend hours looking for ladybugs. Finally, I'd just give up and fall asleep in the grass. When I woke up, they were crawling all over me.” The fruit of peace grows, and it’s impossible for us to know exactly how. Many a couple has explained the fruit of peace in this way when it comes to finding love, “When I stopped looking, love found me.”
Psalm 46 puts this a different way, “Be still and know that I am God.” The fruit of peace starts growing without any effort on your part. People often find peace only when they stop working so hard at finding it. You already have peace with God because of Jesus’ death on the cross. No matter the battle you are fighting in your life right now, Jesus has already defeated it for you. One day you will see that victory face to face. The stress in your life doesn’t get the last word. God says, “My peace I give to you.”
So then, how do we cultivate this peace? Well, to start, it is very difficult to find peace when you are always striving for it. I believe that this fruit is constantly trying to grow on us, but, instead of enjoying it, we find some way to ignore it. I often create stress for myself. Are any of you like that? What I do is, instead of enjoying my life, I keep striving for more. I’ll be sitting at home enjoying my family and then, suddenly, I am in angst about whether I am REALLY doing enough with my kids to be a good father. Am I playing with them enough? Should I be home more? And, soon enough, I’ve got myself and my kids upset about whether I am a good dad or not. One moment I’m enjoying family time, but because of my selfish ambition to be super-dad, our peaceful home becomes miserable.
Cultivating peace is your life is often about just letting God take care of your problems without trying to do his job for him. You’ve no doubt seen the signs in mechanics garages that give the price for labor per hour and then higher prices if you want to watch or if you want to help. God is the master mechanic and cultivating peace often means letting go and letting God do his thing. In the gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Do not worry. Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear, for your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things. But, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
What are some practical ways to cultivate peace? Take time out at the end of each day to pray. Use one of the Portals of Prayer books or just say the Lord’s Prayer. You could write down your worries on a piece of paper as they come into your mind and stick them in your Bible next to a passage about God’s power and leave them in God’s hands. You might be amazed at how well he does with your problems without your help. Don’t make finding peace into another goal; focus on how God has already given you the fruit you seek.
The Fruit of Generosity
Dave Ramsey, a Christian financial planner explains that the amount of money one has does not affect how one wants to use it. If you are a jerk when you are poor, you will be a jerk when you are rich. Money doesn’t change the heart. In fact, all that will probably happen when you have more money is that you will become MORE of whatever you already are. This fruit of generosity, like the fruit of peace, comes from the Holy Spirit, not from the amount of money you earn or how hard you work for it. AND generosity doesn’t come from being told to give more, but from having a change of heart.
For many, the world seems based on a rule of scarcity while God promises that the world is actually full of God’s abundance. A worldview based on scarcity leads to desires such as jealously and envy. When it appears that the world does not have enough money, or food, or housing, or love to go around, it makes us believe that we must take what others have or horde what we have before someone comes to take it away.
Perhaps that is why being rich in today’s society is viewed as a sin to many people—a sin that needs to be punished. Instead of seeing one’s money, no matter how much or how little, as a blessing given by God, wealth is seen as an unequal distribution of limited resources. And so we are tempted to all kinds of sinful behavior when we believe others have what should be rightfully ours. However, the fruit of generosity is planted when you start realizing that all that you have, and all that others have, are gifts from the same God. And he is a God of abundance. God uses all people, rich and poor, to care for his creation.
But how might we cultivate generosity in our own lives? One of the best ways, I believe, is by doing something as simple as making a budget. As the motivational speaker Zig Zigler puts it, “If you don’t tell your money where to go, you won’t know where it went.” Even if the fruit of generosity has been planted in our hearts, it can often seem like we CAN’T give like we want to because we never have anything leftover at the end of the month! But once you see where your money is going, you have the opportunity to cultivate your generousity.
You can decide to spend more time eating at home with the family for instance instead of going out. Or, you can plan to build up money for Christmas gifts all year long instead of putting it all on a credit card as if it were an unexpected emergency the night of December 24th. Most people who want to give 10% to their church can’t find 10% leftover at the end of the month, but, by using a budget, you can plan to give before the month even starts. Often, a simple step like planning a budget can help you cultivate the fruit of generosity that God has already placed in your hearts. It’s a tool that helps you live out your faith.
The Fruit of Self-Control
Richard Wurmbrand wrote this in his book, “Waiting on God’s Will” about his 14 years in a Romanian prison being persecuted for his faith in Christ. He wrote, “I remember the chill that went down my spine when I read the secret formula disclosed only to initiates during the third degree of Masonry, “Let my will happen in all things.” The formula was not new to me. It tapped the huge drive for self-assertion which we all have in us. It is just the contrary of the teaching of our Lord: ‘Whoever desires to come to Me, let him deny himself.’
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray to God, “THY will be done.” When in all things OUR will is the most important aspect, life becomes all about our wishes, our dreams, our desires. It feels so good to do whatever we want! By ourselves, we are slaves to sin, but when God makes us new creations, He sets us free. When God gives you faith, he also gives you hope for self-control. Not by trusting in your own power to resist but in God’s power to strengthen you.
Self-control is cultivated in two particular ways: learning God’s will for your life and waiting for God to act in your life. You may have heard the story where a little boy gets in trouble again and again for leaving his bike in his parents’ driveway. After being chided one last time for his lack of self-control, the little boy finally cries out, “OK, I’m sorry, but what’s a driveway!” When you read the Bible, you find out how God wants you to live your life and that gives you an idea of where you need to control yourself. If you have never heard God’s laws, it’s tough to follow them.
The second way you can cultivate self control is through prayer. When temptation comes your way, ask for help from God himself, “Commit your way to God, trust in him until he acts on your behalf.” If you’ve ever been to an AA meeting, Alcoholics Anonymous, you’ve heard this exemplified in the opening steps, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Step two: We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Everyone’s temptations are different, but cultivating self-control is a fight that we all must take one day at a time.
“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.” The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When God gives you faith, the Holy Spirit plants the seeds in your heart; however, as long as this sinful nature of ours exists we will have to contend with the temptations to let these fruits die on the vine. But you are not alone.
My prayer is that, as a community, we might cultivate these fruits in one another. There are portals of prayer books and a sign-up sheet for more in the parish hall if you are struggling with finding peace in your life. There are copies of a budget that you can work through to help you live our your generosity. Finally, there are Bibles to take home if you don’t’ have one and Bible studies between services as well as a list of support groups for those struggling with self-control. Most importantly, as you continue to cultivate these fruits in your life you may trust that God is at work within you, enabling you to both will and work for his good pleasure. He who has called you is faithful and He will do it. Amen.
Paul says that our sinful nature and God’s Holy Spirit, are in conflict with one another. There is an ultimate fight going on within each of us, all the time. Some of you might experience this as anxiety, or guilt, or just plain indecision. God sends us his Holy Spirit in order that we might follow God’s will despite our temptations to do just the opposite. When the Holy Spirit starts working in your life, the effects are what the book of Galatians calls the fruit of the Spirit.
The apostle Paul gives us nine examples of this fruit in Galatians chapter 5. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I will be focusing on three of them this morning. I want you to better understand both how God creates these fruits in you and how you and I can cultivate this fruit in our lives. I intend on planting seeds this morning, seeds of faith, so that you might realize that this fruit comes from God alone for, as Jesus put it, “Apart from me (apart from God) you can do nothing.” But I also want to equip you with ways to nourish this fruit in your life.
Today I will focus on just three fruits of the Spirit, namely: peace, generosity and self-control. So let’s get started.
The fruit of Peace
In the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun”, the main character, Francis, has recently gone through a bad divorce and is trying to put her life back together. She is struggling especially with how to deal with romance and finding new love. Another woman speaks to her about being at peace in her life until the time is right for love to come her way. She explains, “Listen, when I was a little girl, I used to spend hours looking for ladybugs. Finally, I'd just give up and fall asleep in the grass. When I woke up, they were crawling all over me.” The fruit of peace grows, and it’s impossible for us to know exactly how. Many a couple has explained the fruit of peace in this way when it comes to finding love, “When I stopped looking, love found me.”
Psalm 46 puts this a different way, “Be still and know that I am God.” The fruit of peace starts growing without any effort on your part. People often find peace only when they stop working so hard at finding it. You already have peace with God because of Jesus’ death on the cross. No matter the battle you are fighting in your life right now, Jesus has already defeated it for you. One day you will see that victory face to face. The stress in your life doesn’t get the last word. God says, “My peace I give to you.”
So then, how do we cultivate this peace? Well, to start, it is very difficult to find peace when you are always striving for it. I believe that this fruit is constantly trying to grow on us, but, instead of enjoying it, we find some way to ignore it. I often create stress for myself. Are any of you like that? What I do is, instead of enjoying my life, I keep striving for more. I’ll be sitting at home enjoying my family and then, suddenly, I am in angst about whether I am REALLY doing enough with my kids to be a good father. Am I playing with them enough? Should I be home more? And, soon enough, I’ve got myself and my kids upset about whether I am a good dad or not. One moment I’m enjoying family time, but because of my selfish ambition to be super-dad, our peaceful home becomes miserable.
Cultivating peace is your life is often about just letting God take care of your problems without trying to do his job for him. You’ve no doubt seen the signs in mechanics garages that give the price for labor per hour and then higher prices if you want to watch or if you want to help. God is the master mechanic and cultivating peace often means letting go and letting God do his thing. In the gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “Do not worry. Do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear, for your Heavenly Father knows that you need these things. But, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
What are some practical ways to cultivate peace? Take time out at the end of each day to pray. Use one of the Portals of Prayer books or just say the Lord’s Prayer. You could write down your worries on a piece of paper as they come into your mind and stick them in your Bible next to a passage about God’s power and leave them in God’s hands. You might be amazed at how well he does with your problems without your help. Don’t make finding peace into another goal; focus on how God has already given you the fruit you seek.
The Fruit of Generosity
Dave Ramsey, a Christian financial planner explains that the amount of money one has does not affect how one wants to use it. If you are a jerk when you are poor, you will be a jerk when you are rich. Money doesn’t change the heart. In fact, all that will probably happen when you have more money is that you will become MORE of whatever you already are. This fruit of generosity, like the fruit of peace, comes from the Holy Spirit, not from the amount of money you earn or how hard you work for it. AND generosity doesn’t come from being told to give more, but from having a change of heart.
For many, the world seems based on a rule of scarcity while God promises that the world is actually full of God’s abundance. A worldview based on scarcity leads to desires such as jealously and envy. When it appears that the world does not have enough money, or food, or housing, or love to go around, it makes us believe that we must take what others have or horde what we have before someone comes to take it away.
Perhaps that is why being rich in today’s society is viewed as a sin to many people—a sin that needs to be punished. Instead of seeing one’s money, no matter how much or how little, as a blessing given by God, wealth is seen as an unequal distribution of limited resources. And so we are tempted to all kinds of sinful behavior when we believe others have what should be rightfully ours. However, the fruit of generosity is planted when you start realizing that all that you have, and all that others have, are gifts from the same God. And he is a God of abundance. God uses all people, rich and poor, to care for his creation.
But how might we cultivate generosity in our own lives? One of the best ways, I believe, is by doing something as simple as making a budget. As the motivational speaker Zig Zigler puts it, “If you don’t tell your money where to go, you won’t know where it went.” Even if the fruit of generosity has been planted in our hearts, it can often seem like we CAN’T give like we want to because we never have anything leftover at the end of the month! But once you see where your money is going, you have the opportunity to cultivate your generousity.
You can decide to spend more time eating at home with the family for instance instead of going out. Or, you can plan to build up money for Christmas gifts all year long instead of putting it all on a credit card as if it were an unexpected emergency the night of December 24th. Most people who want to give 10% to their church can’t find 10% leftover at the end of the month, but, by using a budget, you can plan to give before the month even starts. Often, a simple step like planning a budget can help you cultivate the fruit of generosity that God has already placed in your hearts. It’s a tool that helps you live out your faith.
The Fruit of Self-Control
Richard Wurmbrand wrote this in his book, “Waiting on God’s Will” about his 14 years in a Romanian prison being persecuted for his faith in Christ. He wrote, “I remember the chill that went down my spine when I read the secret formula disclosed only to initiates during the third degree of Masonry, “Let my will happen in all things.” The formula was not new to me. It tapped the huge drive for self-assertion which we all have in us. It is just the contrary of the teaching of our Lord: ‘Whoever desires to come to Me, let him deny himself.’
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray to God, “THY will be done.” When in all things OUR will is the most important aspect, life becomes all about our wishes, our dreams, our desires. It feels so good to do whatever we want! By ourselves, we are slaves to sin, but when God makes us new creations, He sets us free. When God gives you faith, he also gives you hope for self-control. Not by trusting in your own power to resist but in God’s power to strengthen you.
Self-control is cultivated in two particular ways: learning God’s will for your life and waiting for God to act in your life. You may have heard the story where a little boy gets in trouble again and again for leaving his bike in his parents’ driveway. After being chided one last time for his lack of self-control, the little boy finally cries out, “OK, I’m sorry, but what’s a driveway!” When you read the Bible, you find out how God wants you to live your life and that gives you an idea of where you need to control yourself. If you have never heard God’s laws, it’s tough to follow them.
The second way you can cultivate self control is through prayer. When temptation comes your way, ask for help from God himself, “Commit your way to God, trust in him until he acts on your behalf.” If you’ve ever been to an AA meeting, Alcoholics Anonymous, you’ve heard this exemplified in the opening steps, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Step two: We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Everyone’s temptations are different, but cultivating self-control is a fight that we all must take one day at a time.
“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.” The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When God gives you faith, the Holy Spirit plants the seeds in your heart; however, as long as this sinful nature of ours exists we will have to contend with the temptations to let these fruits die on the vine. But you are not alone.
My prayer is that, as a community, we might cultivate these fruits in one another. There are portals of prayer books and a sign-up sheet for more in the parish hall if you are struggling with finding peace in your life. There are copies of a budget that you can work through to help you live our your generosity. Finally, there are Bibles to take home if you don’t’ have one and Bible studies between services as well as a list of support groups for those struggling with self-control. Most importantly, as you continue to cultivate these fruits in your life you may trust that God is at work within you, enabling you to both will and work for his good pleasure. He who has called you is faithful and He will do it. Amen.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sermon for March 10th
“Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me!” Says the Lord. “But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
The word stewardship gets thrown around a lot in church, but I don’t really think most of us understand what “stewardship” means. Let me give you an example of what a steward is. Right now, I am going to take out ten dollar bills and give it to one of you. I am going to say this, “Could you please take care of this for me.” However, I’m not going to ask for it back, even though it’s mine. In fact, I want you to use it. I also want you to remember something very important—that ten dollars is not yours. It’s mine. You are simply taking care of it for me. In biblical times, they would call a person who did this the “steward” of my money. The steward can use the money, but they do not own the money.
Because that ten dollars is mine, that I am giving to you to take care of for me, I have some directions for you on how to use it. Because it’s mine. I’d like you to take one dollar bill and place it in the offering plate in order to encourage the ministries here at Saint Peters. You can put more than that in if you’d like, but all I’m asking is to put one dollar bill in the offering plate tonight. One out of the ten. With the other nine dollars, you can do whatever you want. You can save it. You can waste it. You can spend it. You can give it away. Remember, it’s MY money. But . . . I’m letting you use it. Here we go . . . . (Money gets handed out)
Now. Here’s my question. What will happen if, after the service tonight, I don’t find one of my dollar bills in the offering plate? How do you think that I will feel about that? I’ve made it very clear that while the money I just gave away is a gift, there are directions about how to use it. How would you feel if you let someone watch over your money and they used it in a way that was not in line with how you wanted it used? I’d feel frustrated. Disappointed and, maybe, even a little angry.
The Lord spoke through the prophet Malachi saying, “Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” God has given us all a lot more than ten dollars. A lot more. And, furthermore, he has given us a lot more than simply money. He has blessed us with long lives, bodies that can work hard, minds that can process great amounts of information and spiritual gifts to serve on another with. But He has also made something very clear: your money, your time, your bodies, your minds, your gifts and your lives are not your own. You are the stewards of these gifts. God gives you all these things to use, but He is their rightful owner.
And He has some directions for you. You’ve heard some of these directions before I hope. Honor your Father and Mother. You shall not kill. Love your neighbor as yourself. Glorify God in your body. Another commandment that was given to the Israelites, referred to by Jesus and carried on by many Christians today is called tithing: giving ten percent of your income to your local church to support its ministries. Out of every ten dollars you earn, one dollar is to be put in the offering plate. We are called to do these things God has directions for us on how to use the gifts he has given.
Tonight, through the prophet Malachi, God calls us all to make an accounting of how much we have stolen from God. And to stop stealing from Him. Have you given money to the church as you have been directed? Have you given your time and talents? Have you been glorifying God in your body? So many of us argue that we just can’t do these things! We don’t have enough time to think let alone serve at the soup kitchen. We’ve got too many things to do on Sunday mornings that church just gets in the way. How can we give ten percent of our income when we don’t have enough as there is! God says this: “Put me to the test.”
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” Try me! God says. Stop stealing my money, my time my gifts that I have given you and see if you will really become destitute and overworked as you imagine. “Just try me and prove me wrong!” God promises that when you follow his directions for His gifts, you will find that there is always more than enough left over for you. In fact, Jesus maintains that the better you follow God’s directions on how to use his gifts, the more He will trust you with greater gifts. These gifts are not yours! They are God’s. You are only the stewards. “Return to me and I will return to you," the Lord says, "and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing .” Amen.
The word stewardship gets thrown around a lot in church, but I don’t really think most of us understand what “stewardship” means. Let me give you an example of what a steward is. Right now, I am going to take out ten dollar bills and give it to one of you. I am going to say this, “Could you please take care of this for me.” However, I’m not going to ask for it back, even though it’s mine. In fact, I want you to use it. I also want you to remember something very important—that ten dollars is not yours. It’s mine. You are simply taking care of it for me. In biblical times, they would call a person who did this the “steward” of my money. The steward can use the money, but they do not own the money.
Because that ten dollars is mine, that I am giving to you to take care of for me, I have some directions for you on how to use it. Because it’s mine. I’d like you to take one dollar bill and place it in the offering plate in order to encourage the ministries here at Saint Peters. You can put more than that in if you’d like, but all I’m asking is to put one dollar bill in the offering plate tonight. One out of the ten. With the other nine dollars, you can do whatever you want. You can save it. You can waste it. You can spend it. You can give it away. Remember, it’s MY money. But . . . I’m letting you use it. Here we go . . . . (Money gets handed out)
Now. Here’s my question. What will happen if, after the service tonight, I don’t find one of my dollar bills in the offering plate? How do you think that I will feel about that? I’ve made it very clear that while the money I just gave away is a gift, there are directions about how to use it. How would you feel if you let someone watch over your money and they used it in a way that was not in line with how you wanted it used? I’d feel frustrated. Disappointed and, maybe, even a little angry.
The Lord spoke through the prophet Malachi saying, “Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” God has given us all a lot more than ten dollars. A lot more. And, furthermore, he has given us a lot more than simply money. He has blessed us with long lives, bodies that can work hard, minds that can process great amounts of information and spiritual gifts to serve on another with. But He has also made something very clear: your money, your time, your bodies, your minds, your gifts and your lives are not your own. You are the stewards of these gifts. God gives you all these things to use, but He is their rightful owner.
And He has some directions for you. You’ve heard some of these directions before I hope. Honor your Father and Mother. You shall not kill. Love your neighbor as yourself. Glorify God in your body. Another commandment that was given to the Israelites, referred to by Jesus and carried on by many Christians today is called tithing: giving ten percent of your income to your local church to support its ministries. Out of every ten dollars you earn, one dollar is to be put in the offering plate. We are called to do these things God has directions for us on how to use the gifts he has given.
Tonight, through the prophet Malachi, God calls us all to make an accounting of how much we have stolen from God. And to stop stealing from Him. Have you given money to the church as you have been directed? Have you given your time and talents? Have you been glorifying God in your body? So many of us argue that we just can’t do these things! We don’t have enough time to think let alone serve at the soup kitchen. We’ve got too many things to do on Sunday mornings that church just gets in the way. How can we give ten percent of our income when we don’t have enough as there is! God says this: “Put me to the test.”
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” Try me! God says. Stop stealing my money, my time my gifts that I have given you and see if you will really become destitute and overworked as you imagine. “Just try me and prove me wrong!” God promises that when you follow his directions for His gifts, you will find that there is always more than enough left over for you. In fact, Jesus maintains that the better you follow God’s directions on how to use his gifts, the more He will trust you with greater gifts. These gifts are not yours! They are God’s. You are only the stewards. “Return to me and I will return to you," the Lord says, "and see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing .” Amen.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sermon for June 28th
In today’s passage from 2nd Corinthians, you might think that Paul is trying to shame the Corinthian church into giving more. He starts his conversation by referring to a poor church in Macedonia and how their giving overflowed because of God’s grace. But since Paul says that he is not giving a new command, we must then assume he is trying to coersively manipulate the Corinthian church. Goad them into giving. Motivate them into emptying their pocketbooks and write a big check for the sake of the kingdom of God!
But why would we assume that Paul is suddenly turning his back on all that he has said up to this point? Is Paul finally getting his head out of the clouds and getting “realistic” on us? Is Paul giving up on the message of forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ and the new creation he is known to go on and on and on about just because he wants to pile up the money in his coffers to take to the poor? Is this really all that we have learned from Paul this whole time?
No. Not at all. Paul is not commanding, nor is he manipulating, or shaming or “comparing”. He is giving faith to the Corinthians. He says to the Church in Corinth, “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” “Look at them!” Paul says. Look at what God has done in that impoverished church in Macedonia! Imagine what God will do here with you! God is going to do something amazing!
If this concept still seems a bit too theoretical, or “pie in the sky”, let me give you an example of the same technique in a more contemporary context. A professor of mine at seminary took many trips to Africa, to a particular town where he and his wife, among others, were working for the Lutheran church in Tanzania. The people there were so happy to receive the gospel! He would always talk about how thankful the people were and that they poured out their thanksgiving not only at the feet of Jesus but upon him, my professor, as well.
In fact, the last time he was there, he explained that, when a friend of his in the village saw him, his friend invited him over and invited the whole village to celebrate the occasion of his arrival by slaughtering a goat and eating it for supper. Now, this might seem like a nice gesture until you realize, as my professor told us, that this goat was equal to about 1/3 of this man’s food and income for the year. If the man had sold the goat, he could have eaten for about four months on the money. If he has eaten the goat, his family would have had meat for a very long time. But instead, because of the message my professor gave to this man, that because of Jesus’ death on a cross this man’s sins were forgiven, even in extreme poverty this man saw abundance.
This isn’t about what this one man in Tanzania did. He is not a model for you to follow. This is what God did in Tanzania through this man! This is how God works, and will work even here, even through you. As an old professor sued to say, “If you still think this sounds like “pie in the sky”, well, don’t you like pie? It’s yours. The whole kit and caboodle.
This is what the love of God does, in real life, in Tanzania, with a man, a professor and a goat. Do you really think that the gospel message will not do the same thing here? In Cornwall? In this church? In your communities? In your life? With your money. Out of your abundance? Out of your poverty. I am not trying to shame you into giving more, do you think that that is all the gospel is good for? Shame? To make you feel badly?
I am not trying to force you to do something against your will. Because I don’t care about your stinky old will, your old way of doing things, the gospel of Jesus Christ gives you a new will and you come out smelling like a rose. You are a new creation by faith alone. Because if God’s Word can do amazing things in Tanzania or in Arizona; in South Korea and in Germany; in Macedonia and in Corinth--he will do it here too. Because giving comes from certain hope in Jesus Christ pure and simple.
Some people have assumed that Paul is encouraging communism here. But what is communism but another law to MAKE people give up their money. Another law to force poorer people to TAKE money from others to meet their needs. Jesus Christ is not another lawgiver, he has killed the law and given you freedom. Communism is not about freedom, but law. Where there is freedom, people may give out of their riches to someone in need, but those in need may also give from their poverty to those with riches. The kingdom of God is like a poor man from Tanzania slaughtering his only goat to feed a rich, fat American. Think about the widow that gave all she had. That’s what grace does to people. It makes givers. Grace creates giving and equality, not by force, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps we would understand this better if we were reading from an older translation of the Bible, the Revised Standard Version from a few years back, instead of the NEW Revised Standard Version, which translated the opening verse of today’s reading by using the word “prove” rather than “test”, “I do not say this as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.” Paul is not comparing two churches as if to see if the church in Corinth can test out better than the church in Macedonia. Paul gives the gospel of grace, truth and justice to the Corinthians so that they might know the power of God just as the Macedonians did. He’s not so much looking for more money, but for God to create new hearts that are eager to give, “For if the eagerness is there,” Paul points out, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have.” Paul says, “Since God is at work in you, giving you the eagerness to give, then do it! “So that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.”
This is why, as I have said before, giving is not about how much you have or don’t have. It’s about planning to give and having the faith to put those plans into practice. The plans you can make yourself, through budgeting and living financially responsibly, but the faith you cannot create yourself. You can try and try to WANT to give or “fake it until you make it” as some say, but faith is a gift. However, once that desire to give, that eagerness finds its way into your heart, the gift of abundance—use it. Do it. Give. This is what God has made you to be—a giver.
So today’s stewardship sermon takes a page from the apostle,: “You who were dead in your sins are now alive in Jesus Christ. God has given you everything.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God gave the gift of faith to a church in Macedonia, he gave the gift of faith to a man in Tanzania. I declare to you what God has done in the past to PROVE to you that God’s grace here, now, in this place, will have the same power for you. God intends to give you all the eagerness to give and then, once you have done it, once you have put into practice the gift of faith God has given you, God will use you as an example for somebody else. Amen.
But why would we assume that Paul is suddenly turning his back on all that he has said up to this point? Is Paul finally getting his head out of the clouds and getting “realistic” on us? Is Paul giving up on the message of forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ and the new creation he is known to go on and on and on about just because he wants to pile up the money in his coffers to take to the poor? Is this really all that we have learned from Paul this whole time?
No. Not at all. Paul is not commanding, nor is he manipulating, or shaming or “comparing”. He is giving faith to the Corinthians. He says to the Church in Corinth, “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” “Look at them!” Paul says. Look at what God has done in that impoverished church in Macedonia! Imagine what God will do here with you! God is going to do something amazing!
If this concept still seems a bit too theoretical, or “pie in the sky”, let me give you an example of the same technique in a more contemporary context. A professor of mine at seminary took many trips to Africa, to a particular town where he and his wife, among others, were working for the Lutheran church in Tanzania. The people there were so happy to receive the gospel! He would always talk about how thankful the people were and that they poured out their thanksgiving not only at the feet of Jesus but upon him, my professor, as well.
In fact, the last time he was there, he explained that, when a friend of his in the village saw him, his friend invited him over and invited the whole village to celebrate the occasion of his arrival by slaughtering a goat and eating it for supper. Now, this might seem like a nice gesture until you realize, as my professor told us, that this goat was equal to about 1/3 of this man’s food and income for the year. If the man had sold the goat, he could have eaten for about four months on the money. If he has eaten the goat, his family would have had meat for a very long time. But instead, because of the message my professor gave to this man, that because of Jesus’ death on a cross this man’s sins were forgiven, even in extreme poverty this man saw abundance.
This isn’t about what this one man in Tanzania did. He is not a model for you to follow. This is what God did in Tanzania through this man! This is how God works, and will work even here, even through you. As an old professor sued to say, “If you still think this sounds like “pie in the sky”, well, don’t you like pie? It’s yours. The whole kit and caboodle.
This is what the love of God does, in real life, in Tanzania, with a man, a professor and a goat. Do you really think that the gospel message will not do the same thing here? In Cornwall? In this church? In your communities? In your life? With your money. Out of your abundance? Out of your poverty. I am not trying to shame you into giving more, do you think that that is all the gospel is good for? Shame? To make you feel badly?
I am not trying to force you to do something against your will. Because I don’t care about your stinky old will, your old way of doing things, the gospel of Jesus Christ gives you a new will and you come out smelling like a rose. You are a new creation by faith alone. Because if God’s Word can do amazing things in Tanzania or in Arizona; in South Korea and in Germany; in Macedonia and in Corinth--he will do it here too. Because giving comes from certain hope in Jesus Christ pure and simple.
Some people have assumed that Paul is encouraging communism here. But what is communism but another law to MAKE people give up their money. Another law to force poorer people to TAKE money from others to meet their needs. Jesus Christ is not another lawgiver, he has killed the law and given you freedom. Communism is not about freedom, but law. Where there is freedom, people may give out of their riches to someone in need, but those in need may also give from their poverty to those with riches. The kingdom of God is like a poor man from Tanzania slaughtering his only goat to feed a rich, fat American. Think about the widow that gave all she had. That’s what grace does to people. It makes givers. Grace creates giving and equality, not by force, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps we would understand this better if we were reading from an older translation of the Bible, the Revised Standard Version from a few years back, instead of the NEW Revised Standard Version, which translated the opening verse of today’s reading by using the word “prove” rather than “test”, “I do not say this as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.” Paul is not comparing two churches as if to see if the church in Corinth can test out better than the church in Macedonia. Paul gives the gospel of grace, truth and justice to the Corinthians so that they might know the power of God just as the Macedonians did. He’s not so much looking for more money, but for God to create new hearts that are eager to give, “For if the eagerness is there,” Paul points out, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have.” Paul says, “Since God is at work in you, giving you the eagerness to give, then do it! “So that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.”
This is why, as I have said before, giving is not about how much you have or don’t have. It’s about planning to give and having the faith to put those plans into practice. The plans you can make yourself, through budgeting and living financially responsibly, but the faith you cannot create yourself. You can try and try to WANT to give or “fake it until you make it” as some say, but faith is a gift. However, once that desire to give, that eagerness finds its way into your heart, the gift of abundance—use it. Do it. Give. This is what God has made you to be—a giver.
So today’s stewardship sermon takes a page from the apostle,: “You who were dead in your sins are now alive in Jesus Christ. God has given you everything.” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God gave the gift of faith to a church in Macedonia, he gave the gift of faith to a man in Tanzania. I declare to you what God has done in the past to PROVE to you that God’s grace here, now, in this place, will have the same power for you. God intends to give you all the eagerness to give and then, once you have done it, once you have put into practice the gift of faith God has given you, God will use you as an example for somebody else. Amen.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sermon for April 19th
I’ve been noticing each week that we are not coming very close to meeting our budget. I also refuse to give some kind of motivational pep talk to get you all to give more. Not only would I not be very good at it, but I don’t think that it would work! On the one hand, whether or not I become anxious about the amount of money given, whether or not I try and do something about it as your pastor, eventually, the scarcity of money in the church’s bank account will create problems that I will not be able to avoid discussing. On the other hand, I also refuse to put you all on a guilt trip about giving because this technique might backfire, not only on me but, much more importantly, it might create problems with your relationship with God.
So, I’ve been praying about this and slowly preparing a sermon over the past few weeks to talk about the subject. You see, I realized that all of you probably know already that we are not meeting the budget. I also realize that, if you could, you would give more. You love this church and the ministries happening here. In fact, you’d like to see MORE happening here. You also don’t want to feel bad for doing what you’ve already been doing—which is everything you can do. You are giving all that you can give. If I came by your house, and asked you to increase your offering or give some big lump sum of money as a donation, I bet that most of you would say, “I wish I could, but I can’t!” And I believe you. I believe you. Right now, I don’t think you can.
For most of you, there are two reasons why you can’t: the first is that you don’t have enough money left at the end of the week or at the end of the month to give more. Second, even if you did have some leftover, you don’t know how you would survive if you gave it for Saint Peters and its ministries instead of using it yourself.
Let me describe this issue in terms of tithing, the Christian discipline of giving 10% of your income to the church and its ministries. The concept behind tithing is that since God is giving you everything, you are called upon to give ten-percent of what you are earning to support your local congregation and, through that ministry, help those in your community, your country and around the world. Tithing is a great idea, but it can seem almost impossible to do. Why?
Well, first off, how many of you end each month with 10% of your income leftover? Let me put that into numbers. Let’s say that you make $1000 dollars a week, either single or as a couple, that’s $4000 or $5000 dollars a month, or around $52,000 dollars a year. Some of you probably make more, some less, I understand, so bump the numbers up or down. After taking out 15% for taxes, that means that you take in about $850 dollars a week as a household. Ten percent of that would be around $85 dollars. How many of you have an extra $85 dollars a week or $340 dollars every month just laying around with nothing to do? And even if you did have $340 dollars leftover each month, would you feel comfortable financially giving all of that to Saint Peters? Probably not.
But that’s NOT how tithing works. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to give ten percent of their land and flocks to the temple right off the top. They were supposed to give God the best of their land and flocks, not the leftovers. But instead, being sinners like you and me, they’d sacrifice the sick lambs, they’d give the land where nothing would grow, they’d give whatever they had that they figured they could live without. And God hated it! Listen to his words from the book of Malachi, “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? I will rebuke your offspring and spread dung on your faces; the dung of your offerings, and will put you out of my presence.” Pretty strong words from a pretty unhappy God.
Tithing doesn’t mean giving 10% of your income IF you have it to give; tithing means planning on giving 10% of your income each week or month and then doing it. That’s the first reason why you might have such a difficult time tithing or giving to the church, you haven’t planned on it. You look at all the bills and expenses, like groceries and mortgages and credit card bills, and there is never 10% left to give. So should you or I be surprised when you don’t have any money to give anymore? I’m not. I’m not surprised at all.
As your pastor, though, it is NOT my job to make you feel guilty for not tithing. It is my job to give you the tools to be able to tithe if you wanted to. It IS my job to equip you to be able to give joyously as God meant for you to give because many of you want to give but can’t figure out how. It is my job to equip you to pay your bills, feed your kids, and not to worry every month about how to stay afloat.
Starting on June 9th, this summer, Saint Peters is hosting a shortened version of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. The point of the program is to get you on a budget so that you can start an emergency fund and then pay off all of your debt. After this, you save three to six months of expenses, save for college, pay off the house and build up your retirement. It’s not a get rich quick scheme; it takes a lot of hard work.
The program is about equipping you with the tools to make a plan for your money, down to every last penny, so that when you feel like paying your monthly mortgage, or buying a car, or paying for your kid’s college, or giving to your church, you’ll be able to without worrying about it. You won’t be a slave to your lenders, as the book of Proverbs warns about. You’ll be the master of the money God provides for you. If the discipline of tithing has always boggled your mind, if you’ve never figured out how in the world to actually have more money than month, I pray that this program will give you the tools to be financially fit. You’re not going to be told what to do with your money, that’s your choice, paying the bills, tithing, going out to eat, you have to decide what important to you. The program will teach you how to tell your money what you want it to do for you instead of simply reacting to the demands in your life.
But, as I said before, there are two reasons why most of you cannot give any more to your church. The first is because you never planned on it and you don’t know how to budget for it. The second reason is that, even if you did have extra money, you are afraid to give it the church. This is primarily a trust issue. In other words, even if you COULD plan on tithing 10% of your money to your church, you don’t have faith that God would provide for you to do it. Even if you are making much more than $52,000 dollars a year. This is finally the reason why I brought up this issue at all today. It’s an issue of faith.
You see, I don’t know who gives and who doesn’t. I don’t know how much you individually give or how much you don’t. When I see the total amount received each week, it shows up just like it does for you in the bulletin, as one lump sum. And, to be quite honest with you, I don’t really care about those numbers, because how much you give as a congregation does not tell me much about where you stand in your relationship to God. However, as I watched the numbers getting low and staying there, I began to realize that the numbers were telling me something and it really didn’t have much to do with our church and its budget. It had to do with you and why you couldn’t give. You couldn’t give because you didn’t have the tools to plan on it and you couldn’t give more because you couldn’t trust God to provide for you and your families. Especially in an economic downturn.
Blame it on the economy, blame it on the recession, blame it on the housing market or blame it on the unemployment rate, but there is a lot of fear in our country and a lot of fear in this church, a lot of fear in your hearts. And when you are afraid, there’s not a lot of joyful giving that’s going to be going on. In fact, you’d have to be MORE scared of the church closing than losing your job or losing your house in order to give more and THAT probably isn’t going to happen. So, as your pastor, I am called to speak to these fears and tell you what Jesus is going to do about it.
Jesus says, “Peace. Peace be with you. Do not doubt but believe.” Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross and after three days of being dead God raised him to life. Do you really think that your financial predicament frightens God? Jesus came to earth and made you a promise, “I have come so that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Who is it that created the job that you have or the job that you worked at during your working years? Who is it that provides the food that you eat, the car that you drive, the children that you raised and the air that you breathe? Do you really think that he will not provide you with the money that you need to live life and live it abundantly? Do not be afraid. Do not doubt but believe.
When Jesus met his disciples in the upper room after his resurrection, they were so scared of the Jews that they were unable to function. Jesus came into their fear and said this, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” What do you think Jesus has to say when he stands here in our midst, where we are so frightened to give that our church cannot even meet our budget? It shouldn’t be much of a surprise. He’s not going to browbeat you. He’s not going to swat you on the rear end. He says, “Peace. Peace be with you.”
Jesus came down so that you might have life and have it abundantly. How did this happen? Through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ on the cross and then his resurrection from the dead. You have been brought into this community of believers for a purpose. And God did not send you, and me and this church into the world to be afraid. He has given you the money to live, the money to give, the tools to budget that money and the peace to do so joyously and unafraid. Putting extra money into the plate today isn’t the goal of this sermon. If you haven’t budgeted it, how do you know how much you can give? I pray that God might free you from the fear of giving. I pray that you might learn to tell your money what to do. As a church we are striving to help you do this by offering some tools to help. I pray that God will create the faith in your heart to use your money as you choose: not out of fear, but out of faith. Amen.
So, I’ve been praying about this and slowly preparing a sermon over the past few weeks to talk about the subject. You see, I realized that all of you probably know already that we are not meeting the budget. I also realize that, if you could, you would give more. You love this church and the ministries happening here. In fact, you’d like to see MORE happening here. You also don’t want to feel bad for doing what you’ve already been doing—which is everything you can do. You are giving all that you can give. If I came by your house, and asked you to increase your offering or give some big lump sum of money as a donation, I bet that most of you would say, “I wish I could, but I can’t!” And I believe you. I believe you. Right now, I don’t think you can.
For most of you, there are two reasons why you can’t: the first is that you don’t have enough money left at the end of the week or at the end of the month to give more. Second, even if you did have some leftover, you don’t know how you would survive if you gave it for Saint Peters and its ministries instead of using it yourself.
Let me describe this issue in terms of tithing, the Christian discipline of giving 10% of your income to the church and its ministries. The concept behind tithing is that since God is giving you everything, you are called upon to give ten-percent of what you are earning to support your local congregation and, through that ministry, help those in your community, your country and around the world. Tithing is a great idea, but it can seem almost impossible to do. Why?
Well, first off, how many of you end each month with 10% of your income leftover? Let me put that into numbers. Let’s say that you make $1000 dollars a week, either single or as a couple, that’s $4000 or $5000 dollars a month, or around $52,000 dollars a year. Some of you probably make more, some less, I understand, so bump the numbers up or down. After taking out 15% for taxes, that means that you take in about $850 dollars a week as a household. Ten percent of that would be around $85 dollars. How many of you have an extra $85 dollars a week or $340 dollars every month just laying around with nothing to do? And even if you did have $340 dollars leftover each month, would you feel comfortable financially giving all of that to Saint Peters? Probably not.
But that’s NOT how tithing works. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to give ten percent of their land and flocks to the temple right off the top. They were supposed to give God the best of their land and flocks, not the leftovers. But instead, being sinners like you and me, they’d sacrifice the sick lambs, they’d give the land where nothing would grow, they’d give whatever they had that they figured they could live without. And God hated it! Listen to his words from the book of Malachi, “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? I will rebuke your offspring and spread dung on your faces; the dung of your offerings, and will put you out of my presence.” Pretty strong words from a pretty unhappy God.
Tithing doesn’t mean giving 10% of your income IF you have it to give; tithing means planning on giving 10% of your income each week or month and then doing it. That’s the first reason why you might have such a difficult time tithing or giving to the church, you haven’t planned on it. You look at all the bills and expenses, like groceries and mortgages and credit card bills, and there is never 10% left to give. So should you or I be surprised when you don’t have any money to give anymore? I’m not. I’m not surprised at all.
As your pastor, though, it is NOT my job to make you feel guilty for not tithing. It is my job to give you the tools to be able to tithe if you wanted to. It IS my job to equip you to be able to give joyously as God meant for you to give because many of you want to give but can’t figure out how. It is my job to equip you to pay your bills, feed your kids, and not to worry every month about how to stay afloat.
Starting on June 9th, this summer, Saint Peters is hosting a shortened version of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. The point of the program is to get you on a budget so that you can start an emergency fund and then pay off all of your debt. After this, you save three to six months of expenses, save for college, pay off the house and build up your retirement. It’s not a get rich quick scheme; it takes a lot of hard work.
The program is about equipping you with the tools to make a plan for your money, down to every last penny, so that when you feel like paying your monthly mortgage, or buying a car, or paying for your kid’s college, or giving to your church, you’ll be able to without worrying about it. You won’t be a slave to your lenders, as the book of Proverbs warns about. You’ll be the master of the money God provides for you. If the discipline of tithing has always boggled your mind, if you’ve never figured out how in the world to actually have more money than month, I pray that this program will give you the tools to be financially fit. You’re not going to be told what to do with your money, that’s your choice, paying the bills, tithing, going out to eat, you have to decide what important to you. The program will teach you how to tell your money what you want it to do for you instead of simply reacting to the demands in your life.
But, as I said before, there are two reasons why most of you cannot give any more to your church. The first is because you never planned on it and you don’t know how to budget for it. The second reason is that, even if you did have extra money, you are afraid to give it the church. This is primarily a trust issue. In other words, even if you COULD plan on tithing 10% of your money to your church, you don’t have faith that God would provide for you to do it. Even if you are making much more than $52,000 dollars a year. This is finally the reason why I brought up this issue at all today. It’s an issue of faith.
You see, I don’t know who gives and who doesn’t. I don’t know how much you individually give or how much you don’t. When I see the total amount received each week, it shows up just like it does for you in the bulletin, as one lump sum. And, to be quite honest with you, I don’t really care about those numbers, because how much you give as a congregation does not tell me much about where you stand in your relationship to God. However, as I watched the numbers getting low and staying there, I began to realize that the numbers were telling me something and it really didn’t have much to do with our church and its budget. It had to do with you and why you couldn’t give. You couldn’t give because you didn’t have the tools to plan on it and you couldn’t give more because you couldn’t trust God to provide for you and your families. Especially in an economic downturn.
Blame it on the economy, blame it on the recession, blame it on the housing market or blame it on the unemployment rate, but there is a lot of fear in our country and a lot of fear in this church, a lot of fear in your hearts. And when you are afraid, there’s not a lot of joyful giving that’s going to be going on. In fact, you’d have to be MORE scared of the church closing than losing your job or losing your house in order to give more and THAT probably isn’t going to happen. So, as your pastor, I am called to speak to these fears and tell you what Jesus is going to do about it.
Jesus says, “Peace. Peace be with you. Do not doubt but believe.” Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross and after three days of being dead God raised him to life. Do you really think that your financial predicament frightens God? Jesus came to earth and made you a promise, “I have come so that you might have life and have it abundantly.” Who is it that created the job that you have or the job that you worked at during your working years? Who is it that provides the food that you eat, the car that you drive, the children that you raised and the air that you breathe? Do you really think that he will not provide you with the money that you need to live life and live it abundantly? Do not be afraid. Do not doubt but believe.
When Jesus met his disciples in the upper room after his resurrection, they were so scared of the Jews that they were unable to function. Jesus came into their fear and said this, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” What do you think Jesus has to say when he stands here in our midst, where we are so frightened to give that our church cannot even meet our budget? It shouldn’t be much of a surprise. He’s not going to browbeat you. He’s not going to swat you on the rear end. He says, “Peace. Peace be with you.”
Jesus came down so that you might have life and have it abundantly. How did this happen? Through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ on the cross and then his resurrection from the dead. You have been brought into this community of believers for a purpose. And God did not send you, and me and this church into the world to be afraid. He has given you the money to live, the money to give, the tools to budget that money and the peace to do so joyously and unafraid. Putting extra money into the plate today isn’t the goal of this sermon. If you haven’t budgeted it, how do you know how much you can give? I pray that God might free you from the fear of giving. I pray that you might learn to tell your money what to do. As a church we are striving to help you do this by offering some tools to help. I pray that God will create the faith in your heart to use your money as you choose: not out of fear, but out of faith. Amen.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sermon for March 18th
This last summer, Kristy, Sophia, Malachi and I went to the Rennaisance Faire with my dad in Kenosha Wisconsin. If you’ve never been to a Rennaisance Faire, they are really pretty cheap to get into, but that’s because they want you to spend money once you are inside the gates. Food costs a lot. There are a lot of really neat things to buy, but everything costs a decent amount for the most part. Even the entertainers, though they don’t charge, have a hat on the ground and it is courtesy to tip them if you like their music. My dad plays the lute and sings love songs to couples. While the faire pays him to perform, he needs the tips he gets to make the Renn. Faire life work out for him.
But for me, I cannot imagine putting my hard earned money into the hat of people even when I LOVE their songs or their music. Even when they make me laugh hysterically. I just can’t part with it! I’ve never understood how my dad ever got tips because as much as I like his music, I couldn’t imagine putting a one, five, ten or twenty dollar bill in his hat. It has always been beyond me how that happens.
But this last summer was different. Now, Kristy and I didn’t suddenly come into a load of money, though it was nice to actually be employed when we went, but last summer when Kristy and I went to the Rennaisance Fair, something changed. My dad gave me fifty of those little gold dollar coins with the Presidents’ faces on them and told me to tip well since so many of the entertainers were hitting hard times with the economy doing so badly. And do you know what? I did tip well. Very well. I loved it! It was fun! I’d throw in several coins when I liked a groups’ songs. I threw a couple in just because I didn’t think there was enough money in one lady’s hat. I was more than generous! And do you know why? Because it wasn’t my money that I was throwing in those hats. It wasn’t my money.
Tonight, as we continue to study the Lord’s Prayer during Lent, we are going to focus on the third petition, “Give us today our daily bread”. So far, we have learned to call on our heavenly Father and ask him to be God for us, to be holy and powerful in our lives. We have learned to ask for faith. Now, we ask for things. “Give us today our daily bread.”
When you pray, ask for things, everything if you’d like. Everything you need, want, desire, think about, worry about or fear. Do you need to tell him? No. But praying isn’t about what you should do. You are free to pray about anything because everything comes from God. If even your bread comes from God, ask for a little butter and jelly on the side to go with it. Ask for anything and everything in your prayers so that you can remember where everything is coming from.
When writing about this petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther wrote down a list of things we get from God, our “daily bread” so to speak: “food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name and true friends and neighbors.” He said that while God gives us all these things, whether we are good or evil, we pray that we might actually realize this and give thanks for all of it.
In tonight’s reading from Matthew, Jesus says, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” It’s always bothered me that I can never be sure if I’ve ever done anything right according to this verse. The next group, those Jesus says are the accursed, seem to remember doing a few good things, but it doesn’t seem like it was enough. What is the difference between the two groups?
There’s a famous anecdote about a Lutheran pastor who on his death bed said that he couldn’t remember doing a single good work in his life. Some have criticized this statement, but I think that there is something very profound there. After throwing all kinds of golden dollar coins to people at the Rennaisance Faire I can honestly say that I didn’t give any money away at all! Just like the good work that this pastor did in his life wasn’t because of his goodness, but because of God’s, the money I gave away was because my dad gave me his money and I used it. Left to my own devices, I would have hoarded it, but it wasn’t my money so I could be generous. Perhaps the difference between the two groups in the reading tonight was that one group used their own resources—something we would expect that they would remember—while the other group only used what they had been given from God and couldn’t remember having given a single penny, a single moment of their time, a single loaf of bread of their own.
In the Lord’s Prayer and in all of our prayers, we ask God to help us to realize that the daily bread we get is not actually ours. So, when the neighborhood kids come over for the umpteenth time and eat you out of house and home, well, it wasn’t your food really anyway was it. You’ve no doubt known or heard of people who, after a brush with death, because very purposeful in their lives and generous with their time because, as they say, “They might not have had this time to give if it were not for God.” Well, all the time, money, food, good weather and life you have has been given to you from God. It is not your own. You don’t have to wait for a crisis to realize it. Instead, pray that you might be so generous with God’s good gifts that on the last day, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels are with him, you won’t remember a single possession you gave away, because you never gave away anything that was your own. You received everything from God and shared generously with all of HIS good gifts. Amen.
But for me, I cannot imagine putting my hard earned money into the hat of people even when I LOVE their songs or their music. Even when they make me laugh hysterically. I just can’t part with it! I’ve never understood how my dad ever got tips because as much as I like his music, I couldn’t imagine putting a one, five, ten or twenty dollar bill in his hat. It has always been beyond me how that happens.
But this last summer was different. Now, Kristy and I didn’t suddenly come into a load of money, though it was nice to actually be employed when we went, but last summer when Kristy and I went to the Rennaisance Fair, something changed. My dad gave me fifty of those little gold dollar coins with the Presidents’ faces on them and told me to tip well since so many of the entertainers were hitting hard times with the economy doing so badly. And do you know what? I did tip well. Very well. I loved it! It was fun! I’d throw in several coins when I liked a groups’ songs. I threw a couple in just because I didn’t think there was enough money in one lady’s hat. I was more than generous! And do you know why? Because it wasn’t my money that I was throwing in those hats. It wasn’t my money.
Tonight, as we continue to study the Lord’s Prayer during Lent, we are going to focus on the third petition, “Give us today our daily bread”. So far, we have learned to call on our heavenly Father and ask him to be God for us, to be holy and powerful in our lives. We have learned to ask for faith. Now, we ask for things. “Give us today our daily bread.”
When you pray, ask for things, everything if you’d like. Everything you need, want, desire, think about, worry about or fear. Do you need to tell him? No. But praying isn’t about what you should do. You are free to pray about anything because everything comes from God. If even your bread comes from God, ask for a little butter and jelly on the side to go with it. Ask for anything and everything in your prayers so that you can remember where everything is coming from.
When writing about this petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther wrote down a list of things we get from God, our “daily bread” so to speak: “food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name and true friends and neighbors.” He said that while God gives us all these things, whether we are good or evil, we pray that we might actually realize this and give thanks for all of it.
In tonight’s reading from Matthew, Jesus says, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” It’s always bothered me that I can never be sure if I’ve ever done anything right according to this verse. The next group, those Jesus says are the accursed, seem to remember doing a few good things, but it doesn’t seem like it was enough. What is the difference between the two groups?
There’s a famous anecdote about a Lutheran pastor who on his death bed said that he couldn’t remember doing a single good work in his life. Some have criticized this statement, but I think that there is something very profound there. After throwing all kinds of golden dollar coins to people at the Rennaisance Faire I can honestly say that I didn’t give any money away at all! Just like the good work that this pastor did in his life wasn’t because of his goodness, but because of God’s, the money I gave away was because my dad gave me his money and I used it. Left to my own devices, I would have hoarded it, but it wasn’t my money so I could be generous. Perhaps the difference between the two groups in the reading tonight was that one group used their own resources—something we would expect that they would remember—while the other group only used what they had been given from God and couldn’t remember having given a single penny, a single moment of their time, a single loaf of bread of their own.
In the Lord’s Prayer and in all of our prayers, we ask God to help us to realize that the daily bread we get is not actually ours. So, when the neighborhood kids come over for the umpteenth time and eat you out of house and home, well, it wasn’t your food really anyway was it. You’ve no doubt known or heard of people who, after a brush with death, because very purposeful in their lives and generous with their time because, as they say, “They might not have had this time to give if it were not for God.” Well, all the time, money, food, good weather and life you have has been given to you from God. It is not your own. You don’t have to wait for a crisis to realize it. Instead, pray that you might be so generous with God’s good gifts that on the last day, when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels are with him, you won’t remember a single possession you gave away, because you never gave away anything that was your own. You received everything from God and shared generously with all of HIS good gifts. Amen.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sermon for November 23rd
Last week I told you about the abundance of God’s gifts. The Christian life is not about giving, it’s about receiving. Receiving God’s gifts. God is giving you everything. Your money, your time, your life. Even your daily bread doesn’t just show up in your pantry at the beginning of the week, it comes in the hands of your neighbor who runs the grocery store who received it from the hands of the bread maker who received it from the hands of the farmer who received it through the efforts of the sun, rain and seeds received from God.
But, still this is hard for us to imagine, especially in America where we have the mindset not of receivers but more like, well, takers. There are many reasons for this, but just think for a moment about a grocery store. When I go grocery shopping I can take anything with the right amount of money. In fact, when I go and they are out of the brand of chicken-apple sausage I get, I get frustrated. I can’t get what I want and that’s not right! Last week, they were out of our kind of bread. What did Kristy say when she opened up the new kind? “This bread smells funny!” We’ve got an attitude of takers—I can’t get what I want and that’s not right!
Now, think about something just a little bit different—like a farmer’s market. You want to buy butternut squash in June? Tough luck. Gotta wait. Strawberries in October? Sorry, but probably not. At the farmer’s market, you have to accept what is there and receive what is given. At the farmer’s market, it’s just easier to see that food is a gift and not just something else to buy.
Now, I’m not implying that farmer’s markets are more moral than supermarkets. That’s not the point. It’s an illustration of what life looks like when you realize God is giving you everything. A pastor friend of mine described a grocery trip he went on with a man who had just arrived from Ethiopia. My friend had gone into the grocery store to pick up a few things and thought this Ethiopian man might like to see what grocery stores looked like in the United States. But after the pastor had walked through the aisles picking things up he realized that his friend hadn’t said a word since they came into the store—he realized his companion had been crying, silently, the entire time. “What’s wrong?” the pastor asked? “I’ve never seen so much food in my life.” His friend said. “Just a small portion of this would feed my entire village. And here it all is. Just sitting here on the shelves for the taking. While people in my country are starving.” That’s a grocery store through the eyes of a receiver—seeing all that food as a gift and imagining the possibilities of how to use it.
What would you do if all your money, your time and your life were gifts? The Bible says that they are. “All look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” God is giving you everything. But how might you live your life with God’s gifts? That’s the focus of today’s sermon—the second part of the parable of the talents.
What is the difference between the three servants in the parable? The first two doubled their money, the third gave back exactly what he was given. Could it be that the first two were both financial wizards while the third guy was simply average? Is Jesus making a statement about how we should get better at growing our money and investing in order to make a profit? Does Jesus prefer rich people? Is stewardship simply about getting rich?
The Bible talks about money a lot. But it doesn’t seem to care so much what people buy or how they invest. In other words, you’ve got a lot of freedom in how you use your money. I don’t even see anything that would create the impression that God thinks you to should rich rather than poor. However, God seems to care a lot about whether you are using your money or being used by your money. This is the most important question you need to answer today: Are you using your money or are you being used by your money?
Money, in the Bible, is often talked about surrounding two themes: giving and borrowing. God likes giving but he never talks very nicely about borrowing. But can’t you see why? When you are giving money, you are its master. Just like the kids this week, they were free to choose anything to do with their gift as long as it made a difference in the world, in their community or in the life of someone. It didn’t matter how much they had to give; the point was they gave.
On the other extreme is borrowing money. I’m not saying that you are a sinner because you borrow money (you are a sinner for a lot of other reasons besides that!); what I am saying is that God doesn’t like it when you make money your master. And that is exactly what happens when you have to borrow money all the time and get deeply into debt. It’s hard to think of anything else when everything you earn is already earmarked for a loan or credit card. Instead of seeing money as a gift to be used, money becomes something you’d rather not think about.
But hear this good news: God is giving you everything. Money isn’t scary. It isn’t evil. It is simply a means to an end. Money is only a gift, to be used and nothing more. Money is not to be worshipped. Money is not to be hoarded and never used. It’s only a gift. A MEANS to an END. It’s not that important! And money is also not to be spent frivolously—it is a GIFT FROM GOD! It is a means to an end. It can be USED! It has importance. This is the joy of budgeting down to every last cent. You see both the importance of money and realize that you are its master—not the other way around.
“To all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” You might have nothing. You might be out there in the outer darkness weeping and gnashing your teeth crying out to God for help. You might feel like everything you have is being taken away from you. Through foreclosure. Through bankruptcy. Through credit card debt. Through car accidents. But even in these difficult times, God keeps giving you everything. No matter where you are financially, nothing will separate you from God’s love and God’s gifts.
Jesus suffered for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus went to hell for you. Jesus loves you completely and will find you even if you are in the deepest darkness of financial poverty. The prophet Samuel says, “The Lord kills and makes alive, he brings down to the grave and he raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.” It is true that God makes the rich richer. He likes to give and keep on giving until you have an abundance. But Jesus was born to give you all the riches of salvation that surpass any monetary amount. And no matter how far you have fallen into debt, he has already paid the ransom for you. He will not abandon you nor will he give you up. Whether you are rich or poor you may trust in Jesus Christ to give you everything he has.
How might you live your life with God’s gifts? Use them and remember who gave them to you. God is giving you everything. Money is a gift, but it is only a gift. The Bible does has money advice: it encourages you to give and it discourages you from borrowing, but all these rules are simply to help you live a happier life and to love your neighbor more fully. Following these rules won’t save you. Following this advice might not even make you rich! A huge pile of money is not finally God’s goal for your life—though God promises to give you what you need. God wants your love and he wants you to love your neighbor. So he gives you his love. He gives you his gifts. And then he gives you the greatest gift of all—Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. He gives you your money, your time, your life and your salvation. God is giving you everything.
But, still this is hard for us to imagine, especially in America where we have the mindset not of receivers but more like, well, takers. There are many reasons for this, but just think for a moment about a grocery store. When I go grocery shopping I can take anything with the right amount of money. In fact, when I go and they are out of the brand of chicken-apple sausage I get, I get frustrated. I can’t get what I want and that’s not right! Last week, they were out of our kind of bread. What did Kristy say when she opened up the new kind? “This bread smells funny!” We’ve got an attitude of takers—I can’t get what I want and that’s not right!
Now, think about something just a little bit different—like a farmer’s market. You want to buy butternut squash in June? Tough luck. Gotta wait. Strawberries in October? Sorry, but probably not. At the farmer’s market, you have to accept what is there and receive what is given. At the farmer’s market, it’s just easier to see that food is a gift and not just something else to buy.
Now, I’m not implying that farmer’s markets are more moral than supermarkets. That’s not the point. It’s an illustration of what life looks like when you realize God is giving you everything. A pastor friend of mine described a grocery trip he went on with a man who had just arrived from Ethiopia. My friend had gone into the grocery store to pick up a few things and thought this Ethiopian man might like to see what grocery stores looked like in the United States. But after the pastor had walked through the aisles picking things up he realized that his friend hadn’t said a word since they came into the store—he realized his companion had been crying, silently, the entire time. “What’s wrong?” the pastor asked? “I’ve never seen so much food in my life.” His friend said. “Just a small portion of this would feed my entire village. And here it all is. Just sitting here on the shelves for the taking. While people in my country are starving.” That’s a grocery store through the eyes of a receiver—seeing all that food as a gift and imagining the possibilities of how to use it.
What would you do if all your money, your time and your life were gifts? The Bible says that they are. “All look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” God is giving you everything. But how might you live your life with God’s gifts? That’s the focus of today’s sermon—the second part of the parable of the talents.
What is the difference between the three servants in the parable? The first two doubled their money, the third gave back exactly what he was given. Could it be that the first two were both financial wizards while the third guy was simply average? Is Jesus making a statement about how we should get better at growing our money and investing in order to make a profit? Does Jesus prefer rich people? Is stewardship simply about getting rich?
The Bible talks about money a lot. But it doesn’t seem to care so much what people buy or how they invest. In other words, you’ve got a lot of freedom in how you use your money. I don’t even see anything that would create the impression that God thinks you to should rich rather than poor. However, God seems to care a lot about whether you are using your money or being used by your money. This is the most important question you need to answer today: Are you using your money or are you being used by your money?
Money, in the Bible, is often talked about surrounding two themes: giving and borrowing. God likes giving but he never talks very nicely about borrowing. But can’t you see why? When you are giving money, you are its master. Just like the kids this week, they were free to choose anything to do with their gift as long as it made a difference in the world, in their community or in the life of someone. It didn’t matter how much they had to give; the point was they gave.
On the other extreme is borrowing money. I’m not saying that you are a sinner because you borrow money (you are a sinner for a lot of other reasons besides that!); what I am saying is that God doesn’t like it when you make money your master. And that is exactly what happens when you have to borrow money all the time and get deeply into debt. It’s hard to think of anything else when everything you earn is already earmarked for a loan or credit card. Instead of seeing money as a gift to be used, money becomes something you’d rather not think about.
But hear this good news: God is giving you everything. Money isn’t scary. It isn’t evil. It is simply a means to an end. Money is only a gift, to be used and nothing more. Money is not to be worshipped. Money is not to be hoarded and never used. It’s only a gift. A MEANS to an END. It’s not that important! And money is also not to be spent frivolously—it is a GIFT FROM GOD! It is a means to an end. It can be USED! It has importance. This is the joy of budgeting down to every last cent. You see both the importance of money and realize that you are its master—not the other way around.
“To all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” You might have nothing. You might be out there in the outer darkness weeping and gnashing your teeth crying out to God for help. You might feel like everything you have is being taken away from you. Through foreclosure. Through bankruptcy. Through credit card debt. Through car accidents. But even in these difficult times, God keeps giving you everything. No matter where you are financially, nothing will separate you from God’s love and God’s gifts.
Jesus suffered for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus went to hell for you. Jesus loves you completely and will find you even if you are in the deepest darkness of financial poverty. The prophet Samuel says, “The Lord kills and makes alive, he brings down to the grave and he raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he also exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.” It is true that God makes the rich richer. He likes to give and keep on giving until you have an abundance. But Jesus was born to give you all the riches of salvation that surpass any monetary amount. And no matter how far you have fallen into debt, he has already paid the ransom for you. He will not abandon you nor will he give you up. Whether you are rich or poor you may trust in Jesus Christ to give you everything he has.
How might you live your life with God’s gifts? Use them and remember who gave them to you. God is giving you everything. Money is a gift, but it is only a gift. The Bible does has money advice: it encourages you to give and it discourages you from borrowing, but all these rules are simply to help you live a happier life and to love your neighbor more fully. Following these rules won’t save you. Following this advice might not even make you rich! A huge pile of money is not finally God’s goal for your life—though God promises to give you what you need. God wants your love and he wants you to love your neighbor. So he gives you his love. He gives you his gifts. And then he gives you the greatest gift of all—Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. He gives you your money, your time, your life and your salvation. God is giving you everything.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sermon for November 16th
What would you do with one hundred dollars? What would you do if you were given one hundred dollars and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or just in the life of one individual? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just to know that you could do whatever you wanted to do to help someone, to make their day or to give them peace during this difficult time of financial crisis in the world. What would you do with that kind of a gift?
I don’t expect any of you to go look at your checkbook, but think about the balance that is in it right now. And, if that balance is very low, which is quite possible, think about the bills that you recently paid. Where’d that money come from? Where’d your job come from? Where’d your talents and abilities come from? What would you do if your money, your abilities and your job were just given to you as gifts?
What would you do with your life? The heartbeat, breath, functioning kidneys and lungs, the consciousness, the whole nine yards! What would you do with your life if it were just given to you as a gift? What would you do with your life if it were just given to you and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world one solitary person. Wouldn’t that be awesome? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.
Today and next Sunday, we are going to look at and talk about your life and your money. These sermons will cover the same passage from today’s gospel reading: the parable of the talents. I figured that you might be interested in what the Bible has to say about money and your life since everybody else in the country has something to say about it. Every time I turn on NPR there is somebody new talking about Credit Default Swaps or sub-prime mortgages, or why, how and if the government should give car companies 50 billion dollars to bail them out. They say that you don’t have enough money to pay your bills, that your life is getting more stressful and that the government wants to help you out and give you hope. Well, the government is not the only one. God has some specific help and some specific hope to give you during this financial crisis.
This week we are going to focus primarily on what God is giving you. Next week we are going to focus on how you might live your life with God’s gifts. Today, at the children’s sermon, we handed out God’s gifts. Next week we are going to hear what those gifts have done in real life.
In the book of Acts, Jesus says that, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” You’ll be hearing that a lot in the upcoming month and a half with Christmas just around the corner. But that still doesn’t change one important fact for you and me that is as true at Christmas time as it is every single day of the year: The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving.
That’s right! Clap your hands quickly over your kids’ ears now before it is too late and I ruin all those hard fought lessons you have tried to teach them. The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving! You started this life dirt poor and you’ll end it poor and in the dirt. And in between, the part between life and death, I’d like you to realize that everything you have is simply a gift. A gift from God. God is giving you everything.
You don’t have to share these gifts. They are all yours. There are no poison pills or contractual obligations for these gifts. You don’t have to feel bad about how much they cost. In fact, there are not strings attached—you don’t have to give anything back to God in return. These gifts are for you and these gifts are free.
But what are they? What are these gifts? Well, take a deep breath . . . there it is. Breath. Gift number one. But God doesn’t just stop there does he? No. God is giving you everything. He doesn’t hold back. He gives you food and clothing. House and home. Fields and flocks. Money and property. A devoted family. An orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors. When you open up the envelope of your life and see some of those good gifts in it, you can trust that God is the giver. And this might be a very big disappointment for you. Because all these gifts from God are things you’ve already got! Exactly!
What would you do with one hundred dollars? If it was just given to you? Well, it has been given to you and, probably a lot more than that. I know that I have a lot more than $100 dollars! A lot more! And so do you. No matter how poor you think you are. But, what if you were given all that money and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the life of an individual? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just to know that you could do whatever you wanted do to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during this difficult time of financial crisis in the world. Well, that’s just it. You were. You were asked. We all were. God has given us everything and he has entrusted his gifts into our hands.
The gospel for today tells this story about a master giving money to his slaves and it sounds almost like a fairy tale to us. Like something that could happen to us one day if we were lucky. But it has already happened. It’s already happening. God has given you his gifts and he is still giving them abundantly. And when Jesus returns to Earth what will he think? What are we doing with everything he has given? If we say that we have not sinned we deceive ourselves.
But still, that doesn’t change the fact that the Christian life is primarily about receiving. Not giving—receiving! We have to receive everything from God’s hands. When it comes to our relationship to God, we receive his blessings and have absolutely nothing worthwhile to give back in return. But, what happens when the money is in our hands? Or in our bank accounts. You and I do not only have a relationship with God; we also have relationships with other people and with the world around us. You can only become a giver in your relationship with others once you realize that you are simply receiving when it comes to your relationship to God. You’re only giving what’s already been given to you.
This is why, finally, God, being the generous giver that he is, must give one final gift to each and every one of you. This is why, finally, even Christmas is NOT about giving, it is about receiving. God Almighty has come down for you because your only hope of eternal life lies not in your 401k, Roth IRA or in a government bailout. Your only hope lies in God alone—a burping, bouncing, bubble-breathing, baby boy named Jesus. He’s got the whole world—and your only possibility for eternal life—in his itty bitty hands, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, (that would include you) by making peace through the blood of his cross.” The Christian life is finally about receiving and God is always the giver. God gives and you receive forgiveness of your sins and a new life.
During this financial crisis, our society and the media tempt us to focus on what we do not have. We are constantly reminded that the Dow Jones is falling lower and lower. Our banks don’t have faith to lend out their money anymore. We don’t have faith in our financial institutions or in our government anymore. We all start feeling and acting like that unfortunate slave in today’s story who was given his money and is scared to death of using it or losing it or getting it taken away!
But what would you do if all your money, your time and your life were given to you as a gift? What would you do if you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world of one person? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or to give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.
God says, “You may not be able to trust the stock market at the moment, but you can always trust me to pay out abundantly.” God says, “If you have lost faith in your financial institutions, you may put your faith in me, the creator and giver of all things.” God says, “If you have finally realized that you are bankrupt, heart, mind and soul with sin, come to me, for I give beyond measure and with no strings attached.” God says, “I give you a new life, a new heat and a new spirit for your portfolio. Here is my only Son, Jesus; he is yours forever. I give you all I have, withholding nothing. Everything I have I give to you. Take my gifts: you are free to use them; What might you do? I entrust all this to you.”
Amen.
I don’t expect any of you to go look at your checkbook, but think about the balance that is in it right now. And, if that balance is very low, which is quite possible, think about the bills that you recently paid. Where’d that money come from? Where’d your job come from? Where’d your talents and abilities come from? What would you do if your money, your abilities and your job were just given to you as gifts?
What would you do with your life? The heartbeat, breath, functioning kidneys and lungs, the consciousness, the whole nine yards! What would you do with your life if it were just given to you as a gift? What would you do with your life if it were just given to you and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world one solitary person. Wouldn’t that be awesome? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.
Today and next Sunday, we are going to look at and talk about your life and your money. These sermons will cover the same passage from today’s gospel reading: the parable of the talents. I figured that you might be interested in what the Bible has to say about money and your life since everybody else in the country has something to say about it. Every time I turn on NPR there is somebody new talking about Credit Default Swaps or sub-prime mortgages, or why, how and if the government should give car companies 50 billion dollars to bail them out. They say that you don’t have enough money to pay your bills, that your life is getting more stressful and that the government wants to help you out and give you hope. Well, the government is not the only one. God has some specific help and some specific hope to give you during this financial crisis.
This week we are going to focus primarily on what God is giving you. Next week we are going to focus on how you might live your life with God’s gifts. Today, at the children’s sermon, we handed out God’s gifts. Next week we are going to hear what those gifts have done in real life.
In the book of Acts, Jesus says that, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” You’ll be hearing that a lot in the upcoming month and a half with Christmas just around the corner. But that still doesn’t change one important fact for you and me that is as true at Christmas time as it is every single day of the year: The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving.
That’s right! Clap your hands quickly over your kids’ ears now before it is too late and I ruin all those hard fought lessons you have tried to teach them. The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving! You started this life dirt poor and you’ll end it poor and in the dirt. And in between, the part between life and death, I’d like you to realize that everything you have is simply a gift. A gift from God. God is giving you everything.
You don’t have to share these gifts. They are all yours. There are no poison pills or contractual obligations for these gifts. You don’t have to feel bad about how much they cost. In fact, there are not strings attached—you don’t have to give anything back to God in return. These gifts are for you and these gifts are free.
But what are they? What are these gifts? Well, take a deep breath . . . there it is. Breath. Gift number one. But God doesn’t just stop there does he? No. God is giving you everything. He doesn’t hold back. He gives you food and clothing. House and home. Fields and flocks. Money and property. A devoted family. An orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors. When you open up the envelope of your life and see some of those good gifts in it, you can trust that God is the giver. And this might be a very big disappointment for you. Because all these gifts from God are things you’ve already got! Exactly!
What would you do with one hundred dollars? If it was just given to you? Well, it has been given to you and, probably a lot more than that. I know that I have a lot more than $100 dollars! A lot more! And so do you. No matter how poor you think you are. But, what if you were given all that money and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the life of an individual? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just to know that you could do whatever you wanted do to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during this difficult time of financial crisis in the world. Well, that’s just it. You were. You were asked. We all were. God has given us everything and he has entrusted his gifts into our hands.
The gospel for today tells this story about a master giving money to his slaves and it sounds almost like a fairy tale to us. Like something that could happen to us one day if we were lucky. But it has already happened. It’s already happening. God has given you his gifts and he is still giving them abundantly. And when Jesus returns to Earth what will he think? What are we doing with everything he has given? If we say that we have not sinned we deceive ourselves.
But still, that doesn’t change the fact that the Christian life is primarily about receiving. Not giving—receiving! We have to receive everything from God’s hands. When it comes to our relationship to God, we receive his blessings and have absolutely nothing worthwhile to give back in return. But, what happens when the money is in our hands? Or in our bank accounts. You and I do not only have a relationship with God; we also have relationships with other people and with the world around us. You can only become a giver in your relationship with others once you realize that you are simply receiving when it comes to your relationship to God. You’re only giving what’s already been given to you.
This is why, finally, God, being the generous giver that he is, must give one final gift to each and every one of you. This is why, finally, even Christmas is NOT about giving, it is about receiving. God Almighty has come down for you because your only hope of eternal life lies not in your 401k, Roth IRA or in a government bailout. Your only hope lies in God alone—a burping, bouncing, bubble-breathing, baby boy named Jesus. He’s got the whole world—and your only possibility for eternal life—in his itty bitty hands, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, (that would include you) by making peace through the blood of his cross.” The Christian life is finally about receiving and God is always the giver. God gives and you receive forgiveness of your sins and a new life.
During this financial crisis, our society and the media tempt us to focus on what we do not have. We are constantly reminded that the Dow Jones is falling lower and lower. Our banks don’t have faith to lend out their money anymore. We don’t have faith in our financial institutions or in our government anymore. We all start feeling and acting like that unfortunate slave in today’s story who was given his money and is scared to death of using it or losing it or getting it taken away!
But what would you do if all your money, your time and your life were given to you as a gift? What would you do if you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world of one person? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or to give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.
God says, “You may not be able to trust the stock market at the moment, but you can always trust me to pay out abundantly.” God says, “If you have lost faith in your financial institutions, you may put your faith in me, the creator and giver of all things.” God says, “If you have finally realized that you are bankrupt, heart, mind and soul with sin, come to me, for I give beyond measure and with no strings attached.” God says, “I give you a new life, a new heat and a new spirit for your portfolio. Here is my only Son, Jesus; he is yours forever. I give you all I have, withholding nothing. Everything I have I give to you. Take my gifts: you are free to use them; What might you do? I entrust all this to you.”
Amen.
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