Series: GIFT... Generosity In Faith Together.... "Together"

Sunday Nov 11, 2012 Sermon                         2Cor. 9:1-10, Acts 2:43-47

Prayer:

Dustin immediately became my Smarties hero. He peeled out a piece with a smile and handed it over gladly. This was surprising enough, but at that moment, something happened in this little boy's heart. From that day on, for the next two years, every time Dustin got a pack of Smarties, he took out the first one and set it aside for me. Every Sunday, Dustin would track me down at church and generously offer me one or more Smarties. He did it gladly, with a smile, as if he enjoyed it.

Sometimes Dustin would open a pack of Smarties during the week, but he would still save me the first round, sugary, chalky tablet in his pocket. By the time Sunday came, the Smarty was a little mangy and would have lint and other pocket paraphernalia stuck to it, but he never forgot to bring it for me. In those cases, I thanked him and put it in my pocket so I could enjoy it later.

Dustin loved Smarties. He also loved his pastor. Every week before worship started, Dustin and I shared a time of communion. Jesus was present as we shared a few moments of conversation and partook of some Smarties together.

Somewhere along the way, Dustin's mother pointed out that the packs of Smarties she bought for him had ten pieces, and she saw this weekly ritual as Dustin's introduction to tithing. What I saw was a little boy who loved to share and who understood the power of generosity. Since that time, I have asked myself many times, How and I doing with my Smarties?

We’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting on the acronym “GIFT”

            “Generosity In Faith Together”

I believe the key word in this acronym is the word “TOGETHER.” If you think about it… very little happens w/o the help of others.

Our Acts 2 reading describes that all the Lord’s followers came together for a common purpose.

                   Together… they and we share community.

Together… ministry happens.

Together…God blesses with abundance.

Together… we are working on shared values.

Together… we will develop a shared mission in the community.

Together… we will help each other live out the ways of Jesus.

Together… we respond Generously to the Gifts God has given us.

Together… our Generosity reflects our relationship with God.

The Apostle Paul tells us in vs 7 …”Each of us must make up our minds about how much we give.” Which leads to 3 spiritual questions before us on how God is calling us to be generous together?

Is God calling me to Tithe my income?

You may ask, what is a Tithe? The tithe idea comes from the OT… meaning “To give a tenth”

Deuteronomy 14:22… Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field to give to the Lord.

Simply… it means to give the 10% of your income back to God. Maybe you’ve been growing in your faith & discipleship and you’ve made incremental steps towards tithing and now you believe God is calling you to make the commitment to give a Tenth or 10% of your income as a response to God’s abundant blessing and grace. If you are at the place where you believe God is calling you to do this… I encourage you to take this step of faith.

Is God calling me to Give 10% Someday?

Many of us are here and this is ok. You are growing in faith & discipleship, but you’re not ready to give 10% this year. But I’m going to move up a step from where I was…. From 3% to 4%... 5% to 6% and so on. You are growing in faith and now I’m going to respond to God’s Gifts and grace by moving up one step in faith.

Is God calling me to Give More than 10%

A Forbes Magazine article told the story of Hugh & Nancy McFarland who had been giving away 70% of their income for 18 years since Hugh was 39. He says, “Giving away 70% of my income was easy. It’s fun to give money away. The challenge is living on 30%, but we did it and have been blessed more than we could have imagined.”

Maybe you’ve been tithing for years. God has blessed you richly. You’ve grown in your discipleship & faith. Now as a response to God blessings I’m going to give more. Maybe God is calling me to give 12%...15%... maybe 20% or more. God has given me more than I could have ever imagined and now it is time to share more of those blessings. I will live in faith and give more this year.

Let’s keep this in mind. Being generous is not some esoteric function that we do. We are not generous because a building… or a particular program… or ministry. If your giving just to a building… don’t give. We will always need money, you should be giving from the heart. Generosity is a matter of the heart. Generosity is really a spiritual matter… remember my

Seminary professor Mark Powell in his book titled “Giving to God” says, “We are not asked to place money in the collection plate because the church needs the money, but because of our need to give as an act of devotion.

We are generous out of our gratitude and relationship to God.

We are Generous in Faith Together.

Closing:

            Together… we grow in Discipleship & Faith.

            Together… we grow in God’s Grace.

            Together… we grow in our Generosity.

Together… God is calling us to be Generous.

See You Out on the Road

Finding Tomorrow

Rev. 21:1-7, John 11:32-44

Sunday was the celebration of All Saints Day in the church. This day is the day we remember those saints who have gone to be with the Lord. Those saints whom we remember and the lives we celebrate for the impact they’ve had on our (the living) lives. 

Martin Luther came up with a significant understanding during an All Saints Sunday worship experience when he came to the realization that we are both sinner and saint throughout lives, and that it’s an ongoing daily event over a life time. Just because we may go to church or say we are Christian doesn’t negate that we are saint and sinner all the time. Therefore, we can approach this day with hope because no matter how we live our day today as sinner, there is hope tomorrow for an opportunity to be a saint.

I really like our readings today especially the Revelation passage because they point towards hope. They point towards tomorrow and I believe this is significant because no matter how difficult our situation or circumstances are… Tomorrow Still Comes… as John writes in Rev. 21… “God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever... I am making everything new.” I know for some of you, our remembrance of your love ones this morning will tug on your hearts and will make for an emotional time. Jesus encourages you to have faith and to not only to remember those persons you love, but to understand that God is making all things new. You see… Hope comes because Tomorrow Still Comes.  


See You Out on the Road




 

Series: GIFT... “In Faith”

Sunday Oct. 28, 2012 Sermon

Mark 12:41-44

Father’s… maybe you can relate with this… The father of the bride kissed his daughter after he walked her down the aisle, after which the daughter placed something in her father's hand and gave him a kiss.

The congregation erupted into laughter. What she had placed in her father's hand, that the pastor couldn't see, was his American Express Card.
Made any costly choices in your life lately?

Prayer:

We continue our series Generosity In Faith Together as a way to understand the biblical narrative of stewardship and what it means to live a generous life. We’re doing this using the acronym GIFT…. Generosity I Faith Together… as a way to reflect on how God has blessed each of us and How God challenges each of us to use these gifts as a blessing to others.

Last week we reflected on the G… Generosity… portion of the acronym on what it means to live a generous life.

Today… our focus will be on the I & F.. “In Faith” portion.

Often… we equate going to church with having faith, or that going to church makes me a Christian. Faith or being a Christian doesn’t come because we go to church each week, nor from the rites, rituals, or traditions we have. Faith comes when we make a concerted effort to turning our hearts towards God. The Greek word “Metanoia”… translated as “Repent”… means to “Turn Back to God.” Only then… will we begin to grow in faith.

In all of our Bible readings today… being faithful is the emphasis.

OT reading King David praises God that the people were faithful in their generosity to build a temple.

Our 2^nd reading Paul, tells the people not to judge peoples generosity, but to be faithful to the one we work for.

And in the Gospel story the widow gives her last pennies, not out of duty, but out of faith. The context of our gospel story is Jesus and the widow is a contrast to the story before where the church leaders are taking the temple offerings for themselves and their own needs as a way to make themselves look better. Jesus uses the widow as an example of her need and her faith compared to the wealth and faithless of the church leaders.

Often time’s people usually think of giving to the church and to charities as an option. Money for charitable giving comes out of the surplus after personal expenses have been met… and those necessary expenses often include entertainment, clothes, food, and toys. This isn’t surprising as it is the mantra of the church leaders in Jesus’ day…. It often happens in our day as well…  To live in faith is a challenge most of us experience. Our talk is often much better than our walk.

This shouldn’t surprise us… throughout the bible we see God’s people being faithful…. Only to turn and be unfaithful.

Why do you think this happens?

Joyce Meyer has said, “Can you imagine Jesus traveling around the country today with his disciples talking about how hard everything was? Can you picture him discussing how difficult going to the cross was going to be...of how he dreaded the things ahead...or how frustrating it was to live under the conditions of their daily lives: roaming the countryside with no place to call home, no roof over their heads, no bed to sleep in at night? You and I have the mind of Christ, and we can handle things the way he did: by looking at the abundance we’ve been given, not the sacristy we perceive.”

I believe we are less faithful because Faith requires risk. And… we often choose to be comfortable rather than risk. What are You Risking today?

On the wall in my office is a plaque titled “RISK” it says,

If you haven’t Risked, You have not gained.

If you haven’t Gained, You have not Failed.

If you haven’t Failed, You have not Learned,

If you haven’t Learned, You have not Risked.

Throughout the Bible we read of the Risk God’s people took in Faith.

-       Noah… building an Ark… primarily in a desert region… think of the risk this old man took…

-       Abe… leaving his homeland to go to a land God promised, but didn’t tell him where… and nearly sacrificing his son.

-       Moses…. Standing up to Pharaoh… taking people on a 40 year journey.

-       All the Prophets who stood against the powers of their times.

-       John the Baptist… Nicodemus…. Think of the risk Nicodemus took to have a conversation with Jesus… think of the risk all of Jesus’ friends took… who left jobs and family to follow someone they didn’t know.

-       And the widow in our story today…. She took the risk and give all she had.

Someone once said, “Faith is not trusting God to get something, Faith is trusting God when there seems to be nothing left.”

In many ways God is challenging us to put our money where our mouth is. We tend to talk a lot about ministry, but often have trouble putting it into action. While we’ve been living with economic challenges in South East Mich, I believe we’ve still been given an abundance of resources nonetheless.

-       In Faith… I left a comfortable job and life to go to college , then seminary to have a new vocation.

-       In Faith… you chose to participate in a transition process of rediscovery.

-       In Faith… you are risking serving areas that are uncomfortable like McRest.

-       In Faith… we continue learning to be faithful followers.

I talk to people all the time who want to have a deeper faith life. When I ask them what they are doing to have this…. They often say “Nothing”. The reason people in Jesus’ day didn’t follow him is no different than it is today… they weren’t willing to risk in faith.

Closing:

A couple of years ago a 4 yr old boy named Domminc was murdered near where I live. Perhaps you heard about this. During that horrific week our local news channel ran a story of an unknown woman who did not know this family, but took the risk to help nonetheless. I don’t know if this woman was responding because of her faith, but she had enough faith to risk a response to a grieving family.

We are living in a time, not of Faith vs Doubt, but Faith vs Belief. People are believing anything & everything, but have faith in very little.

My friends… be encouraged to live in the abundance God has blessed us with… “In Faith” today.

See You Out on the Road