There is a rumor going around
that the Internal Revenue Service is coming out with a newly
revised and greatly simplified form for income taxes. Line 1
asks you to state your annual income. Line 2 states "SEND
IT IN!" The idea behind the sarcastic humor is to suggest
everything we have belongs to the government. Absurd as this
might sound it does reveal an important biblical truth about
money and possessions. They do not belong to us. They also do
not belong to any government. They do belong to God whether or
not we understand or accept this.
This story comes from the September/October 2005 issue of Emphasis magazine, page 50.
When it comes to possessions, everything we have belongs
to God and so God commands us to return our gifts to Him with
integrity and honest intent. What portion of our gifts does
God expect us to give?
A priest and rabbi were talking. The priest said, "After
we take the collection we draw a big circle on the ground and
then we toss all of the money into the air and whatever falls
into the circle belongs to God and whatever lands outside the
circle we get to keep for ourselves." The rabbi said, "We
have a simpler process for deciding what belongs to God. We
simply toss the whole collection into the air and whatever
God wants ... God keeps." Hear this ... the way our
portion is returned to God is a sign and signal of the condition
of our souls.
Listen to that again. "The way our portion is returned
to God is a sign and signal of the condition of our souls." Let
me then ask you, "How is your soul this morning?"
It's rather amazing but normally there is only one sermon
about money each year. I say this because so many Scripture passages
have to do with money. The word "believe" appears
in the bible 273 times, "pray" appears 371 times
and "love" appears 714 times. "Give" appears
2,172 times. (Herb Miller's Nuggets, Vol. 5, p.18) Most
pastors do not like to talk about money and most congregations
do not like to listen to invitations or pleas for giving. What
I am attempting to do this morning is to talk about stewardship
which is a much broader theme than money.
Stewardship is a spiritual discipline that greatly reveals the
condition or quality of our relationship with God. Once again
I quote Herb Miller, "Stewardship is how we live our lives
as God's people in the world. It is what we do with the
resources God provides. It is the faithful management of all
that God gives." (p. 6)
The apostle Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:11–13, "You
will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which
will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering
of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but
also overflows in many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing
of this ministry, you glorify God by your obedience to the confession
of the Gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing
with them and with all others." Paul states that our giving
reflects what we confess we believe. It is an action that supports
our claim to believing in the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our attitude about money and possessions is very important.
The dreams of riches and what we may do to accumulate them have
the potential to spiritually bankrupt us. This illustration comes
from Emphasis (Cycle C, Proper 14): "A youth
sponsor in a large congregation invited the high school youth
group to his home for the main course in their progressive dinner
program. The host couple lived in a beautiful home with all the
personal amenities, including a very large indoor swimming pool.
As the youth looked around the beautiful residence, one boy commented, "Boy,
you must really be rich!" Without hesitation the host
replied, "We are very rich and we also make a lot of money
in our occupations!" Our greatest possession is God's
love for us in Christ. The gift of God's grace keeps everything
else in life in its right perspective."
You may have already been contacted by one of our stewardship
interpreters inviting you to a small group presentation of the
2006 budget. There will also be a mailing at the end of the week
that will give some budget and program facts. After many years
of having separate campaigns and pledges for operations and buildings
we are combining these into one budget. The mortgage payment
of $180,000 will be a line item in the operating budget. There
will also be a new line item to create an escrow account for
future physical needs of the existing building.
We have increased our mission giving to both national and local
needs. The cost of insurance, custodial care and utilities has
increased with the additional building space.
We also have some exciting news from our Pulpit Nominating Committee.
Next week they will announce the name of the candidate they are
presenting to the congregation as our new designated co-pastor.
The congregation will hear this person preach in November and
vote on accepting the individual who will begin work January
1, 2006 if elected.
I would challenge each of you to do the following. Determine
what percentage of your income you are willing to give to God
through the church. Spend some real time in prayer about this.
Discuss it with your family. Presently 20 percent of my income
goes to the church and 5 percent goes to other charitable causes.
I have not been able to do this my whole life. Twenty years ago
I determined to make a tithe and each year have tried to add
1percent more. What has amazed me during this period is how
all of my financial needs have been met.
After you have determined what percentage of your income you
will give fill out a pledge card indicating how you intend to
pay: weekly, monthly or in some other manner. Even if you do
not wish to pledge at this time please fill out a card indicating "no
pledge" and return it by November 13.
I came across this tiny article in the Pantagraph last Monday.
It was about some 10 year old girls who decided to raise money
for others. They started by baking cookies and selling them along
with some other things. To date they have given over $1,000 to
various charities. I am so very proud that one of the girls attends
this church. Her actions remind me of the widow who gave everything
she had. I truly believe this beautiful child is one of the most
generous people in our congregation. I have no doubt whatsoever
she has the most understanding about what true love and stewardship
involves and I suspect she has experienced the joy that comes
from truly giving. |
