2 Corinthians 9:6-15 November 8, 2009
“Hey God – Thanks!” Part 3
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
As the sound of gunfire erupted at Fort Hood, people started yelling to call 911 as cries for help came from all over the room. According to reports, wounded first responder Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who exchanged gunfire with the shooter Hasan, managed to shoot him four times despite being shot herself. She put a stop to the carnage with her quick thinking and willingness to go head-to-head with the killer. A spokesman said, "She was quite effective, one of our most impressive young police." She walked up and basically engaged him. I think, certainly, this could've been far worse."
Sgt. Kimberly Munley did a gutsy thing last Thursday at Fort Hood. Do you remember the story of the passengers on Flight 93 on 9/11? They did a gutsy thing in attacking the hijackers to make sure their plane was not going to do harm in our nation’s capital.
There are a lot of things people do in this life that others say are gutsy. This past April, when extreme kayaker Tyler Bradt went over Palouse Waterfall, he broke a world record and his paddle, but he survived virtually unscathed. After plunging 180 feet (intentionally), Tyler surfaced after seven seconds only slightly out of breath and with a sprained wrist. "I actually expected more of an impact," he told the Seattle Times. "...
Some might call what he did ‘stupid.’ Others, ‘gutsy.’ Going for it, on 4th and 1. Depending on the outcome, some might say ‘that was the worst call ever,’ or ‘brilliant play calling.’ Both would have to say it was a gutsy call.
I looked up the word gutsy. It is an informal word meaning to show courage, boldness and determination; something done or performed with a great deal of vigor, passion, or emotion.
The apostle Paul was gutsy. Before he came to know the truth about Jesus, he was known by his given name ‘Saul.’ Saul was a strict Jewish leader, a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). He was outstanding in his strict beliefs and hatred of Christians, as evidenced by his presence at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7, 8). He was gutsy in his passion against Christians. He was to be feared. But after an amazing encounter with the risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, Saul became Paul - and he didn’t just leave his old name behind, he left his hatred of Jesus and his followers behind, too. Paul was still gutsy, but now he was courageous, bold, determined, and passionate about spreading the good news of Jesus wherever God sent him.
One of Paul’s passions was the struggling church in Jerusalem. In the city then, as it is in cities today, there were the very poor and the very rich. Christians were oppressed, and for the oppressed, there was a shortage of food and great financial trouble because of double taxation and overpopulation. The Jerusalem congregation needed help, and so Paul made a commitment to get them the financial help they needed. Throughout many of the books of the New Testament following Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you will pick up bits and pieces about the Jerusalem collection. Paul gave constant encouragement to the other newer congregations to be mindful of the needs of the Judean believers. In this way, he taught them about fairness, justice, about love, and about gutsy commitment that took real faith in a real God.
Listen now to these words of the Apostle Paul, written to the church in Corinth regarding their giving to the Jerusalem congregation: (New Living Translation)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.” For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God. So two good things will happen—the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God. You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you. Thank God for his Son—a gift too wonderful for words!
This is the 3rd in a 4-part sermon series called “Hey God – Thanks!” For those of you who have been here these last weeks, I sincerely hope that you have become more aware of the condition of your heart. Have you noticed whether you have a bitter heart or a thankful heart; a critical heart or a thankful heart; a “cup is half empty” heart, or a thankful heart; a resistant heart or an insistently thankful heart? I love what the apostle Paul wrote to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Corinth: God will give us many opportunities to do good, and as we respond, God will produce a great harvest of generosity in us. The key is in the response.
Have you ever been asked to do something you didn’t really want to do? Take cleaning your room, for example. Your mom yells, “did you clean your room yet?” And so, without much passion, you get out the rake and start pulling all the stuff on the floor into nice neat piles so that you can put everything more easily into your closet while you lean on the door to close it. On a scale of 1 to 10, how invested in really cleaning your room were you? Oh, about a 1. Did this produce a great harvest of appreciation for what you have? Probably not. It might even have produced a negative emotion – like frustration or anger towards the one who asked you to clean your room in the first place. “It’s my room. Why can’t I keep it the way I want to keep it?”
Last week, we read the Scripture from Deuteronomy 8 that implores the Israelite people not to forget the Lord in times of prosperity and in times of adversity. “I am the One who brought you through those 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Don’t forget that,” God says. Donna Galipo gave a wonderful testimony about how God has provided and provided and provided for her needs over the last several years. Her testimony touched us, and I hope, caused us to remember God’s work in our own lives through the years.
Folks, in these economic times, living how God calls us to live, giving what God calls us to give, takes gutsy faith. In the Scriptures, we are called to set aside a portion of what God has given to us to give to the work of the Lord. The church in Corinth had been challenged for at least 1 year to keep their own church growing, and to set aside something for this special collection for the Jerusalem Christians. In 1 Corinthians 16, we read Paul’s words, “Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem . . . On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.” Then in 2 Corinthians 8, he writes to them about this again, 1Now I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done for the churches in Macedonia. 2Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. 3For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4They begged us again and again for the gracious privilege of sharing in the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem. 5Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us for whatever directions God might give them.
6So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving. 7Since you excel in so many ways—you have so much faith, such gifted speakers, such knowledge, such enthusiasm, and such love for us—now I want you to excel also in this gracious ministry of giving. 8I am not saying you must do it, even though the other churches are eager to do it. This is one way to prove your love is real. 9You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
And then in chapter 9, right before our main reading for today, Paul wrote more, I am sending these brothers just to be sure that you really are ready to give as I told them you would be; with your money all collected. I don’t want it to turn out that I was wrong in my boasting about you. I would be humiliated – and so would you – if some Macedonian Christians came with me, only to find that you still weren’t ready after all I had told them! So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given under pressure.
So, here’s what I think might have been going on. The folks in the little church in Corinth had been putting aside a portion of their income for the struggling Christians in Jerusalem. Maybe they were keeping it under their mattresses, or in a shoebox on a shelf in the closet. But Paul was concerned that when it came time to actually give the money away, the good people in Corinth might decide to keep some of it back for their own purposes. I’m sure they had unexpect-ed needs come up, just like we do; a higher electric bill, escalating gasoline prices, etc.
Last summer when our son was home, as he walked by the dining room table where the mail seems to get piled up each week before I have a chance to sort it, he looked down and noticed our quarterly statement from the church that Donna gives all of us who contribute here. I was sitting on the other side of the table, doing some work at the computer. “What is this?” he asked. Now, this is my 22-year-old son who has been in Sunday school and worship almost every Sunday of his life. “I don’t know. What are you looking at?” I asked. He showed it to me. “Oh, that’s our contribution statement for the church so far this year.” “What?” he practically shouted. “You could buy a good car with this!” (This was right at the time his car was dying.) “What’s your point?” I asked him. “The Bible says that everything we have belongs to God. And God only asks that we give back to him 1/10 of what we’ve received. I have no problem with that. Do you have a problem with that?” “No, I guess not,” he said as he put the statement back on the table and sort of slinked away
Here’s the thing: There are needs right here, and there are needs out there. The church pays its bills with the money that you and I give to the church – because we are the church. The church is not this building, the church is all of us. But, God has given us this land and this building to gather, and serve, and learn, and grow – so that we can continue Jesus’ work here on earth. This is sort of like our command center. Now, some of us might be a little bothered by the fact that God would ask so much of us. One tenth of our income? Which includes, in my opinion, one tenth of any income we receive, however we receive it. That hurts. It’s like the kid who doesn’t want to clean up her room. It’s mine – why can’t I do with it what I want?
The answer is: Because it really isn’t yours. Everything we have is God’s – and God, the One who created the Heavens and the Earth, has seen fit to trust you with whatever he has given to you – trusting that you will do your part, and I will do my part to make sure the Church survives the ever-present critics and the growing persecution against what we alone have been called to do as the Body of Christ in the world.
Listen to this: Faced with the constitutional prohibition against teaching about the Christian origins of Thanksgiving in public schools, the Maryland State Department of Education has rewritten its curriculum, and renamed the Thanksgiving holiday ‘Lucky Thursday’.
I wonder what the pilgrims would have thought of that name. They were in a constant battle for their lives, yet they stopped and remembered God’s providence in 1621 on a day we now celebrate (in every state except Maryland) as Thanksgiving Day. The pilgrims had very little, but they pooled what they had to say thank-you to God, and commit themselves once again to the mission of religious freedom – a freedom that seems to have a bias towards every religion except Christianity these days.
On October 3, 1789, a Proclamation was made by George Washington. Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me `to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.' Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed . . . (for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. George Washington
And then, 74 years later on October 3, 1863, a new Proclamation was made by Abraham Lincoln, establishing an annual Thanksgiving Day: The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence [sic], have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. Abraham Lincoln.
And then, 73 years later, in 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Controversy followed, and Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November as had been established in 1863, where it still remains.
In 2009, in Maryland, we have “lucky Thursday.”
There is nothing even close to ‘luck’ that has caused Christ’s Church to survive and thrive for these 2000 years. When we think of those who founded this congregation in 1766, and all those who set aside a portion of what God had given to them to see the ministries of the church continue over these nearly 250 years, the word ‘luck’ should not be on our lips. It’s called faithfulness, folks. Obedience. Gutsy. Humbling.
We sit here today because of many who gave in spite of tough economic times – times even tougher than what we’re experiencing now. We sit here today because of many who gave their very lives for the freedom we have to be a Church, sitting on a hill, with a lighted sign, out in the open.
It is a small thing to set aside a portion of what God has given to us to ensure that this church remains strong, preaching the Word courageously, boldly stepping forward in faith, determined to share the truth about God’s love in Jesus Christ to everyone with vigor, passion, and yes – with emotion!
I don’t know how much you think that’s worth – but to me it’s worth a whole lot more than 1 out of 10. It is worth everything. Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our God endures forever. Hearts break, bodies weaken, but Jesus puts us back together!
We’ve got to get a youth pastor in here! There are young people graduating from high school here in Fannett-Metal, Big Spring, Shippensburg, Southern Huntingdon – who have never heard about the One who created them. And statistics show that if a person hasn’t turned their lives over to Christ by the time they are 18, there is less than a 20% chance they ever will.
We’ve got to be gutsy. We’ve got to give of our time, our money, and our spiritual gifts – and we can’t turn back.
Let me finish with an illustration. I need two people to come up here. I’m going to ask both people to hold their hands out, palms up. I’m going to give each of you some candy. Now, one of you close your hands into fists.
Now, I’m going to pour candy overtop of your hands. Who is going to receive more? The one with the open hands, receives more. Duh!
Church, let’s not hold back from giving God what belongs to Him. It might feel like a free fall over a waterfall some weeks as you begin to move towards or beyond the tithe, (John and I have experienced that), but when you trust and let go, you’re going to find (as we have) that God’s promises are true. You’ll not only have everything you need, but you will have more to give away to others.
Would you stand and sing with me, “To Be God’s People?”
Please take a look at the chart on the other side of the songsheet. See where you are in your giving. Will you make a gutsy step of faith today, and move closer to the 10% then ever before? Maybe some of you are already giving 10%. Are you ready to move beyond that? As a church, we give 16% of the income we receive to local, world, or denominational mission. As you are ready to make a commitment (which is not a binding contract) – please fill out your card, put it in the envelope and hand it in. The only person who ever sees what is on your card is Donna Hays, our treasurer. Making this commitment it really more between you and God than anything else. Personally, I think that making a written commitment helps us actually do what we know God wants us to do. Just saying it, or thinking it, usually doesn’t result in real change. I encourage you to step forward and do whatever part God has called you to do to keep your church on the front lines for the lives of the lost.
Remember what Paul said: Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. God loves the person who gives cheerfully.
Amen.
“Hey God – Thanks!” Part 3
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
As the sound of gunfire erupted at Fort Hood, people started yelling to call 911 as cries for help came from all over the room. According to reports, wounded first responder Sgt. Kimberly Munley, who exchanged gunfire with the shooter Hasan, managed to shoot him four times despite being shot herself. She put a stop to the carnage with her quick thinking and willingness to go head-to-head with the killer. A spokesman said, "She was quite effective, one of our most impressive young police." She walked up and basically engaged him. I think, certainly, this could've been far worse."
Sgt. Kimberly Munley did a gutsy thing last Thursday at Fort Hood. Do you remember the story of the passengers on Flight 93 on 9/11? They did a gutsy thing in attacking the hijackers to make sure their plane was not going to do harm in our nation’s capital.
There are a lot of things people do in this life that others say are gutsy. This past April, when extreme kayaker Tyler Bradt went over Palouse Waterfall, he broke a world record and his paddle, but he survived virtually unscathed. After plunging 180 feet (intentionally), Tyler surfaced after seven seconds only slightly out of breath and with a sprained wrist. "I actually expected more of an impact," he told the Seattle Times. "...
Some might call what he did ‘stupid.’ Others, ‘gutsy.’ Going for it, on 4th and 1. Depending on the outcome, some might say ‘that was the worst call ever,’ or ‘brilliant play calling.’ Both would have to say it was a gutsy call.
I looked up the word gutsy. It is an informal word meaning to show courage, boldness and determination; something done or performed with a great deal of vigor, passion, or emotion.
The apostle Paul was gutsy. Before he came to know the truth about Jesus, he was known by his given name ‘Saul.’ Saul was a strict Jewish leader, a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). He was outstanding in his strict beliefs and hatred of Christians, as evidenced by his presence at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7, 8). He was gutsy in his passion against Christians. He was to be feared. But after an amazing encounter with the risen Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, Saul became Paul - and he didn’t just leave his old name behind, he left his hatred of Jesus and his followers behind, too. Paul was still gutsy, but now he was courageous, bold, determined, and passionate about spreading the good news of Jesus wherever God sent him.
One of Paul’s passions was the struggling church in Jerusalem. In the city then, as it is in cities today, there were the very poor and the very rich. Christians were oppressed, and for the oppressed, there was a shortage of food and great financial trouble because of double taxation and overpopulation. The Jerusalem congregation needed help, and so Paul made a commitment to get them the financial help they needed. Throughout many of the books of the New Testament following Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you will pick up bits and pieces about the Jerusalem collection. Paul gave constant encouragement to the other newer congregations to be mindful of the needs of the Judean believers. In this way, he taught them about fairness, justice, about love, and about gutsy commitment that took real faith in a real God.
Listen now to these words of the Apostle Paul, written to the church in Corinth regarding their giving to the Jerusalem congregation: (New Living Translation)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.” For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God. So two good things will happen—the needs of the Christians in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanksgiving to God. You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts. For your generosity to them will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ. And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the wonderful grace of God shown through you. Thank God for his Son—a gift too wonderful for words!
This is the 3rd in a 4-part sermon series called “Hey God – Thanks!” For those of you who have been here these last weeks, I sincerely hope that you have become more aware of the condition of your heart. Have you noticed whether you have a bitter heart or a thankful heart; a critical heart or a thankful heart; a “cup is half empty” heart, or a thankful heart; a resistant heart or an insistently thankful heart? I love what the apostle Paul wrote to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Corinth: God will give us many opportunities to do good, and as we respond, God will produce a great harvest of generosity in us. The key is in the response.
Have you ever been asked to do something you didn’t really want to do? Take cleaning your room, for example. Your mom yells, “did you clean your room yet?” And so, without much passion, you get out the rake and start pulling all the stuff on the floor into nice neat piles so that you can put everything more easily into your closet while you lean on the door to close it. On a scale of 1 to 10, how invested in really cleaning your room were you? Oh, about a 1. Did this produce a great harvest of appreciation for what you have? Probably not. It might even have produced a negative emotion – like frustration or anger towards the one who asked you to clean your room in the first place. “It’s my room. Why can’t I keep it the way I want to keep it?”
Last week, we read the Scripture from Deuteronomy 8 that implores the Israelite people not to forget the Lord in times of prosperity and in times of adversity. “I am the One who brought you through those 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Don’t forget that,” God says. Donna Galipo gave a wonderful testimony about how God has provided and provided and provided for her needs over the last several years. Her testimony touched us, and I hope, caused us to remember God’s work in our own lives through the years.
Folks, in these economic times, living how God calls us to live, giving what God calls us to give, takes gutsy faith. In the Scriptures, we are called to set aside a portion of what God has given to us to give to the work of the Lord. The church in Corinth had been challenged for at least 1 year to keep their own church growing, and to set aside something for this special collection for the Jerusalem Christians. In 1 Corinthians 16, we read Paul’s words, “Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem . . . On every Lord’s Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.” Then in 2 Corinthians 8, he writes to them about this again, 1Now I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done for the churches in Macedonia. 2Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, their wonderful joy and deep poverty have overflowed in rich generosity. 3For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4They begged us again and again for the gracious privilege of sharing in the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem. 5Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us for whatever directions God might give them.
6So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving. 7Since you excel in so many ways—you have so much faith, such gifted speakers, such knowledge, such enthusiasm, and such love for us—now I want you to excel also in this gracious ministry of giving. 8I am not saying you must do it, even though the other churches are eager to do it. This is one way to prove your love is real. 9You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus Christ was. Though he was very rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
And then in chapter 9, right before our main reading for today, Paul wrote more, I am sending these brothers just to be sure that you really are ready to give as I told them you would be; with your money all collected. I don’t want it to turn out that I was wrong in my boasting about you. I would be humiliated – and so would you – if some Macedonian Christians came with me, only to find that you still weren’t ready after all I had told them! So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given under pressure.
So, here’s what I think might have been going on. The folks in the little church in Corinth had been putting aside a portion of their income for the struggling Christians in Jerusalem. Maybe they were keeping it under their mattresses, or in a shoebox on a shelf in the closet. But Paul was concerned that when it came time to actually give the money away, the good people in Corinth might decide to keep some of it back for their own purposes. I’m sure they had unexpect-ed needs come up, just like we do; a higher electric bill, escalating gasoline prices, etc.
Last summer when our son was home, as he walked by the dining room table where the mail seems to get piled up each week before I have a chance to sort it, he looked down and noticed our quarterly statement from the church that Donna gives all of us who contribute here. I was sitting on the other side of the table, doing some work at the computer. “What is this?” he asked. Now, this is my 22-year-old son who has been in Sunday school and worship almost every Sunday of his life. “I don’t know. What are you looking at?” I asked. He showed it to me. “Oh, that’s our contribution statement for the church so far this year.” “What?” he practically shouted. “You could buy a good car with this!” (This was right at the time his car was dying.) “What’s your point?” I asked him. “The Bible says that everything we have belongs to God. And God only asks that we give back to him 1/10 of what we’ve received. I have no problem with that. Do you have a problem with that?” “No, I guess not,” he said as he put the statement back on the table and sort of slinked away
Here’s the thing: There are needs right here, and there are needs out there. The church pays its bills with the money that you and I give to the church – because we are the church. The church is not this building, the church is all of us. But, God has given us this land and this building to gather, and serve, and learn, and grow – so that we can continue Jesus’ work here on earth. This is sort of like our command center. Now, some of us might be a little bothered by the fact that God would ask so much of us. One tenth of our income? Which includes, in my opinion, one tenth of any income we receive, however we receive it. That hurts. It’s like the kid who doesn’t want to clean up her room. It’s mine – why can’t I do with it what I want?
The answer is: Because it really isn’t yours. Everything we have is God’s – and God, the One who created the Heavens and the Earth, has seen fit to trust you with whatever he has given to you – trusting that you will do your part, and I will do my part to make sure the Church survives the ever-present critics and the growing persecution against what we alone have been called to do as the Body of Christ in the world.
Listen to this: Faced with the constitutional prohibition against teaching about the Christian origins of Thanksgiving in public schools, the Maryland State Department of Education has rewritten its curriculum, and renamed the Thanksgiving holiday ‘Lucky Thursday’.
I wonder what the pilgrims would have thought of that name. They were in a constant battle for their lives, yet they stopped and remembered God’s providence in 1621 on a day we now celebrate (in every state except Maryland) as Thanksgiving Day. The pilgrims had very little, but they pooled what they had to say thank-you to God, and commit themselves once again to the mission of religious freedom – a freedom that seems to have a bias towards every religion except Christianity these days.
On October 3, 1789, a Proclamation was made by George Washington. Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me `to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.' Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed . . . (for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us. And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best. Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789. George Washington
And then, 74 years later on October 3, 1863, a new Proclamation was made by Abraham Lincoln, establishing an annual Thanksgiving Day: The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence [sic], have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. Abraham Lincoln.
And then, 73 years later, in 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season, proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November. Controversy followed, and Congress passed a joint resolution in 1941 decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November as had been established in 1863, where it still remains.
In 2009, in Maryland, we have “lucky Thursday.”
There is nothing even close to ‘luck’ that has caused Christ’s Church to survive and thrive for these 2000 years. When we think of those who founded this congregation in 1766, and all those who set aside a portion of what God had given to them to see the ministries of the church continue over these nearly 250 years, the word ‘luck’ should not be on our lips. It’s called faithfulness, folks. Obedience. Gutsy. Humbling.
We sit here today because of many who gave in spite of tough economic times – times even tougher than what we’re experiencing now. We sit here today because of many who gave their very lives for the freedom we have to be a Church, sitting on a hill, with a lighted sign, out in the open.
It is a small thing to set aside a portion of what God has given to us to ensure that this church remains strong, preaching the Word courageously, boldly stepping forward in faith, determined to share the truth about God’s love in Jesus Christ to everyone with vigor, passion, and yes – with emotion!
I don’t know how much you think that’s worth – but to me it’s worth a whole lot more than 1 out of 10. It is worth everything. Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our God endures forever. Hearts break, bodies weaken, but Jesus puts us back together!
We’ve got to get a youth pastor in here! There are young people graduating from high school here in Fannett-Metal, Big Spring, Shippensburg, Southern Huntingdon – who have never heard about the One who created them. And statistics show that if a person hasn’t turned their lives over to Christ by the time they are 18, there is less than a 20% chance they ever will.
We’ve got to be gutsy. We’ve got to give of our time, our money, and our spiritual gifts – and we can’t turn back.
Let me finish with an illustration. I need two people to come up here. I’m going to ask both people to hold their hands out, palms up. I’m going to give each of you some candy. Now, one of you close your hands into fists.
Now, I’m going to pour candy overtop of your hands. Who is going to receive more? The one with the open hands, receives more. Duh!
Church, let’s not hold back from giving God what belongs to Him. It might feel like a free fall over a waterfall some weeks as you begin to move towards or beyond the tithe, (John and I have experienced that), but when you trust and let go, you’re going to find (as we have) that God’s promises are true. You’ll not only have everything you need, but you will have more to give away to others.
Would you stand and sing with me, “To Be God’s People?”
Please take a look at the chart on the other side of the songsheet. See where you are in your giving. Will you make a gutsy step of faith today, and move closer to the 10% then ever before? Maybe some of you are already giving 10%. Are you ready to move beyond that? As a church, we give 16% of the income we receive to local, world, or denominational mission. As you are ready to make a commitment (which is not a binding contract) – please fill out your card, put it in the envelope and hand it in. The only person who ever sees what is on your card is Donna Hays, our treasurer. Making this commitment it really more between you and God than anything else. Personally, I think that making a written commitment helps us actually do what we know God wants us to do. Just saying it, or thinking it, usually doesn’t result in real change. I encourage you to step forward and do whatever part God has called you to do to keep your church on the front lines for the lives of the lost.
Remember what Paul said: Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. God loves the person who gives cheerfully.
Amen.
