"Extending Stewardship" Luke 12: 13-21; Psalm 49: 16-20

This sermon is the third in the stewardship series, and it focuses on how we can continue our stewardship beyond our death by remembering the church in our will.

In the last year or so, the congregation I serve has received significant funds in three different ways:  two members (husband and wife) remembered the church by stipulating that 10% (a tithe, remember) of their estate go to the church.  Another member had previously established a charitable annuity, which means that years ago money we put into an annuity that paid out to the member each year, with the remainder going to the church at the member's death.  A third gift arrived through the generosity of a member's family, who chose to give a gift out of the estate.  Those are three varied examples of members have witnessed to their and supported the church through their giving after their deaths.


In his will, the American patriot Patrick Henry wrote, “I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had this, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich; but if they had not that, and I have given them all the world, they would be poor.”  This quote taken from resources provided by Presbyterian Foundation for Wills Emphasis
 http://www.presbyterianfoundation.org/PresbyterianFoundation/media/PresbyterianFoundation/Wills%20Emphasis%20Program/Sermon-1-WE-2009-new-logo.pdf 

We cannot ensure that our family members who survive us will claim the faith that we have; we can help ensure that the work of the church continues to provide opportunities for our family members and others after we are gone by providing support for the church in our wills.

I keep thinking about what a powerful witness it must be for families to discover that their loved one has remembered their church in their will.

The portion of Psalm 49 we read is a reminder that we cannot take our wealth with us.

The parable in Luke is often known as the Parable of the Rich Fool.    IN some ways, it fits well with the sermon because it makes the point that at our death all that we are accumulated means nothing.  On the other hand, it seems a bit contradictory because it argues against storing up our wealth while on earth.  Of course, in order to have something to give back after our death suggests that we have accumulated something during our life!

The word generosity continues to pop up in my thoughts; it seems to be a word that connects all the sermons in this series.

Peace,

Richard

Reflections on "Living Stewardship" Malachi 3: 8-12; Luke 19: 1-10

This is a week when the sermon preached in the Sanctuary worked better than the one in the Chapel.  It also is a sermon where the printed text below is more an approximation of what was said in the sermon -- I seemed to free lance quite a bit, although all the illustrations and quotes made it into the preached version.

I intentionally opened by moving directly into the Zacchaeus story.  Because I now listen to the sermons regularly, I am trying to be more intentional about changing my preaching pattern.  This week I decided to skip an introduction because I have gotten into the habit of having an introduction each week that reminds everyone what the sermon series is.  

I thought the Zacchaeus section was really good.  The Malachi reference was weak.  In truth, I didn't have the Malachi passage figured out very well until I read it during the Chapel service.  At that point, I had an "aha" moment, but I couldn't rewrite the whole sermon on the fly.  I would love to preach the Malachi passage again at some point and focus on God basically daring the Israelites to test God by tithing and seeing if things will work out when they do.  That could really preach!

I really like the Nouwen quote that I used at the end of the sermon, but it might have been a bit long.  I also discovered from comments people made as they left that Henri Nouwen, who is very familiar to me, is not that familiar to others.  

“Living Stewardship” Stewardship series 2013; FPC, Troy; October 27, 2013; Malachi 3: 8; Luke 19: 1-10

Move 1:  Zacchaeus makes a big change in his life.

            a.  You know the story.

1.      Little guy climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus.

2.      Little guy who is a chief tax collector.  Notorious kind of guy.

3.      Jesus recognizes him; Jesus recognizes his need; Jesus invites himself over to this house.

3.      Zacchaeus likes what he sees and hears about Jesus.  The presence of Jesus overwhelms him.

4.      He wants to change his life.

5.      He decides to give half of his possessions to the poor and pay back four times to anyone he has defrauded.

            b.  What? He is going to give half his money and repay those he has defrauded four-fold?

1.      Did Jesus ask him to do?

           

2.      The text does not say so.  It seems as if Zacchaeus devised this plan himself.

3.      Can you imagine if you were asked by Zacchaeus to figure out a plan for how he could make concrete changes to his life?  What would you suggest?

4.      The easiest approach might be to just tell Zacchaeus to quit ripping people off beginning now.  His changed life would lead to his being fair from that moment on.

5.      Or maybe Zacchaeus could be pushed to pay back everyone he has cheated.  Clean the slate.

6.      And if he really wanted to do something, pay everyone back and give a tithe to the poor.  A tithe is even biblical, right?

7.      But who among us would advise Zacchaeus to repay those he has defrauded four-fold and give half his possessions to the poor? 

8.      I don't think I would.  Not only does it seem over the top, but someone might have a similar suggestion for me!

c.      But the point is made – when Zacchaeus becomes a disciple of Christ, his life becomes marked by his generosity.

1.      In fact, extravagant generosity.

2.      We do not know what Zacchaeus might have been like a year later, but he seems pretty happy at this moment.

Move 2:  From Zacchaeus' example, we see discipleship connected to generosity.

a.       That’s what it means to be Living stewardship.

1.  Not just a moment when we make a pledge to as part of a church’s stewardship campaign, but a life marked by generosity.

2.      Paul Harvey: On October 3, 1995 during the noon-hour show, Paul Harvey told about a young man of 8 years-old named Ben. It seems that Ben had won a contest at his local McDonald’s. He had won a brand new bike. Everyone in the store was congratulating him on his good fortune. But Ben told his parents that he already had a bike and that he didn’t need two. Ben gave the new bike to a classmate who lived up the street who didn’t have a bike, and due to family medical bills, his parents would not be able to purchase one for him. When the manager of the McDonald’s store heard what Ben had done, she invited Ben and his family to dinner. The manager then presented Ben with a $100 gift certificate good at Wal-Mart. Ben immediately spent that gift on a crash helmet, for his classmate up the street.

b. Our generosity helps us differentiate between the way of the world and our call to discipleship.

                        1.  Dave Ramsay notes that "We buy things we don't even need with money we don't even have to impress people don't even know."  As quoted by Robert Schnase in  Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (113)

2.       The world teaches accumulation of wealth.

3. Generosity teaches us to give of ourselves and our money to others.

4.  We need an attitude of generosity to propel us out of the world of self-absorption.

c.      Consider this example from Israel. 

1.      The Jordan River feed River feeds two seas – the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.

2.  The Sea of Galilee is thriving and full of life; the Dead Sea is too salty to have much life.

4.      Difference – River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee in the north and flows out of it to the South.

5.      The River Jordan flows into the Dead Sea, but nothing flows out.

6.      When we generously give away the gifts that God has given to us; when those gifts flow through us, if you will, abundant life appears.

7.      When the gifts from God end with us, never shared with others, then abundant life is stifled.

Move 3:  the invitation to be generous is a gift.

            a.  The notion that stewardship rightly focuses on the Christian's need to give rather than the church need to receive is not simply a money-raising strategy but a spiritually driven truth."  Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Robert Schnase (112)

                        1. I ran across a study done by the Warwick Business School in England.  It determined that the report also said that happier countries were likely to be bigger givers than those who were simply wealthy, which Andrew Oswald, professor of behavioural science at Warwick Business School, said confirmed the results of "small-scale laboratory experiments which have shown that when people are asked to spend money on others they feel happier than people who are asked to spend money on themselves. This goes against conventional economic wisdom, and indeed human intuition, that says that spending money on ourselves will make us happier." http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/sep/08/good-samaritan-charitable-giving

                        2.  Those results may go against conventional economic wisdom, but I bet Zacchaeus would understand.

b.The prophet Malachi describes how happy the land of the Israelites will be when they give back their tithe to God.

1.      When they are not being good stewards, they miss the important opportunity to give and find abundant life.

2. when they give, they discover the joy that can only come from giving.

Conclusion:   Henri Nouwen:  The Joy of Giving
"What a wonderful mystery this is! Our greatest
fulfillment lies in giving ourselves to others. Although it often seems that people give only to receive, I believe that, beyond all our desires to be appreciated, rewarded and acknowledged, there lies a simple and pure desire to give. I remember how I spent long hours looking in Dutch stores for a birthday gift for my father or mother, simply enjoying being able to give. Our humanity comes to its fullest bloom in giving. We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life... all of our life. One of the most moving experiences of life is the experience of giving.  It is sad to see that, in our highly competitive and greedy world, we have lost touch with the joy of giving. We often live as if our happiness depended on having much. But I don't know of anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has. True joy, happiness, and inner peace come from the giving of ourselves to others. A happy life is a life for others." Henri Nouwen, The Life of the Beloved

Living stewardship.

"Living Stewardship" Malachi 3: 7-12; Luke 19: 1-10

The notion that stewardship rightly focuses on the Christian's need to give rather than the church need to receive is not simply a money-raising strategy but a spiritually driven truth."  Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Robert Schnase (112)

Dave Ramsay notes that "We buy things we don't even need with money we don't even have to impress people don't even know."  As quoted by Robert Schnase in  Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (113)

We need an attitude of generosity to propel us out of the world of self-absorption.

I was drawn to the Zaccheus story because of his generous response to meeting Jesus.  He decides to give half of his possessions to the poor and give back four times what he had defrauded someone.  His generosity far exceeds what he might have been expected to do.

The prophet Malachi describes how happy the land of the Israelites will be when they give back their tithe to God.

The idea of living stewardship take a holistic approach to life that pushes us to live generous lives, not just in our monetary giving, but as our overall approach to how we live.

Reflections on "Teaching Stewardship" I Chronicles 29: 1-9; Mark 12: 41-44

This sermon begins a 4 week series on Stewardship.  Every once in a while, a sermon goes like I had hoped and it works for me.  This sermon was like that.  I hit the points I wanted, explored the two texts in ways that I think were faithful and insightful, and even had a good illustration or two.

A major challenge in preparing this sermon is knowing that it is the first of four sermons on a similar topic, so I had to (and will continue to have to) try and keep the focus sharp enough that it does not blur into the next sermon.

“Teaching Stewardship” Stewardship series 2013; FPC, Troy; October 20, 2013

Introduction:  Series on stewardship:  teaching it; living it; how our stewardship can continue after our deaths; celebrating it;

We will have weekly Minute for Missions as well as members share with us about stewardship

We begin this morning by reflecting on how we teach stewardship – to everyone, but particularly to our children.

Move 1:  Question -- If we do not teach stewardship to our children, our grandchildren, to those in our community of faith, how will they learn it?

            a.   “I asked an executive at the South Dakota Community Foundation why South Dakotans donate so much of their incomes to charity [the average  S. Dakota family donate 75% more of their income than the average San Francisco family].  Her response was immediate: religion.  ‘We were all taught to tithe here,’ she told, referring to the biblical injunction to believers that they donate 10 percent of their incomes to charity. Further, she explained, even those who do not attend church regularly donate a lot because they were taught to do so by their parents, who probably did attend.” Who Really Cares: America’s Charity Divide, Arthur C. Brooks, Basic Books, 2006 (32).

                        1. Church was the place it was taught.

                        2. Parents involved in the teaching.

                        3. This is the place; you are the people.

            B. A little boy in church for the first time watched as the offering plates were passed. When it came to his family, he said loudly, “Don't pay for me, Dad.  I'm under five.”  Marj Carpenter, “Presbyterian Outlook,” 9/19/11, p. 9

1. The passing of the offering plates is rather odd, isn’t it?

2.              Imagine if you have never come to church before today. 

3.              Some people put in cash; some do not put in anything, they just pass the plates to the next person.  Who decides who actually puts something in the plates?

4.              Others use envelopes; what’s in the envelopes? Different colored envelopes?

5.              What’s that about?  The only thing you know for sure is that no one is taking any of the money out of the offering plate.

6.              If our children are going to understand what is happening, if those worshipping with us are to understand, we have to teach about what we are doing when we give our offering back to God.

c. We have that same responsibility as a church

1.      Start This, Stop That, by Jim and Jennifer Cowart argue that every church should be teaching a financial management course.

2.      Like the Financial Peace University course currently being taught here.

3.  A class to teach how we handle our money and how we give back to God.

If we do not teach stewardship, then our kids, those who join with us, will never know about the privilege of giving back to God.

Move 2:  When teaching, simple and concrete.

            a.  Dave Conover – note the visual way he suggests teaching it; simple approach

            b. Tithe – we may not know the word, but it’s a simple word once we do know it, and simple to explain.

1.      1 of 10.

2.      For every dime, a penny.

3.      or for every dollar, give a dime.

                                   

4.      or for every $10, give $1.

            b. Thanks – simple, but gets to the heart of things.

1.      I suspect most of our parents are already teaching about gratitude.

2.      Say “thank-you”

3.      Stewardship grows out of giving thanks to God for all God has done for us.

4.      When you talk to your child about why giving that $1 out of the $10 they earned baby-sitting or got in their allowance, we remind them that they do not give because you are forcing them to, or that God will be mad if they do not; no, they give back to God because they are thankful.

Start teaching with two simple words – tithe and thanks.

Move 2:  Stories – I Chronicles

            a.  Chronicles shares the story of how David teaches stewardship by his own example.

           

1.      They already know about King David.

2.      set the stage.  Late in his time as king.  He wants to do something magnificent to honor, to give thanks to God.

3. He wants to build God a grand and glorious temple.

3.      But God tells David “NO.”

4.  This is important.  Ask your kids how they might feel if they wanted to give something special and God said “No.”

5.  You might note that David has several options – eh can take his money elsewhere; he can not give anything.

6. But King David chooses to give a great gift to the building of the Temple that he won’t get to build.

d.  he gives solely because he wants to give thanks to God.

           

1.      David gets nothing in return.

2.  His giving is about his thankfulness.

Teach the story; invite your child to give to God out of thankfulness.

Move 4:  Story from Mark – how Jesus teaches stewardship.

            a.  Jesus and the disciples are in the Temple watching people bring their offerings to God.

1. Good lesson right there.

2. People giving back to God.

3.Part of being God’s people is giving.

b.  But then Jesus calls the disciples attention to the widow (insight for this section of the sermon comes from Patrick Willson’s sermon "Buying God Off," preached November 4, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque, NM)

1.      The one who gives two small copper coins that amount to almost nothing.

2.       Jesus points out her gift and says, “that impresses me.”

3.      Two coins of such enormous insignificance that it takes both of them to make up one penny.  

4.      You might note that at cash registers there are often bowls with pennies in them. You see those bowls at convenience store cash registers:  “if you need pennies, take them; if you don't want your change, drop it here.”  

5.      Into the treasury of the great Temple of Jerusalem this women drops in two coins which, when added together, total one cent, and Jesus says, that impresses me.

b. Why?  Because everyone else is giving out their abundance; the widow is giving out of her poverty.

1.      Jesus sees lots of people giving gifts, some large amounts.

2.      but the widow digs deep to give back to God.

3.      How thankful she must have been.

4.      If we follow the widow’s example, the tithe is just the beginning of what we give back to God.

Conclusion:  Who will teach the young boy that the offering is not admission to church? 

We will.

"Teaching Stewardship" 1 Chronicles 29: 1-9; Mark 12: 41-44

I am reflecting on stewardship, with this week's emphasis on how we teach stewardship.  

Questions:  What is the best way you have ever been taught a lesson about stewardship?  What is the best way you have ever been taught something about stewardship?

some collected thoughts on stewardship:

     1.  A little boy in church for the first time watched as the offering plates were passed. When it came to his family, he said loudly, “Don't pay for me, Dad.  I'm under five.”  Marj Carpenter, “Presbyterian Outlook,” 9/19/11, p. 9

     2.   Three kinds of churches:  churches that just take up offerings have people give an average of 1.5% of their income;  churches that ask members to write down pledges have people give an average of 2.9%; churches where people are asked to pledge by giving a % of their income they believe God is calling them to give have people give an average of 4.6%.  herb Miller, Consecration Sunday(5,6), taken from Money Matters

     3.  Week after Giving Tree, I gave a report about what had taken place. A member  comes up to me afterward and asks about the shortfall.  “What shortfall?  I didn’t mention a shortfall?”  “Well, I figured if you were talking about it again, we must have a shortfall”


     4.  “But the evidence leaves no room for doubt:  Religious people are far more charitable than nonreligious people.  In years of research, I have never found a measurable way in which secularists are more charitable than religious people.” Who Really Cares: America’s Charity Divide, Arthur C. Brooks, Basic Books, 2006 (34).

The Mark passage tells the story of the widow's mite.  I am using it as an example of how Jesus chose to teach stewardship.  I recently ran across a sermon by Patrick Willson on this passage, and will be guided by some of his insights.  

I Chronicles shares the story of how David teaches stewardship by his own example.  It might be interesting to note that David makes this example after being told that he will not get to be the one who builds the temple.

Reflections on ""Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda" 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21; Genesis 35: 6-15

The sermon did not do much for me.  It seemed kind of dry and theoretical without much practical application for the listener.  I enjoyed digging through this important concept to the Reformed church, but could not manage to transition it to a sermon. 

One of the problems I encountered was finding illustrations that seemed to fit the concept.  The one I chose probably did not fit very well.  I found it hard to think of examples of changes that seemed to fit the magnitude of the Reformation.  

"Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda!" 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21; Genesis 35: 6-15; October 13,  2013; FPC, Troy; Presbyterian mini-series

Introduction: "Ecclesia Reformata, semper reformanda!" (not often the sermon title is so long that it will not fit on the sign outside the sanctuary – of course, no one driving by would have understood what it said anyway!)>

But now you will know what it means – this hallmark phrase of the Reformation translates as: "the church reformed, always to be reformed!"

In other words, the church is changed, and will always be open to change.

Move 1:  No surprise – when we read the biblical text we discover that change occurs all the time.

            a. In both the Old Testament and new Testament

1.      We the story of Jacob becoming Israel; God changing Jacob’s name to signify the new relationship between God and God’s people, who now will be called Israelites.

2.      This , of course, is a pattern already established when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah as a sign of their new covenant and status as God’s chosen people.

3.      the prophets continually call for God's people to change their ways;

4.      Saul becomes Paul;

5.      How does Paul describe what it means follow the resurrected Christ?  By calling people new creations – people changed by their faith in Christ.

            b. The church always needs to be reformed because the church follows a living God.

1.      To believe that God works in our midst suggests that God works in a variety of different circumstances.

2.      To follow God in new and different contexts means changing.

2.      God decided that the world needed a special group of people to exemplify what it meant to follow God – thus, God calls a special people at that time.

3.      When Christ comes, we see God calling out of the Jewish tradition a new way of relating to God – thus, we see the establishment of the followers of Christ, who become the newly constituted church.

4.      In the time of the Reformation, a new way of relating to God that does not rely on the priests or the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is called for, so God uses the Reformers to create the Reformed church.

The God who speaks in different generations to diverse situations has to be a God who calls God’s people to change.

Move 2:  The church always needs to be reformed because the church is always made up of sinners.

           

            a.  The Reformers made it very clear that humans were sinners.

                        1. none of us could avoid it; all of us needed God to change us.

                        2. Likewise, the church that is made up of humans is, if left to its own devices, a sinful institution in need of change.

                        3. we remember that to repent literally means to change direction 180 a degrees.

            b. We often speak of our church family in reverential terms.

1.      a group of people who faithfully live out their lives supporting one another.

2.      I do not want to deny that.

3.      But, the church too often reflects its human nature, which means the church continually needs to assess and reassess what it is doing and be open to where God is leading the church.

Move 3:  The church cannot reform itself.

a.  “Ecclesia reformata, simper reformanda” is often mistranslated as “the church reformed, always reforming.”

1. That suggests that the church is the agent responsible for making the changes.

2. The accurate translation reads, “the church reformed, the church always being reformed.”

3. Passive tense. 

4. the church is not the one leading the change; God is.

5. The church changes not because it desires change, but because God desires the church to change.

b. Ties the change back to God and how we hear God’s calling.

1. It ought to send us back to Scripture, to discover anew what God calls us to be.

2.  It ought to make us seek out the Holy Spirit, so that we can respond as God desires. 

3. If the change is about what we want, it does not meet the standard for change dictated by the Reformers.

4. The changes we undergo must be at God’s leading.

Only God can reform the church.

Move 4:  when do you change?

a.      Perhaps the Reformers were engaging in some rationalization for their actions to radically change the church as they knew it. 

b.      Women’s ordination in the Presbyterian Church.

1.       The PCUSA, which is our denomination, understood Scripture to allow the ordination of women and that God was calling the church to ordain women as it moved into the 20^th century.

2.      It moved slowly, mind you, but the denomination first ordained women deacons; then elders; then women ministers. 

3.      The basis for the change was both how the church interpreted Scripture and how the church understood the Holy Spirit to be at work in the 20^th century world.

4.      I suspect most of us who gather here today have no problem with those arguments.

5.      Yet, other Presbyterian denominations in the United States today still do not ordain women, and other Christian traditions do not allows ordination of women.

6.      Why? Because as they interpret Scripture and understand how God is at work in the world, women are not allowed to be ordained officers or ministers.

7.      When is change of God?

c.    Look around the Sanctuary – we have just spent lots of money preserving the stained glass windows, which take us back in our history, even as we have added screens and technology to move us forward into the future.

1.      Changes that reflect the God who is at work in our midst, or changes that reflect our own desires?

2.      How do we know?

d. Maybe you remember a story I have told about the church where I worshipped in college.

1.  It sat just off campus next to Trinity University.

2. At one point in its life, the church was the de facto chapel for the university. Students and professors filled the pews each Sunday morning.

3. Then, the University built its own chapel and began its own chapel program. 

4. I imagine that was a difficult adjustment for a church known as University Presbyterian Church.  Ministry as it had known it was changed by a decision the University made.

5. It was forced to change. To focus its energy on other ministries instead of serving the University population.

6. It went from a church that identified itself with the University, to a church with no ministry related to the university.

7.  The fall I arrived on campus, I went to the chapel a few times, but felt then found myself attending University Presbyterian Church because I wanted more family, less college when I went to church.

8. About 6-7 other freshman felt something similar, because they too began worshipping at University Presbyterian.

9.  The church noticed this small group of college students and immediately went into action.

10. They announced a new college age group with activities almost every week, which included a meal!

11. it did not seem that remarkable to me then, but now as a minister who has been involved with churches beginning new programs, I marvel at how quickly they identified and adapted to this ministry opportunity.

12.  this college age group impacted the church in significant ways – we became an integral part of the local congregation, serving as youth leaders and Sunday school teachers; I preached my first sermon from that pulpit; and the local congregation impacted the larger church as three of the group became ordained ministers; several others became ordained officers in their local congregations.

13.  A year or two after we left, the group dissolved because no more students were coming to worship there.

14.  A minor change – yes.  But it had long-term implications.

Conclusion:  Change is never easy; sometimes it is forced upon us; sometimes we choose it.

The Reformers reminds us that the church is always waiting to be changed by the God who calls the church into being and calls us to listen as God’s Spirit reveals to us our next challenge.

**In preparing for this sermon, I consulted and used several ideas from “Our misused motto,” an article by Ann Case-Winters, as found in “What Presbyterians Believe 2,” which is a supplement to Presbyterians Today (26-29).