I have never preached the text from Exodus before, but I have preached similar texts from Chronicles. As I worked with the text, I discovered this text could also be used to reflect on different kinds of givings, particularly since the different kinds of giving in the Israelite/Temple world are shared. I only made brief mention of it, but it could be a good place to come back to in the future.
I'm not sure it was a particularly strong sermon, but we had a terrific worship service for Wold Communion. Good worship makes the sermon seem better!
To tell the truth, I used the Luke passage, in part, because it was a short passage and we were having it read in both English and Arabic. It turned out to be a pretty interesting passage, although I did not develop it much. In my original notes, I had an illustration about a home that survived the hurricane in FL because it was built with Category 5 rules. But, I thought it might send a mixed message, as if the houses that survived had a strong foundation with God and vice versa.
another week looking at different stories in the Bible that deal with resources, although the story we just read is probably not as familiar as some of the stories we have read previously.
2 Kings 12: 1-16 In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign; he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all his days, because the priest Jehoiada instructed him. 3 Nevertheless the high places were not taken away; the people continued to sacrifice and make offerings on the high places.
4 Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money offered as sacred donations that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each person is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money from the voluntary offerings brought into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests receive from each of the donors; and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash the priests had made no repairs on the house. 7 Therefore King Jehoash summoned the priest Jehoiada with the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore do not accept any more money from your donors but hand it over for the repair of the house.” 8 So the priests agreed that they would neither accept more money from the people nor repair the house.
9 Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, made a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. 10 Whenever they saw that there was a great deal of money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest went up, counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and tied it up in bags. 11 They would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workers who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; then they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, as well as for any outlay for repairs of the house. 13 But for the house of the Lord no basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, were made from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, 14 for that was given to the workers who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. 15 They did not ask an accounting from those into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workers, for they dealt honestly. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.
“Put It to Use” SAPC; October 1, 2017; 2 Kings 12: 1-16
Introduction: During stewardship season, I often get asked questions about giving. I have learned there are basically three questions people want to ask the minister about stewardship.
Most often asked question: “Do I tithe off of my gross income or my take-home?”
Second question: Does all my tithe have to go to the church, or can some of it go to other groups?
Third most often asked question: Do I have to give to the church if the church is not putting my money to use wisely?
After Joe’s Minute for Mission last week, I am referring the first two questions to him.
Third question, how the church is putting money to use, is addressed in our stories this morning.
Move 1: Let’s first look at the story from 2 Kings.
a. Background
1. I and 2 Kings are stories about the Israelite kings after King David.
2. Some have lots of information told about them (King Solomon, for instance); some not so much. Some have stories told about their evil deeds (look up King Ahab stories in I Kings); some have stories told about their good deeds.
3. All of the stories are told in the context of the question - was the king was faithful to God?
b. King Jehoash, whom we read about today, had a little bit told about his reign.
1. As we hear his story, we realize that he was a mixed bag - some good; some not so good.
2. On the good side, he led the Israelites to rebuild the Temple, which is a good thing.
3. But he also did not tear down the “high places,” the altars built on mountaintops where sacrifices were made to Canaanite gods.
c. King Jehoash has a great idea.
1. the offering made the priests would be put to use repairing the Temple.
2. there are three sources of donations made to the priests - sacred donations; assessments - sort of per capita tax; voluntary donations - and all three are to be funneled to the repair of the Temple.
3. A worthy goal. the Temple is an important sign to God’s people of God’s presence in their midst; the Temple was also the actual place where God’s people go to worship.
d. Twenty-three years into this project — not sure why it took Jehoash twenty-three years to check and see how the priests were doing - King Jehoash discovers the priests are not doing what they are supposed to be doing with the offering they are receiving from people.
1. Jehoash responds by telling the priests they can no longer receive the contributions.
2. and the priests are no longer in charge of the Temple repairs.
3. The priests have not been using the funds given to the Temple properly, so they are removed from their responsibilities.
4. The people are still expected to give their offerings; the work will happen because it is important work; but the priests will no longer responsible for it. they are relieved of their duties.
e. As we live into our call as the disciples of Christ, stewardship is not just a question of giving.
1. We also have the responsibility as the church to put to use the resources we have been given to good use.
2. the stewardship campaign committee has been asking us to point out the give thanks for what God has done in our lives and world through the work of St. Andrew.
3. that question is not just about giving, but also about how our gifts are utilized.
4. All year round, what we do and how we spend our money ought to reflect our commitment to serving God.
Move 2: Jesus tells a story in Luke that speaks to this issue as well.
a. this passage is at the end of series of stories in which Jesus is describing how his disciples ought to act.
1. “If you are going to call me Lord,” he tells them, “You need to be living lives that reflect my ways.”
2. Jesus offers two examples: one person builds their house on a rock-solid, literally rock, foundation; the other builds the house with no foundation.
3. No surprise, when the flood comes, the house with the rock-solid foundation survives and the other house does not.
4. the rock-solid foundation is formed by hearing Jesus’ words and acting on them.
b. Part of the rock-solid foundation for our stewardship is responding in thankfulness to God’s gifts; part of that rock-solid foundation is using those gifts in response to Jesus’ call to be his disciples.
1. What we do with the resources given to God through the church matters.
2. We have the responsibility to use them for to be Christ’s hands and feet in our world today.
3. Anyone ought to be able to look at our annual budget and see that what we do serves God’s purposes in the world.
4. We do not have King Jehoash in our midst to look and see if we are using the money appropriately, but we have that responsibility
5. A responsibility for our members and our leaders to make sure that we put the gifts given to St. Andrew to use in ways that show Jesus is our Lord.
conclusion: World Communion Sunday. I mentioned in this week’s newsletter the history behind World Communion Sunday.
In 1930, Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr, the minister at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, served as the moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (northern branch). As he ministered in the midst of the economic upheaval of the Great Depression, watched the instability and unrest in Europe grow, and traveled among Presbyterian churches and other places moderators go, he began to imagine a better way for our world that grew out of Christian unity. The Stewardship committee at Shadyside decided to call for a World Communion Sunday, when all Christian churches in the world would lay claim to their unity in Christ as they gathered around our Lord’s Table. The first World Communion Sunday was held in 1934; in 1936, the Presbyterian Church (northern branch) adopted World communion Sunday; in 1940, the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) endorsed World Communion Sunday and began to promote it worldwide.
Neat story. Feel good Presbyterian story. Almost 90 years ago something Presbyterians started Christians around the world are still doing today.
But, I guess I’ve been Presbyterian enough to notice the process. I keep wondering, “Why would this go through the Stewardship committee?”
World communion takes place in worship so maybe the worship committee. It seems like a mission goal to be united with other Christians, so may the mission committee.
But stewardship? I don’t know why. Probably the reason is not as ideal as I might imagine.
Maybe, it came through stewardship because the church said how we spend our money ought to reflect our call to be united in Christ with all Christians around the world.
Why not make World Communion Sunday part of Stewardship.
After all, how we put our resources to work matters.
it went through the Stewardship committee of the church. Rather odd.
Makes sense. how they spend their resources ought to reflect their calling as the body of Christ. their desire to be united in Christ.
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