2012 Stewardship – October
14, 2012
©Thomas B. Cundiff
Isaiah 58:
6-9
Matthew 6:
19-21
Isaiah 58: 6-9a
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
Matthew 6: 19-21 --- Concerning
Treasures
‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.
I.
Tommy’s and Susan’s Titan Court Play
House
I was
when I was in around the fourth grade my dad built a small 10’x10’ log cabin
play house in the back yard of our house
on Titan Ct. in Aurora, Colorado. It was
a combination some manufactured logs from a play house a neighbor gave us and a
platform and roof my dad installed. My younger
sister Susan said to me this past week, “I
was so excited to decorate it but YOU, Tom turned it into an office”!
For Susan
this would have been a “dream house” where she could take her dolls for imaginary
tea parties. She would hang frilly drapes.
I couldn’t have frilly drapes in my office! I remember installing several locks on the plywood
front door so my sister couldn’t get in…..of course leading to some parental
lectures about sharing! Whenever my
mother called me “Tommy” I knew I was in trouble!”
In this
play house I had a small door that was used as a desk. There was a place for my files, my pencils
and paper and markers and stapler. I
also liked to play teacher--mom was a teacher.
I always had to have red pencil so I could grade papers….I recall my
sister had to suffer through being my student.
I recall
making a desk-set with my Legos….little
drawers where I could keep my paper clips and rubber bands! I don’t remember where my sister put her
stuff – if I let her -- but always had to live with the pink curtains on the
windows. I guess for those of you who
know me, I still like to play office.
While my
sister doesn’t remember a lot about that play house she does remember the large
tree outside the door of that log house and the garden she planted with mom in
that 10x10 plot of land, years later, when that playhouse was taken down.
One of my
specific memories of this little back yard log house: I found a way to cut a hole in the floor….so
I could dig under this play-house to bury some of my treasures. As I
grew I forgot about that metal box that held an an old stapler, a broken watch,
and some Monopoly money--secured with a small lock …..things I vaguely
remember.
This
story in mind, the challenge I/we face as adults: What have we selfishly held onto without
sharing with our brothers and sisters? What
treasures have we buried? With Christ or
the world around us? What simple gifts
has God entrusted our care are we called to share with others for the common
good of building up the Kingdom of God
The
scriptural foundation for the stewardship theme this year, “SIMPLE GIFTS”, and this text:
“Do not store up for yourselves
treasures on earth …. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
II. Everything Belongs to God!
Preachers
from near and far are launching annual stewardship campaigns. I for one am a preacher who is grateful you
show up regardless what I am preaching! More
important, during the stewardship season, you continue to show how much you
love this church through your contributions of time and talent and gifts of
some of your financial treasures—money. Stewardship
is part of life in this church. I join with Craig and all the officers of the
church my genuine gratitude for your generosity in the many ways you love and
support this church.
The simple
truth we’ve been learning/living through the years: Stewardship is about more
than money. God truly wants us to see
EVERYTHING we have been given throughout life as a vital resource in building
God’s Kingdom here on earth. This simple
and first point this morning:
Everything Belongs to God!
Truly God wants
everything from us!
God wants more
than money. God wants more than time and
talent. God wants our passions! God wants our hearts!
God wants
every breath we breathe. God wants every waking hour – & even our dreams in
our sleep. God wants everything we can
see and eat or taste and touch and smell.
God wants all we have and can
give physically, emotionally and spiritually. God wants our passions. God wants our joys and your struggles. Simply, God wants everything we inhale and
exhale from birth until we draw our last breath.
Consider
this: God wants, more than anything
else, our worship!
II. Priorities
Now that I
have made this first point that God wants everything, we need to be
realistic. We do a lot of different
things with all the treasures God has entrusted our care. Because there are so many complex things we
do in living our lives, there is a need to prioritize the use of our
treasures.
This second
point:
In what ways does God call us to prioritize
our treasures? Like the decision
my parents made in getting my sister and me a wonderful play house – words
can’t describe the value placed not only in this play house but all the
child-hood memories! Where did this gift
fit into their priorities for us as their children…..knowing there wasn’t a lot of extra
money sitting around!
Now in my
adult life, I will be the first to admit I am not always thinking about God
when it comes to using my time and talents.
When it comes to money, I am not by any means a model “steward” in
thinking about God when it comes to the things I feel I want to have.
When
driving through a fast food, I guarantee I am not contemplating any higher
purpose God may have for me – unless I am ordering the oatmeal and orange juice. Simply, we are not perfect. We don’t spend every waking hour thinking
about God.
God calls
us to prioritize our treasures in light of those things we feel passionate
about – those things we truly value.
So if my
first point is that everything belongs to God, then this second point is the
challenge to try and prioritize placing our treasures next to those things we
value? For my son-in-law it is the
season tickets he purchased with Emily for the 49ers games…..his love (his
passion) for this sport and his team.
For someone it may be boating of fishing? Spending time with a spouse or good friend
or a neighbor? For many the meaningful
work we do to provide for our families is the highest of values. How do you prioritize what God has entrusted
your care?
Something
I learned this past week: Deciding what
we value and giving priority to what we value is a matter of personal
conscience between you and God. I think
this is a fair statement to make—how I invest what God has given me is
ultimately between me and God.
I cringed
this past week at a doctor’s office when I saw a young woman having a major fit
(actually a small temper tantrum) with a receptionist because she couldn’t afford to pay her $25.00 co-pay for the office
visit. She argued that she was
unemployed and didn’t think she should have to pay anything for the visit. When things settled down she turned away and
pulled out one of the new IPHONES 5, and started texting….saying to the
receptionist loudly, “Just a moment while
I text my boyfriend to see if he will loan me the $25.00.” My first reaction ….in judgment – she can
afford one of those new IPHONES? I HAVE
TO CATCH MYSELF! I DON ’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WOMAN OR
WHAT SHE VALUES…..
I need to
be true to what I preach. I cannot judge
a person by what they have or how they spend their time or money. Maybe that expensive phone was a gift? I don’t know and should not be judging
her. What I want to (need to) preach: Don’t worry about what others have or
give……we need to take time to worry about what we are doing with what God has
place in our hands….in our lives! Truly,
we have enough work to do with our own personal priorities than to pass
judgment on how others organize their lives.
I
remember seeing someplace this past week this simple mantra to help in setting
priorities:
What you want and what
you need?
What you save and what
you share?
And add
to this in order to keep our focus more on God:
What is mine is also God’s…..
In what ways does God call us to
prioritize what we have been given with what we need and with what we share
with others?
So if the
first point, God wants from us everything because everything, ultimately, comes
from God.
And the
second point is God calling us to prioritize the use of all the treasures God
has entrusted our care….
Then this
third point, what are we going to give the church? On the long list of things we value and
prioritize in our lives: WHERE IS THE
CHURCH?
Is the church on the top of the list of priorities? Do you decide, first, what you will give the
church when looking at your time and talents and financial resources?
Or is the church on the bottom of the list – if I have time I will
give? I will decide what I will pledge
after I pay all my other bills?
What do
you plan on giving to the church this coming year? Let me get specific with what we need:
As the expenses
and budget of the church goes up, investment funds are going down. Almost 2/3 of our budget comes from
investments. I will be perfectly
honest, and this is humbling: I know I
am expensive part of the church budget.
Having a pastor and staff is expensive.
This
building is expensive.
We are a
smaller church and our hair grows thinner and grayer!
I stand
before you as your pastor asking: Knowing
we are facing some very real challenges with our budget, is there any possibility we can give more to
the church this coming year? Knowing we
are facing some very real challenges with our budget and the fact that some of
you are facing real challenges with your personal finances: can you give a little bit more?
A little
math and something to think about:
If one pledge is increased by $5.00 a week times 52 weeks, that adds up
to an increase pledge of $260.00. If each of our 42 pledging units were to give
this same $5.00 per week, that would add up to a total increase in pledges of
$10,920. That’s one half of our
UTILITIES budget. If you were all to
give $10.00 per week more, that would pay for all of our UTILITIES.
And if some of you could find
enough value in what you receive from God in this church to increase your
pledge by $10 or $20 – well you get my point.
So a
couple of questions: Are you
giving? Is the church on the top or
bottom of your list of priorities? And
can you give a little bit more?
I also
want to underscore that I fully understand how difficult it is for those of you
on fixed incomes. Perhaps the rest of us
can consider this fact in making our our pledge this year.
Now a
personal request: Don’t feel rushed into
filling out the pledge card. I know
it’s easy just to say – my giving will be the same…..last year half of the
pledges remained the same. Please take
some time before making a final decision on what you will give. Pray and contemplate where the church fits into
your priorities before making a decision.
Finally, to
review what I have shared with you this morning. The stewardship theme is “Simple Gifts”.
The first
point: Everything we have ultimately
belongs to God. While this is a simple truth, the ways in which we chose to
live our lives is quite complex. But in
the end, God wants everything from us. Which
leads to the second point: How are we
going to prioritize where we give our treasures? Are we going to bury them….or use what God
has given us placing what we have next to those things in life we value? Third, what portion of what God has given us
will we give the church in 2013?
I
selected as a final hymn today, HERE I AM?
The lord is saying to the people in our scripture this morning, HERE I
AM! Scripture speaks well of itself,
God is always with us. In what ways do
we return to God a response: HERE I AM?
As
disciples of Jesus Christ, everything
God have given us, can we find tangible ways to return to god in saying: HERE I AM LORD! HERE I AM!
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