Rethink: Rethink Your Giving, 10/19/14

1 tim 6:2b-10, 17-19

These are the things you are to teach and insist on. ³ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ⁴ they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions ⁵ and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs……

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Sermon     10-26-03    1 tim 6:17-19

Run for it…annual sermon on giving

Lock the doors…..

Visitors, the good news is

Great day to be a visitor- give u a glimpse into the character of wcc

Do you want to know about our church culture? 

This is the day to be in worship.  Do you want to know what our members do?  This is the day to be in worship.

Although I call this the annual sermon on giving

I hope you hear these themes the rest of the year.

Sacrifice, living the generous life, living outside of one’s self

In a 2005 sutdy, George Barna reached the following conclusions

·        Some do not give because they are selfish……..ouch!

·        Some don’t give because they don’t realize that the church needs their gifts to be effective

·        Some don’t understand that God invites us to live outside of ourselves.

·        Some don’t see a return on the investment

In other words, Some do not give to the church because the church has not explained that their giving will make a difference in the world

How we spend our money says everything about what we believe in

Paul told timothy that when we get our living and giving in proper perspective, we find the life that truly is life.

When we join the umc, we are asked two questions……..

Do you profess Jesus Christ as lord and savior and will you be loyal to the umc Prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness, they are all important.

How should we give?

giving to God should be

1.   first [first fruits ex 22]

a.   it is the first commitment that you keep

b.   the first check that you write

2.   regular

a.   responsibility of ministry is regular

b.   support of God to you is regular

c.   if you are out of town

d.   if you are sick

e.   eft is so helpful

3.   proportional

a.   ever figured your giving as a percentage?

b.   Rockefeller, never would have tithed my first million if I had not tithed on my first salary of 1.50 per week

c.   10% tithing….2 guys on an island – 1% give 2

d.   if you get a raise

4.   we should give cheerfully –

We give to what we love

People are excited about the royals!

when you know what goes on here, I think we do find a cheerful heart.

This is your church.

It is not the preachers church, it does not belong to the bishop or to the staff.

The strength of this body and the future of this body is measured by the steps that are taken by you, the members.  This is your church.

You have many choices about where to give & even where to attend

Today I want to tell you a few stories aobut this place

Hillcrest knows we are the church that willing to do the hard work.  They interview the residents before moving them into an apartment, as certain criteria have to be met.  Sometimes the Woods Chapel apartments get the residents that are more ‘at risk’.  Why?  Because they know we are flexible, we know that helping a former homeless person isn’t easy work, we know that it might require more effort on our end, and we are okay with that. 

The Cancer Ministry and how they help, how they’ve basically ‘adopted’ the Cancer Center

Sherri swanson

How our Adoption group reaches out to families,

One of the people involved in this ministry  was adopted as a child

I love how your hearts go out in ministry to others

Speaking of hearts going out - those we have sent

Ronald McDonald house story of the family from Princeton that was served a meal by WCC at Children’s Mercy

Mobile camp

Emergency relief

Jamaica – dental mission trip

CREW, habitat, roof in van buren

Children that receive backsnack packs.  Russian orphans that so look forward to that week when their friend sfrom wcc visit.

Thank you notes in the wire

I was hungry and you fed me

Los pinos housing

I asked a few folks, why they support the church

We give because WCC encourages us to dream dreams and have visions.  We give because it is a place of welcome and celebration. 

I was away last week on business.  When I got home yesterday, my six year old said, “Mommy, you are my favorite human in the world.  But I love God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost more.”  Her love of God is part of who she is.  It’s part of who she is because of WCC and the Children’s Ministry.  That is part of why we give.

The kids are incredibly thoughtful and generous about giving to others. They collect items at their birthdays in lieu of gifts to donate to various causes.  Our daughter had us go to the bank this month to get money out of her account for the American Heart Association because there were people with bad hearts who needed help more than she needed to save for something personal.  The missions that are modeled at church carry over into a generous heart that reaches beyond the church.  That is part of why we give.

We see that the “whole” of all that WCC does directly influences how we and our children interact with the world.  I love the contagious effect of being around those who give of their time, treasure and talent.  But the treasure keeps the car fueled so that we can keep visiting new destinations giving time and talent.  That is part of why we give.

We have chosen Woods Chapel as our church home for many reasons.  The programs for children and youth are amazing and provide a way for our children to connect with other youth in a supportive environment and to learn how love of God and service to others can fit in their lives. The church's varied mission activities provide a way that everyone can find a way to serve.  They have such a great impact on others locally and across the globe.  There are so many activities and groups at the church that, even though the church is large, you can find a small group that fits you.  Finally, the people at Woods Chapel are great -- very welcoming and caring for others.  We are proud to be members of Woods Chapel and proud of the impact the church makes. 

 Holly McCoy

First, we have formed several friendships that would be lost without… When we are down, our friends/family from WC are there to pick us up.

When we are happy, we want to be with our friends at WC.

When we want to help, we think of how many missions there are through WC.

When we want to ignore WC…. The sermons, our friends/family… just creep into our thoughts and remind us not to!

Basically, our lives revolve around our church, family/friends, oh… and work…

Then we spoke about the overwhelming desire to want to give again… we would give the shirts off our backs…

We want to feed our children.

Some of these are things that we get through WC, some are what we can also do for WC.

Not because we are supposed to, but because we want to.

Maybe just one thing we can do can help someone else feed their family – Food food, spirituality, and Love…

WCC is an anchor in my life. The people, missions, programs, leadership, sermons and support fill my life with meaning and significance. I feel refreshed and renewed each time I leave WCC. I'm staying "connected to Jesus" through WCC!

I'm part of the "old guard" who remembers WCC when it was a little church; and we all knew each other by name.  Rather than waxing nostalgic, however, I celebrate WCC as the "big church" that it has become -- because of the depth of our membership now, we're able to sponsor two Hillcrest apartments plus hold an annual Prom Boutique requiring over 180 volunteers and offering over 3000 dresses.  Not to mention the many other ongoing mission efforts The "footprint" of WCC is truly large and global –and this is cause for rejoicing!

Commitment Card

Step chart

Please take a look at the step chart.  Find where you are.  Don’t worry about those who are giving nothing.  Everyone was there at one time or another.  I am not upset by the number of folks there, these are our opportunities to grow and help folks grow in generosity. 

Pledge card

Please take home the pledge card attached to your bulletin and prayerfully consider what you would like to do in 2013. And then bring your pledge back to church the next Sunday or two and place in the offering plate.

1.   Your gifts help us plan for effective ministry- so the budget team can prepare

2.   Your electronic gifts help keep your church stable during the summer

3.   Your gifts are doing much good for the sake of Christ.

Conclusion

Take a deep breath

Do your gifts produce significant outcomes- is your church making a difference in the world?

If you are visiting today, I simply ask you if this sounds like a place that you want to be a part of?  We welcome you!

Coming together as a group, we are able to accomplish great things for Christ.

Today I want to say thank you….

·        Thank you, my friends, for the great love and grace you show in connecting people to Christ.

·        Thank you in advance for your generous support of the ministries of woods chapel.

·        Thanks for wanting to be a part of God’s work, something that is bigger than we are

·        Thank you for grasping your life and putting things in proper perspective

·        Thank you for pursuing the life that truly is life.

Prayer

Finally, one person wrote in

the biggest reason I support my church-

Grace.  Our church is a church of grace.  Too many churches are known for what they are against- but we are a church that is known for what we are FOR.  Grace.  Grace to one another, grace to those less fortunate, grace to those who are suffering, grace to those all over this world.

We don’t ask if those we are helping deserve to be helped… we already know the answer to that question.  Of course they are- they are children of God, and just as he’s shown US grace- we will extend that grace through love, justice, and serving- to others.

Grace, alone. Period.