One: One Purpose, 10/25/15

Sermon 10-25-15 one purpose stewardship finance giving mk 10:17-31

¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]” ²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. ²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^[e] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”  ²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”  ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” ²⁸ Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” ²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰ will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The rich young ruler

We hate this story

We are capitalists

Americans value money and things

It’s the American way to want more

Our culture would vote against the 10^th commandment – no covet

He bows the knee- but doesn’t commit

Jesus still loves him

What would jesus say to us-love to have a redirect…..ask for clarification

Stop buying cars

Stop all the qvc shopping

Stop buying clothes and shoes.  How many can you wear at a time?

Stop going to the boats

Stop with the plastic surgery

Stop with the gluttony

At any rate the point would be- put me first

Our annual stewardship drive allows us to consider doing that

To reorder our lives – to take inventory of what we call important

Dan and joni horn

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 study, 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

Jesus cut right to the core with the young man

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.

I think all Christians will agree that we should give to Gods work.

Question - How should we give?

giving to God should be

1.   first [first fruits ex 22]

it is the first commitment that you keep

the first check that you write

2.   regular

responsibility of ministry is regular

support of God to you is regular

if you are out of town

if you are sick

eft is so helpful

3.   proportional

ever figured your giving as a percentage?

10% tithing….2 guys on an island –

1% give 2

if you get a raise

4.   giving should be cheer ful–  2 cor 9

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.

I have run into people over the years who say that they don’t make a pledge

Or their church doesn’t pledge

They are usually asking me why their church is dying.

Show me a person who knows how to give and I will show you a healthy life

Show me a church who knows how to give and I will show you a church wit a future

The old lovely lane church in Baltimore.  Seats 1000 but is dead

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out

Ultimately giving our time and our money are signs of us giving ourselves

The real gift is not the money or the time, it is my life

The problem w the ruler wasn’t the money, it was the heart

When we give our time and our money to gods work

We are showing him that  we are giving ourselves

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.

This past month we have told you stories about the ministries that are taking place here

About people who have found a home

About people who have found a new future

About care for the lonely

Bread for the hungry

Prayer for the sick

Encouragement for the weak

Grace and love for all

What we are doing here is very valuable

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. 

Commitment Card

Please take home the pledge card attached to your bulletin and prayerfully consider what you would like to do in 2015. And then bring your pledge back to church the next Sunday or two and place in the offering plate.

You can pledge to any of the campuses.  Raytown, lees summit or Blue spgs

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

Your electronic gifts help keep your church stable during the summer

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

And your gifts benefit you…..

Conclusion

Take a deep breath

So what do you think? 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, to be a part of something that is bigger than we are

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

And  pursuing the life that truly is life.