Starting today, and for the next two weeks, it’s Stewardship Season … a time to review the whole business of giving … with a special focus on our money.
Who doesn’t think a lot about money?
We all think about it.
And we think about it a lot.
How much we have, or how much we don’t.
Every day, a lot of time is spent dealing with money.
Making it.
Spending it.
Saving it.
Investing it.
Paying bills with it
Wondering if we’ll have enough.
Money is truly a big deal.
And it’s a big deal for the church, too.
We have a building to keep up.
A staff to pay.
We buy music for our choir.
Curriculum for our Sunday School.
Paper and pencils for the office.
Soap and paper towels.
Money’s a big deal.
And we need to be thoughtful about it.
Three questions guide us for the next few weeks:
To whom do we give?
How much do we give?
Why do we give?
This morning, To whom do we give?
Someone might say, Well, pastor, that’s easy enough to answer. We give to God!
True enough.
We give to God.
The God who created the heavens and the earth … and breaths the breath of life into each of us every day of our life.
Genesis 1 - the whole universe - the big picture - the sun, moon and stars - every creature, great and small, including the creepy-crawly things.
And Genesis 2 - God and a handful of dirt, and a puff of God’s breath, and the dirt becomes a human being …
The God of many journeys … who walks with us and talks with us and guides us through the day.
It’s helpful now and then to take stock of such things.
To count our blessings, and name them one-by-one.
To remember the LORD our God who gives us life.
This God of many of journeys.
God big enough to create the heavens and the earth.
Small enough to fit into Bethlehem’s cradle.
Strong enough to die for the sins of the world.
Gentle enough to live within our heart.
The Psalmist celebrates deliverance.
The Psalmist writes an honest story.
No fairy tale here … there’s heartache and trouble … tears, stumbling, grief, and betrayal … life is no bed of roses for the Psalmist.
We don’t know the details.
We don’t know the story.
We don’t know when, what and where.
But something bad happened.
And the Psalmist cries out for help.
Did help come immediately?
We don’t know.
How long did it take?
Days, months, years?
But deliverance came at the right time.
And now the Psalmist writes with gratitude.
The LORD hears my requests for mercy.
In the end, things turn out all right.
The dark night of sorrow passed.
The sun rises.
The clouds have departed.
A new day dawns for the Psalmist.
Because of God’s goodness.
God’s mercy and love.
The underpinning of our life.
The source and the destiny.
The Alpha and the Omega.
The beginning and the end.
And everything in between.
When we sit down to consider our Pledge Card for next year.
When we pray about what we might be able to give.
When we look ahead to the future, it is right and good to remember how the LORD’S hand has been upon us … leading and guiding us, through thick and thin, sick and sin … in the middle of the night, and in the light of day …
The God of gracious presence:
I am with you always, to the end of the age.
I will never leave you or forsake you.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, I’m there.
And when everything is done, you’ll be with me forever!
Stewardship begins with praise and thanksgiving.
With confidence in the LORD, because the LORD is good, and the LORD’S sees us through to the end … the One who gives us Jesus Christ, gives us all that’s necessary for the needs of the day … our daily bread - for body and soul, in this life, and in the life to come.
To whom do we give?
We give to the LORD our God, ever-faithful to us, and loving us forever. Amen and Amen!
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