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Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
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Pastor Scott Carson
Grace Church of Burlington
October 17, 2004
“Giving with glad and generous hearts has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed.” Richard J. Foster
If we just buy land, then we have failed. If we only build a new building, then we have failed. If our Reaching for Tomorrow only helps us increase our attendance, we have failed. If a new land and building only help us reach new people for Christ, then we have failed.
Just in case you have missed this, our Reaching for Tomorrow campaign is not about giving. It’s about something much more important – it’s about growing! And it is not about growing our church numerically; it is about growing our church – each and every one of us spiritually!
2 Peter 3:18 commands us, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Grace is simply the unmerited favor of God toward man. It’s His undeserved forgiveness, love, generosity... It’s beyond words and even comprehension all that grace is. It’s sacrifice.
Though we know the Lord, what I struggle with and what you struggle with is selfishness and greed. I want to hang on to what I’ve got and I want more of it. It’s not always money. It may be time. But all of us struggle with this lack of grace, with giving in to old nature more than our new nature.
We need campaigns like Reaching for Tomorrow to stretch us, to help us grow. Our tendency is to give out of our abundance, our surplus. Where’s the faith there? How does that help us grow? It doesn’t. It’s little more than a budget item. Giving then becomes just another bill to pay, like the house payment or the electric bill.
But when we start giving generously, when we start giving where it pinches and even hurts, when it is truly sacrificial giving, then we start growing. It helps us to loosen our grip on the passing things of this world and invest in eternity.
All of us need to grow spiritually. None of us have arrived. I know I sure haven’t. My sinful heart wants to cling to the things of this world, to be selfish rather than sacrificial. I need to grow here. When I look to the Cross, I know that I haven’t even begun to understand sacrifice or generosity.
I’d rejoice if you were part of our Reaching for Tomorrow campaign but only if it helps stretch you and helps you grow spiritually. God wants each of us to grow in grace. That’s a lot more important than land or a building. That’s something that matters for eternity! As we learn to not only give, but give graciously and generously. It helps us grow. It helps us be transformed rather than conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-2). So please give, give generously, give sacrificially – but give it to the Lord and ask Him to use it in your heart to stretch you and to help you grow spiritually!