| Home |
|---|
| About Us |
| ServiceTimes |
| Missions |
| Contact Us |
| Members Log-in |
Ministries:
Adult | Teens | Children
Pastor's Pen's:
2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001
Sermon Series:
Following Jesus
Earthly Cross
His Name Is
Apostles Creed
Dealing with Feelings
Jonah
Get Real
Promised Land Living
Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
Email:
Pastor Scott Carson
Grace Church of Burlington
December 3, 2006
“There must be more to life than having everything.” Maurice Sendak
Recently, the news carried a report about what was dubbed “the highest price ever paid for a fungus.” It seems that Hong Kong property tycoon and his wife reportedly paid $160,406 for an Italian white truffle. Over $160,000 for a mushroom. They won the 3.3 pound Alba white truffle during an international auction and planned to eat it as part of a five-course banquet.
As I read that article, I thought “what a waste! $160,000 for a mushroom... what extravagance and materialism!” Yet, as I look within my own soul I have to confess that I, too, am far too materialistic. To be sure, I would never spend $160,000 for a mushroom (it’s probably incidental that I don’t have those kind of funds available) but I have my own “little” extravagances. And one does not have to have much to be materialistic. Each of us have our areas that entice us. That’s one of the reasons that I stay away from new car lots. I love new cars. I love their smell. I love the new gadgets. I love the feel. But I not only hate the payments, I know that it is poor stewardship to buy a car, new or used that I don’t really need.
Please mark it down. We all have to fight materialism. There is probably no greater example of our problem with materialism (and I’m talking about Christians) than the Christmas Season. It’s very sad even among Christians, that Christmas is celebrated more as a sales/buying frenzy than as the most important birth in history. We are often just as guilty as the lost of this commercial mentality. Frequently, we give useless gifts at Christmas just because it’s expected of us, and we feel guilty if we don’t. And the closer we get to Christmas, the greater pressure to give these unnecessary gifts builds and we feel depressed and unworthy if we can’t give.
God has designed worship to help us fight our human tendency toward materialism. What better way to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives than to give Him the 1st ten percent! What better way to acknowledge our dependence on Him than to give first when the other checks for our other bills have not yet been written. That’s the principle of first fruits. It’s a step of faith that we really do trust God to provide. What better way to acknowledge our gratitude and love to God for the gift of His Son than to give and to give generously as He has given to us.
Now someone is going to argue, isn’t tithing Old Testament? Well, the New Testament standard is really 100% but 10% is a great place to start. And I believe that the fact that we even ask the question is probably indicative of a heart problem...we really want to give as little as we can but yet not feel guilty.
At Grace, like many American churches, we have a problem with giving. We can talk about how much we love the Lord, how grateful we are, sing praises, witness, etc., BUT the true evidence of where our heart is – is usually our giving. Remember Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And this past year many have slipped in their giving because our church went through some tough times. They’ve allowed their disappointment to dampen their giving.
Friend, God did not change. Man may fail but He is still on the throne. And we need to obey Him and do what is right even if others do not.
Christmas is the season of giving. What better way to acknowledge your gratitude to God for His awesome gift than to become a faithful giver! Some need to make some serious changes in this area. But for all of us, Jesus Christ needs to be Lord of our finances.
God has given us a great opportunity at this time and at this place. We cannot though move forward unless we are faithful stewards. Each of us needs to give faithfully according to the way that God has blessed us and stop rationalizing and making excuses. We need to build. We need to start new ministries. We need to take on new missionaries. BUT we cannot do any of these things unless our church family, not just a few individuals, surrender their finances to His control and will.
God wants us to be faithful and generous. And He will bless and reward us for it! Friend, are you missing out? Let’s do what He wants and put our materialistic drives on a Christ-submitted diet. We serve a generous God. May we as His children be like Him!