Total Living In Christ
Sermon
Uplifting Christ Through Autumn
Sermons for the Fall Season
Object:
In Lutheran churches and many other denominations across the world, today is the celebration of Christ The King -- the last Sunday in the church year. For us it is also Stewardship Sunday.
This morning, I would like to make a few comments about stewardship. I would like to look at stewardship from different perspectives, but all the time I'm making these comments, it is always under the most important perspective that Christ is king, that Christ is the one who gives meaning and direction to everything.
In the New Testament, the original Greek word for steward referred to one who was the manager or administrator of a household or estate. The implication was clear. God entrusted his creation into human hands and he holds his "stewards" accountable for the manner in which it is used and cared for -- stewardship.
The theologian, Paul Tillich, once said, "Religion is first, an open hand to receive a gift and then second, an open hand distributing gifts."
Most of us have matured in an era of affluence. A generation or two ago, those things considered a luxury are now demanded as necessities.
A person who has adequate medical care, food, clothing, housing, and conveniences -- television, washer, car, and education for the children, some leisure and travel -- is wealthy. When you have had these things, you've had 95 percent of the kicks from the so-called "good life." No amount of money can buy much more.
But being in this position we seem to be bombarded with advertisements and are programmed to get more, to consume more, to own -- but seldom to give. It's often hard today to make the connection between the Creator of all and the products or services we consume. It's hard to see these things as a gift -- especially when we think we gave it to ourselves.
There is a section in Deuteronomy 8 that warns us about this:
Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. He does this because he is still faithful today ... never forget the Lord your God or turn to other gods to worship and serve them.
-- Deuteronomy 8:17
We often miss the gifts of creation. But we are not expected to live in isolation. We are called to live as individuals in community, intimately related to the whole of creation. God's purpose is that all people, created in God's image are to be channels by and through which the benefits of God are poured out to others. The world's things are under our responsibility and management -- under our stewardship.
As Christians, we also see and proclaim the gift of Christ as king, as Son, as Emmanuel -- God with us. In a complex web of human relationships, each individual matures in a framework of interdependency. We cannot be human alone. As Christians, this corporate character forms the body, the church, with Christ as the head. We become a mechanism then to share the gifts that we receive. The Holy Spirit mediates Jesus Christ to us in our time and place. The result is a faith demonstrated in responsible daily living.
In view of all these gifts of God, can we offer less in return than our very lives? Unless God's overarching claim on our lives and all we have is acknowledged, Christian giving will remain a pious phrase. If the priorities are wrong at the center, our whole life will be out of balance.
Our purpose as the church is to proclaim the gift of Christ, and it is Christ that gives meaning to all our individual activities and goals; Christ gives the "why" behind our personal lives and all life.
This would have to be reframed -- management of resources would allow staff or churches to think as individuals. It would allow them to see Christ as truly God with us, and if this God is one of justice, love, union, and peace, then this alone gives us the normative in our ethics. It gives us the base to set our goals and our purpose.
Christ gives us the direction to responsibly use our resources.
It is this same purpose of Christ the king that gives our church the authority to get involved with the education of our children (like Sunday school, vacation Bible school, junior choir, confirmation, youth group retreats) and pension plans for the pastor and programs to feed the hungry.
Stewardship Sunday is a good time to remember all the good things we are doing as a church -- because of your gifts. You support the pastor. There was a pastor, once, who was going to leave his congregation after being there about nine years. He accepted a call from another parish. Some of the parishioners were very sorry to see him go. Many others could very easily conceal their sorrow. He ended his very last sermon at the church by saying to the congregation, "The same Jesus who sent me here nine years ago is now sending me to a new parish." At that point in the service the choir stood and sang "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."
The truth of the matter is that we are all called as Christians, to be "little Christs" to our neighbors -- we are, in a sense, sent to those around us.
Your stewardship -- your management of our resources -- allows me to act in our community. Besides my teaching, preaching, organizing, counseling among you, I have also helped to organize an efficient food distribution program for the elderly and other shut-ins in our community. I have also helped organize a recreation program for those with physical handicaps -- a program that gives dignity and a future to people.
I interview and direct chaplains at our three area colleges -- chaplains that often bring some order and meaning into the young lives of people desperately in need. I am in charge of a program giving scholarships to needy inner-city youth who want to attend church training conferences. I help on a committee that is attempting to deal with the problems of urban decay and dehumanization at a time when most organizations are pulling out of the cities. I meet with and encourage and teach the elderly in the local area. Most of my intense crisis counseling with really confused, hurting people is with your neighbors in the community who don't go to any church but are in need -- desperate need.
As any pastor, I do this, and more, because of your management of your resources. Multiply this little bit I do by the thousands of people in churches worldwide, and you can see your benevolent dollars at work all across God's world.
Our church is also called to be a prophet in today's society and to demand justice. We are now telling the community, for example, that a responsible steward of the earth's resources should attempt to recycle those precious resources and at the least, the community should give the citizens an opportunity to do this.
Another example is through contact ministry. Churches are offering the confused, the panicked, and the lonely a point of contact with a person who cares.
Through better stewardship of money and time we could be more involved with all these programs -- and more programs that really do give moral fiber to a society that is really reaching out for guidance.
Our active stewardship also is an indication of people who understand why Jesus told his followers to find him in the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned -- in situations where guided moral response is called for. Because of your management and your faith, you are working alongside some of our nonreligious allies in the area to serve the aged, the addicted, the alienated, the confused, and the lonely.
We are also attempting to spread the good news of Christ to those around us, including our own children, family, and friends. We are doing a good job, but I think through better management, better stewardship of time and funds, we could do a better job.
I think we have to get over the "keep the doors open" mentality and see just what we are doing -- and we are doing much more than keeping the doors open. I hope we can proceed from here to then see the great possibilities that lie right in front of us -- now -- so close.
It takes a commitment. It takes better stewardship, involving more people. This is one reason why we ask people to pledge today. A pledge card is not a legal document -- but what it does is first, encourage a person or family to stop and reexamine their management of God's gifts -- their priorities. It allows them to think whether or not what is being given back might just be what is left over. Do we take pride in making things happen?
Secondly, pledging gives the church some indication of what risks and commitments it can take next year. Pledges are not binding -- if one's income unexpectedly drops or increases one's gifts will change -- but the key is one's commitment to what one feels is important. Remember that money is just an extension of ourselves.
Our identity as children of God gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Working through us, God's creativity can influence the variety of communities in which each of us lives -- our families, where we work or study, our neighborhood friends. We must learn to be better stewards of our time and talents -- to be evangelists -- proclaimers of God's gifts to others.
How do we give? Is it gratefully, faithfully, regularly, proportionally, responsibly, joyfully, and expectantly? We, as the church, are to be the body of Christ. We are drawn together because we think we sense the power of life and because we dare to stick our necks out and say that Jesus is Christ the king.
We don't come together because we all have the same hobbies or backgrounds or because our children go to the same school. We don't come together because we vote for the same people or because we always have a great time together. At times we might not even like one another, but we come together because we love everybody and because the Holy Spirit works through us to make us children of God and instruments of his holy love in our community.
Here we receive forgiveness and strength together in our community and we receive God's Word applied to our individual worlds. This is what your pledged money and time supports and extends. Christ works through our stumbling actions to bring healing to ourselves and to other human beings. Our purpose as the church is to be the body through which the living Lord confronts people today just as surely as he did when the power of life was seen in him in Nazareth -- Christ the king.
It is with this understanding of the church that one can talk about stewardship and the use of our money, resources, and time. The only real value of money or resources for any individual is that they enable a person to support the interests of something that the person really cares about. Resources can be used to forward the interest of one's ultimate concern.
True stewardship is not only doing things like teaching Sunday school or tithing, but rather total living in Christ. This means the total giving of oneself to Christ, and this affects everything a person does. It affects all one's contacts and relationships and memberships, every minute of the day. The excuse of inflation is invalid when dealing with stewardship because it involves everything one has and does not have. Giving is gratitude for God's grace. There is only one ground for authority and that is Christ. It's only in this understanding that we can talk about stewardship or the church.
"Christ is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life...." It is in that hope and future that we pledge our money and support this morning and pledge our lives every day.
At this point in the service, we ask our parish stewardship team members to please come forward for commissioning.
Let us rise for prayer:
Father we ask that you help us as a congregation -- we who have been grasped by you -- help us to responsibly act out our relationship with you in our lives.
Help us who sense your purpose to use our lives, our money, and our talents -- to generate and to proclaim your direction to others. Help us to see that real stewardship is not a classroom exercise in fractions. It is "What part of our take-home salary should we give to the church?" Rather, it helps us to see stewardship as a homework assignment to total living. To see that total living in Christ is the total giving of oneself to you.
Lord Jesus Christ -- who did send out your disciples to prepare the way for your coming, bless now these servants as they go forth in your name in behalf of our church. Grant that the message they bring will be seen as the good news of your action and love in our world. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
I now commission you as stewardship ministers for this parish -- servants and stewards of God's world. May you go forth in the joy of your service and under the guidance of the Spirit of God. Amen.
This morning, I would like to make a few comments about stewardship. I would like to look at stewardship from different perspectives, but all the time I'm making these comments, it is always under the most important perspective that Christ is king, that Christ is the one who gives meaning and direction to everything.
In the New Testament, the original Greek word for steward referred to one who was the manager or administrator of a household or estate. The implication was clear. God entrusted his creation into human hands and he holds his "stewards" accountable for the manner in which it is used and cared for -- stewardship.
The theologian, Paul Tillich, once said, "Religion is first, an open hand to receive a gift and then second, an open hand distributing gifts."
Most of us have matured in an era of affluence. A generation or two ago, those things considered a luxury are now demanded as necessities.
A person who has adequate medical care, food, clothing, housing, and conveniences -- television, washer, car, and education for the children, some leisure and travel -- is wealthy. When you have had these things, you've had 95 percent of the kicks from the so-called "good life." No amount of money can buy much more.
But being in this position we seem to be bombarded with advertisements and are programmed to get more, to consume more, to own -- but seldom to give. It's often hard today to make the connection between the Creator of all and the products or services we consume. It's hard to see these things as a gift -- especially when we think we gave it to ourselves.
There is a section in Deuteronomy 8 that warns us about this:
Beware lest you say in your heart, "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth." You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. He does this because he is still faithful today ... never forget the Lord your God or turn to other gods to worship and serve them.
-- Deuteronomy 8:17
We often miss the gifts of creation. But we are not expected to live in isolation. We are called to live as individuals in community, intimately related to the whole of creation. God's purpose is that all people, created in God's image are to be channels by and through which the benefits of God are poured out to others. The world's things are under our responsibility and management -- under our stewardship.
As Christians, we also see and proclaim the gift of Christ as king, as Son, as Emmanuel -- God with us. In a complex web of human relationships, each individual matures in a framework of interdependency. We cannot be human alone. As Christians, this corporate character forms the body, the church, with Christ as the head. We become a mechanism then to share the gifts that we receive. The Holy Spirit mediates Jesus Christ to us in our time and place. The result is a faith demonstrated in responsible daily living.
In view of all these gifts of God, can we offer less in return than our very lives? Unless God's overarching claim on our lives and all we have is acknowledged, Christian giving will remain a pious phrase. If the priorities are wrong at the center, our whole life will be out of balance.
Our purpose as the church is to proclaim the gift of Christ, and it is Christ that gives meaning to all our individual activities and goals; Christ gives the "why" behind our personal lives and all life.
This would have to be reframed -- management of resources would allow staff or churches to think as individuals. It would allow them to see Christ as truly God with us, and if this God is one of justice, love, union, and peace, then this alone gives us the normative in our ethics. It gives us the base to set our goals and our purpose.
Christ gives us the direction to responsibly use our resources.
It is this same purpose of Christ the king that gives our church the authority to get involved with the education of our children (like Sunday school, vacation Bible school, junior choir, confirmation, youth group retreats) and pension plans for the pastor and programs to feed the hungry.
Stewardship Sunday is a good time to remember all the good things we are doing as a church -- because of your gifts. You support the pastor. There was a pastor, once, who was going to leave his congregation after being there about nine years. He accepted a call from another parish. Some of the parishioners were very sorry to see him go. Many others could very easily conceal their sorrow. He ended his very last sermon at the church by saying to the congregation, "The same Jesus who sent me here nine years ago is now sending me to a new parish." At that point in the service the choir stood and sang "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."
The truth of the matter is that we are all called as Christians, to be "little Christs" to our neighbors -- we are, in a sense, sent to those around us.
Your stewardship -- your management of our resources -- allows me to act in our community. Besides my teaching, preaching, organizing, counseling among you, I have also helped to organize an efficient food distribution program for the elderly and other shut-ins in our community. I have also helped organize a recreation program for those with physical handicaps -- a program that gives dignity and a future to people.
I interview and direct chaplains at our three area colleges -- chaplains that often bring some order and meaning into the young lives of people desperately in need. I am in charge of a program giving scholarships to needy inner-city youth who want to attend church training conferences. I help on a committee that is attempting to deal with the problems of urban decay and dehumanization at a time when most organizations are pulling out of the cities. I meet with and encourage and teach the elderly in the local area. Most of my intense crisis counseling with really confused, hurting people is with your neighbors in the community who don't go to any church but are in need -- desperate need.
As any pastor, I do this, and more, because of your management of your resources. Multiply this little bit I do by the thousands of people in churches worldwide, and you can see your benevolent dollars at work all across God's world.
Our church is also called to be a prophet in today's society and to demand justice. We are now telling the community, for example, that a responsible steward of the earth's resources should attempt to recycle those precious resources and at the least, the community should give the citizens an opportunity to do this.
Another example is through contact ministry. Churches are offering the confused, the panicked, and the lonely a point of contact with a person who cares.
Through better stewardship of money and time we could be more involved with all these programs -- and more programs that really do give moral fiber to a society that is really reaching out for guidance.
Our active stewardship also is an indication of people who understand why Jesus told his followers to find him in the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned -- in situations where guided moral response is called for. Because of your management and your faith, you are working alongside some of our nonreligious allies in the area to serve the aged, the addicted, the alienated, the confused, and the lonely.
We are also attempting to spread the good news of Christ to those around us, including our own children, family, and friends. We are doing a good job, but I think through better management, better stewardship of time and funds, we could do a better job.
I think we have to get over the "keep the doors open" mentality and see just what we are doing -- and we are doing much more than keeping the doors open. I hope we can proceed from here to then see the great possibilities that lie right in front of us -- now -- so close.
It takes a commitment. It takes better stewardship, involving more people. This is one reason why we ask people to pledge today. A pledge card is not a legal document -- but what it does is first, encourage a person or family to stop and reexamine their management of God's gifts -- their priorities. It allows them to think whether or not what is being given back might just be what is left over. Do we take pride in making things happen?
Secondly, pledging gives the church some indication of what risks and commitments it can take next year. Pledges are not binding -- if one's income unexpectedly drops or increases one's gifts will change -- but the key is one's commitment to what one feels is important. Remember that money is just an extension of ourselves.
Our identity as children of God gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Working through us, God's creativity can influence the variety of communities in which each of us lives -- our families, where we work or study, our neighborhood friends. We must learn to be better stewards of our time and talents -- to be evangelists -- proclaimers of God's gifts to others.
How do we give? Is it gratefully, faithfully, regularly, proportionally, responsibly, joyfully, and expectantly? We, as the church, are to be the body of Christ. We are drawn together because we think we sense the power of life and because we dare to stick our necks out and say that Jesus is Christ the king.
We don't come together because we all have the same hobbies or backgrounds or because our children go to the same school. We don't come together because we vote for the same people or because we always have a great time together. At times we might not even like one another, but we come together because we love everybody and because the Holy Spirit works through us to make us children of God and instruments of his holy love in our community.
Here we receive forgiveness and strength together in our community and we receive God's Word applied to our individual worlds. This is what your pledged money and time supports and extends. Christ works through our stumbling actions to bring healing to ourselves and to other human beings. Our purpose as the church is to be the body through which the living Lord confronts people today just as surely as he did when the power of life was seen in him in Nazareth -- Christ the king.
It is with this understanding of the church that one can talk about stewardship and the use of our money, resources, and time. The only real value of money or resources for any individual is that they enable a person to support the interests of something that the person really cares about. Resources can be used to forward the interest of one's ultimate concern.
True stewardship is not only doing things like teaching Sunday school or tithing, but rather total living in Christ. This means the total giving of oneself to Christ, and this affects everything a person does. It affects all one's contacts and relationships and memberships, every minute of the day. The excuse of inflation is invalid when dealing with stewardship because it involves everything one has and does not have. Giving is gratitude for God's grace. There is only one ground for authority and that is Christ. It's only in this understanding that we can talk about stewardship or the church.
"Christ is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life...." It is in that hope and future that we pledge our money and support this morning and pledge our lives every day.
At this point in the service, we ask our parish stewardship team members to please come forward for commissioning.
Let us rise for prayer:
Father we ask that you help us as a congregation -- we who have been grasped by you -- help us to responsibly act out our relationship with you in our lives.
Help us who sense your purpose to use our lives, our money, and our talents -- to generate and to proclaim your direction to others. Help us to see that real stewardship is not a classroom exercise in fractions. It is "What part of our take-home salary should we give to the church?" Rather, it helps us to see stewardship as a homework assignment to total living. To see that total living in Christ is the total giving of oneself to you.
Lord Jesus Christ -- who did send out your disciples to prepare the way for your coming, bless now these servants as they go forth in your name in behalf of our church. Grant that the message they bring will be seen as the good news of your action and love in our world. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
I now commission you as stewardship ministers for this parish -- servants and stewards of God's world. May you go forth in the joy of your service and under the guidance of the Spirit of God. Amen.
