“No Waiting” RUMC 12/18/2011

“No Waiting”

RUMC 12/18/2011

Have you stood in many lines recently?  Every Santa has a line of children waiting to climb on his lap.  It seems like every parking lot has lines of people driving around looking for the best parking spot, lines of people at the customer service desk, lines of people looking for the best deals, and lines of people waiting at the checkout stand. 

Therefore, I came over to the church early today expecting to see a line of people waiting outside to get in to see Jesus.  There wasn’t one.  I thought our carport would look like the sidewalk in front of Best Buy on Black Friday.  It didn’t.  Why do you suppose that is?  We have to ask ourselves, if Jesus is the reason for the season as we are quick to point out, why don’t  people line up to see him like they line up for those super duper early shopping sales?

I suspect there are many reasons for that, but I wonder…  I wonder if one reason might be that, even in the church, the reason for the season sometimes gets lost in

·         Christmas programs, and

·         adopt a family, and

·         caroling, and

·         mitten trees, and

·         love packages, and

·         Christmas luncheons, and

·         candles, and

·         trees, and

·         nativity scenes and all kinds of “stuff.” 

Instead of being the reason for the season, it would sometimes appear as if Jesus is the excuse for the season.

Now I am not saying that any of that is wrong.  In fact, they are all wonderful.  What I am saying, however, is that perhaps we have let the Christmas story become too routine.  After all, we have heard the Christmas story a hundred times.  After a while, our attention wonders or we tend to nod off.  We start to think we have heard it all before.  HO HUM!

The Christmas story, however, is not HO HUM.  Is it not routine or ordinary!  The Christmas story of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ is one of the greatest and most unique stories in of history. 

I think if we in the church were more amazed at the story, the world would be more amazed.  If we in the church reconnect with that great story, it might touch us in a different way this year.  If it touches us in a different way, we may be able to touch other lives in new and different ways.  I think we all need to step back for just a moment.  Step back from the shopping.  Step back from the preparations.  Step back from the decorations and plans and see the great Christmas truth anew.  Let that ancient story seep into every pore of your being.  Join the shepherds in awe and celebration at the mystery of the incarnation of God.  We need to see the Christmas story through a different pair of glasses.  Today therefore, we are going to look at the passage from Luke that Eloise read for us through the lenses of the first Chapter of John.

This part Luke’s story starts with the shepherds.  They were minding their own business watching their sheep perhaps telling stories around the campfire and trying to get a little shuteye. 

When suddenly, “An angel of the Lord appeared to them.  The glory of the Lord shone around them and they were afraid.”  Now I don’t suppose angels are scary things in themselves.  This angel, however, sure took them by surprise because he also brought a blinding light, an indescribable glory, an unearthly illumination that appeared all around him.  The story says they were afraid.  Who wouldn’t be?  Most of us would be thinking UFO’s and alien kidnapping.

Additionally, when an angel appears you know that something important is going to happen.  When an angel appears in a story, God is about to speak.  The angel is like God clearing his throat and getting everyone’s attention.

John says, “In the Beginning was the Word.  And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  

The word John uses here is LOGOS.  LOGOS is bigger than our understanding of “word.”  The LOGOS is not a noun or the adjective.  LOGOS means reason

In the beginning was the reason and the reason was with God and the reason was God.  You see Jesus is not just the reason for the season.  Jesus is the reason for creation.  Jesus is the reason for being.  Jesus is the reason for all of life itself.

I also like to think of LOGOS as the message.  In the beginning was the message, and the message was with God, and the message was God.”  Now to the angel is bringing that same message to the shepherds

Of course, they are afraid.

Back in Luke the angel of the Lord said “Fear not for I bring you good news of a great joy.  For to you is born this day in the City a David a savior.”  A Savior?  Yes, it is that LOGOS that word that reason that message that is born in Bethlehem.

It is the very word of God.  The word that God has been trying to convey since the beginning of time.  The word that says

·         I will be your God and you will be my people.

·         Walk by faith and I will lead you.

·         Take your shoes off for you are standing on holy ground.

·         That word says love the lord your God

·         That word  says to  “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”

·         That word says “I will save my people”

The time has come.  The angel says to the shepherds, that God’s word . . . God’s message of good news and great joy is coming to you and to all people.

John says it this way, And the Word became flesh and lived among us and we have seen his glory the glory as of a father’s only son full of grace and truth. 

Most of you have probably never heard the word exegesis.  Exegesis is a Greek word we use for Bible study, which means to draw out the meaning.  Originally, the Greeks used it in theatre to describe the way an actor skillfully interprets a role and makes it a living character for the audience.

Now I don’t understand God’s reasons for a lot of things.  I need someone to draw the meaning out of what God has done.  I need someone to exegete God’s actions so I can understand God's ways.  Jesus is God’s exegesis, God’s message in the flesh,  bringing God’s meaning and reason to life for us.  Jesus is like an actor, taking the word of God from the pages of the Old Testament, and making it come alive in our lives.  He is God’s interpreter in human form to show God’s message for the world; to teach God’s message for the word; to offer God’s salvation to all the world.

Again, we go back to Luke:  And this shall be a sign for you.  You will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’  A What?  The shepherds had to be thinking you have to be kidding.  We could believe a savior, a messiah, but baby?  And a baby lying in a feeling trough to boot?  … That is a little much.  OK, maybe the shepherds weren’t thinking that, but that’s what I would have thought, “you’ve got to be kidding. “

Look at it in John’s words “He was in the world and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him.”  It had to be hard.  This was almost unbelievable.  The miracle is that some did believe.  Some did understand.  Some did get the message.  Some did see the meaning.

Thank God that you are among those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Finally, Luke says, “they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger.  When they saw this they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them…The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.”  Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to be there?

I have been to the Grotto of the Nativity, the traditional place of Jesus’ birth.  It is certainly not very impressive, not very big, not very special by earthly standards.  Nevertheless, what a place!  I will never forget the coolness of the rocks, the flickering of the candles, and the gold star that marks the place of his birth.  Of all the events in human history, I suspect more of us would want to be at the birth of Christ than any other time.  It is about so much more than the baby in the manger.

The shepherds knew it.  They understood that this was no normal baby.  Maybe not completely, but to the best of their ability they believed.  Because they believed, they were saved.

John says, “To those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husband’s will but born of God.”  

This is not just a warm fuzzy story of a mother and baby, a father and a crotchety old innkeeper.  This is the story of salvation to those who believe.  Not those who were present, but to those who believe he gave the right to become children of God.  That’s the crux of the whole Christmas story.  Not trees gifts dinners and programs.  Through these amazing events, we can become children of God.  Having faith in these events, and the savior born that night, gives us new status before God.  No longer are we merely creatures.  No longer are we merely rebels.  We are not mere sinners.  By Jesus Christ, his birth, life, death, and resurrection.  We stand before God as CHILDREN.  We are beloved children of the heavenly father with our savior Jesus Christ at our side.

There are many lines around Christmas time.  The line you pick will largely determine the kind of Christmas you will have and the kind of person you become. 

·         You may be waiting in the gift buying and receiving line.  That is the kind of Christmas you will have.

·         You may be waiting in the family time together line.  That is the kind of Christmas you will have.

·         You may be waiting in the “I wish Christmas weren’t on Sunday because I could sure use a long weekend line.”  That is as deep as your Christmas may get.

·         You may be waiting in the let’s get it done and over with so we can get back to normal line.  You will get back to normal, and nothing will change in you.

·         You may be waiting in the "I hope it never ends- because when it does; I have to start paying off my credit cards line.”  Sorry Jesus pays the price, but not that price.

Let me tell you about a place where there is no line.  There is no waiting here.  Leave those lines.  There is plenty of time for that.  There is no waiting in aisle Jesus.  No waiting for hope, or love, or joy, or peace, or salvation.  Salvation has come--- here --- now-- for you.

           

Where is the line to see Jesus?  It is right here.  Right now.  Let us get our hearts in line and pray together.

“An Amazing Response to an Amazing Visitor” RUMC- 12/4/1011

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.  The virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."  But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 

Mary Said Wohoo!!  That means I’ll get a long weekend (unless Christmas lands on Saturday or Sunday!)  I’ll receive lots of gifts.  I’ll get to enjoy the black Friday shopping and maybe get some great deals.  I wonder if my credit card has a high enough balance.  Maybe I had better ask to have it increased just in case. 

Can you picture Mary sating; I can’t wait until Halloween is over so I can get a tree and get it decorated.  Maybe one of those pretty pink flocked trees.  Oh, Oh, and a blow up snowman in the front yard.  (I’m not sure what a snowman is, but I have to have one to go with my reindeer.)

And the food.  Let’s see. I’ll make 7 kinds of candy, no 8 I can’t forget the divinity.  And deserts and more deserts, but no fruit cakes.  Ick!  Oh I wonder if Joseph’s parents will come over for dinner.  Maybe I had better get an extra table from the synagogue just in case.  Oh, there is so much to do.  I am so happy. The family, the lights, the bells, the gifts-- oh yea the gifts that’s what Christmas is all about.  Thanks Angel.  I have to go get ready now.

Of course that is NOT the way Mary responded.  But that is exactly  my point.  There are so many distractions, detours and diversions in our Christmas celebration that sometimes we find it hard to get to Christmas.  The young woman impregnated by the Holy Spirit, is not nearly showy enough for today’s Christmas.  The Son of God born in a stable interferes with our self-gratifying consumer driven shopping orgy.  The animals and shepherds just make too big of a mess this time of year.

I hate to intrude on your celebration of Christmas, whether it is consumer driven, family driven, nostalgia driven, or exhaustion driven; but I have to point out that most of us completely miss the point.  Christmas has to go deeper than gifts and shopping.  We have to get deeper than family.  We have to get deeper than white Christmas and frosty the snowman.        We have to get beyond the glitter, beyond the glow.  Christmas at its root is a spiritual thing.  It is a message for your soul and your spirit.  Let us get beyond all the extras and get to the spiritual heart of the incarnation of God coming for our salvation.

I think Mary’s response to the angel’s visitation is instructive.  Immediately she says "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  There are three things I see just in this sentence that I want to share with you.

First, Mary believed.  How many of us, if we saw an angel and received a message that we were to have a child and he would be the savior of the world, would rub our eyes and shake our heads.  We would think we were hallucinating.  We would check to see if someone spiked our diet Pepsi wouldn’t we?

I suspect we would try almost any explanation before we believed what we had seen and heard.  Not Mary.  Mary just believed.  Do you know what that is called . . .  faith.  Mary responded with faith. 

Christmas is first and foremost a season of faith.  The fundamental question of Christmas is not what am I going to get, or can I squeeze one more gift out of my bank account.  The fundamental question of Christmas is do you believe?  Do you have faith?  Do you believe that Jesus really is the son of God?

If we don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God then the whole celebration is a sham. 

Without faith in Jesus as the incarnation of God himself, Christmas is nothing more than the festival of selfishness that Target or Wal-Mart says it is.

This faith is foundational to Christianity.  Without faith in Jesus as the only begotten son of God, there is nothing else.  There is no Christmas.  There is no Easter.  There is no church and there is no salvation.

Christmas is first and foremost a festival of faith.

The second lesson I see is Mary’s response is her humble worship of God.   Mary knows right off the bat that this is not about her.  She could have said, “How lucky am I.”  “How wonderful am I.”  “Look at me, the mother of God.”  But she doesn’t. She names herself as a SERVANT of the Lord. Later with Elizabeth, she sings "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”

Mary has no illusion about her greatness. She makes no mistake thinking that this is about her purity.  This is not about her worthiness. Mary knows that she is in need of a savior just as much as the rest of us. She knows this is about her salvation.  She says, “my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”  This is about the fact that God, the only magnificent God beside whom none can stand, has given her a savior- and placed him in her womb.  Because of that she rejoiced- she magnified God, she gave glory to God, she worshipped God and gave all the praise and recognition to God.

We too  can rejoice at Christmas because God, the only magnificent God beside whom none can stand, has given us a savior, and placed him in our hearts.  That is what Christmas is about.  It is about humbly magnifying God, giving glory to God, worshipping God and giving all the praise and recognition to God.

Christmas is not about us, it is about God, and we need to approach it with humility and awe.

First we have faith in Jesus Christ as God’s son. 

Second we know that God sent Jesus for our salvation and we are to respond in humble awe.   

Finally, Mary had no illusion that she could return to the way things were. In that moment, in the blink of an eye her whole life had changed. .  Besides the fact that babies change everything, she was a 13 or 14 year old mother- had a fiancé who was not the father, and she having a  baby in a strange city in a stable. Life doesn’t get any more upside-down than that! 

 You know Christmas really messes up our December too.  Christmas often falls during the middle of the week, there are extra worship services, extra company, extra shopping, extra expenses, extra obligations, our regular songs aren’t on the radio, we have to find room for a tree in the family room, we have to put away the regular nick-knacks and get out the Christmas decorations.  Christmas just turns everything upside-down. 

Not just Mary’s life, and not just our Decembers.  Christmas changes the whole world.  Mary knew that when she sang,

“He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.  He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

The truth is that the changes in Mary’s life and our lives are nothing compared to the way Christmas changed the whole world. Human life would never be the same after that first Christmas.  I cannot even imagine what the world would be like without the presence and influence of the Christian Church.  I cannot imagine what life would be like without the promise that things can be different if we have faith.  I cannot imagine anything that has changed the world more than the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Yet, for many people Christmas comes and Christmas goes and we breathe a sigh of relief that things are back to “normal.” 

No!  Christmas shouldn’t just change a month.  It should change our lives.  At Christmas, we are celebrating the greatest event in all of history, the coming of God to the earth as one of us.  The incarnation of God to save sinful people from their sins.  How could life ever be the same?  How can we ever be the same?  No!  We should walk away from Christmas changed people ready to change the world for Jesus Christ.

I don’t know what I would do if an angel appeared to me, let alone what I would do with a message like Mary received.  I do know that Mary teaches us about the true spirit of Christmas.

·         A Spirit of faith

·         A spirit of humble awe

·         A spirit ready to be changed and to change the world.

What about you?  What kind of Spirit do you have this Christmas.  I am trying very hard not to be distracted or discouraged by the nonsense I see in the secular Christmas Binge. I hope you are too.

Remember :

A Spirit of faith

A spirit of humble awe

A spirit ready to be changed; and to change the world.

Christ the King (By Rev. Robyn Plocher)

sermon in song: “One Solitary Life”         Rev. Robyn Plocher

He was born in an obscure village, in a stable and laid to sleep in a manger of hay where the cows and ox fed.  His mother was a young peasant girl.  His birth was noted that night only by his humble parents and shepherds who had been tending their flocks in a nearby field.  He was just a baby, yet his birth was so threatening to King Herod that he ordered the execution of all children under the age of 2 in that little town of Bethlehem. *

HYMN #230 vs 1 & 2: “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

He grew up in another village called Nazareth. He went to synagogue school.    He worked in his father’s carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an traveling preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never married and had children. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place He was born. He did none of the things usually associated with greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

HYMN #277 vs 1 – 3:    “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus”

When he was only 33  the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only thing he owned, the clothes on his back.  When He was dead he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. 

SOLO:            “Were You There?”              Rev. Robyn Plocher

Following his death his disciples hid away, in fear for their own lives.  But then, they came out of hiding and they began to spread the story that Jesus was raised from the dead and later that he had ascended to heaven.  They proclaimed Jesus as the Christ and Savior whose victory was not over kings and nations, but over Satan, sin and death itself.  The number of believers grew.  In a mere generation the number of those willing to suffer persecution and  even die for the sake of their faith in Jesus included those living in the  entire Roman empire and beyond.  Today, there are still those willing to suffer imprisonment, persecution and death rather than forsake the name of Jesus Christ.  His is a kingdom of peace and justice, of hope for the hopeless and light for those who are trapped in the darkness of sin and death.  May his kingdom come and may his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

HYMN #308 vs 1:  “Thine Be the Glory”

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind’s progress.  As citizens of his kingdom it is our joy to serve him.  He has shown us the way, in both word and example:  Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison and welcome the stranger in your midst.  We serve him gladly and praise him as king of our lives for we know that all the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that have ever reigned put together have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as this one solitary life.

SPECIAL MUSIC:               “Total Praise”                       Choir

“Astonishing Generosity Transforms Lives” November 13, 2011

“Astonishing Generosity Transforms Lives”

November 13, 2011

RUMC

Do you remember the the Maz-a-tec Indians of southern Mexico I talked about last week? 

They believe in a world of limited good.  If they teach someone how to do something they are giving away something, which they might need later.  If they were to wish someone a good day, they would be giving away their own good fortune and may never get it back.  If they have a second child, they have to love the first child less in order to have any love for the second.

As strange as it may sound to our ears, we are surrounded by the philosophy of the limited good every day of our lives.

1.      What is one of the big gripes of the occupy Wallstreet and occupy Waterloo and all the other “occupy” groups?  Whatever you may think of their methods and motives, their message is that the mere existence of that wealthy one percent is a social problem.  They believe the only way to correct that is for the government to take away from the rich and give it to the poor.  Limited money- limited good.

2.      There has always been an undercurrent of distrust of companies as big and successful as Wal-Mart and McDonalds.  Again, whatever you may think of the way they do business, there is always a nagging feeling that they must be guilty of something or they would not be so rich and successful.  Limited success- limited good.

3.      Think about the way the markets work.  When production goes down, what happens?  Price goes up.  And visa versa.  Is there any reason that an oil tanker sinking off the cape of Africa automatically makes the gas at Casey’s  any more valuable?  Is your grain really any more valuable because of a drought in Venezuela? No except that, we have been sold the idea that there is only so much of anything to go around.  Limited value, limited good.

4.      Finally, have you noticed that recently to show respect for one group is automatically to show disrespect for another. To respect a Christian holiday, must automatically mean that we disrespect a the Muslim  people?.   Limited respect, limited good.

Do you see how this limited good, all or nothing,  black and white primitive thinking has invaded our culture and economy?

When Jesus was confronted with this thinking he had 5000 people in front of him.  The disciples said we don’t have enough to feed them.  Jesus said, “You guys and your theory of the limited good” watch this and he began to pass the bread and the fish and all 5000 people were fed.  In addition, how many baskets were picked up?  12 baskets of leftovers!!  Limited good my foot!

When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman, he confronted the idea that either God wanted to be worshipped in Jerusalem or God wanted to be worshipped in Samaria.  There was not enough of God to go around for both groups.  Jesus said, watch this.  “I will give you living water, topped off and overflowing.  There is plenty of God to go around.”

When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, the priest and Levite passed by the other side.  There wasn’t enough time to look after the beaten man, there wasn’t enough money to help the robbery victim, and there wasn’t enough holy water in the world to make it OK for the  priest to touch that guy.  But Jesus says, “Ha! Watch this.  And then the Samaritan came up and there was abundant time, ample of money and plenty of love to go around!”

Biblical scholar NT Wright coined the phrase “Astonishing generosity” when he was writing about Jesus and his teachings.  Specifically he used it when writing about Jesus saying “turn the other cheek” and “give him your cloak too.”

Astonishing generosity means it is not enough to be generous disciples.  But our generosity must astonish the people around us, leaving them dumbfounded for an explanation, flabbergasted for a rationale.  It is not enough to be good to the people who are good to us.  It is not good enough to love those who love us.  It is not good enough to give God our leftover time.  It is not good enough to give God the blemished lamb or the $5 bill we had left over this week.

We are called to a revolution.  Not a political or military revolution.  Jesus calls his followers to a generosity revolution, a revolution in the way we think and act. That revolution  comes about when people like you and I reflect the astonishing generosity of God into a dark and disbelieving world.

·         This is not just a strategy for adding some kindness to the world.  It’s a strategy for changing the world. 

·         It’s not just about making the world better, it’s about making the world new.  

·         Generosity is not just about making people think we are good nice and kind, it is about helping people see that God is good, compassionate and responsive to their cries.

·         Generosity is a central activity of the followers of Christ to reveal God to the world. 

Most of us have grown up with the idea that generosity is to give until it hurts. Well, it only hurts in world of limited good.  Others say  generosity is to  give until we feel good.  Well, that is just a little self serving.  Today, I call upon you to give until something changes.  Give until something changes.  Give until a life is transformed.   Give so that lives will be transformed.

The question for each of our hearts today, then, is how much?   My prayer is that we would each give until something changes. . . in our hearts.  In the lives of the people around us.  In the world.

When we moved  here we started tithing for the first time in our lives, and I made it an automatic payment.   Talk about giving until something changes—the something that changed was me.  No longer am I imprisoned by the idea of the limited good.  God provides for us every month, and every month God provides with astonishing generosity.

I know that 10 % of you net income sounds impossible to many,  and for some it is.  For many, however it is achievable.  If you are not tithing yet, I want you to consider – not jumping up to 10 % today.  But to consider increasing your giving by 10%.  If you give a dollar now, put $1.10 on your estimate.  If you give a hundred dollars now, try $110. If out of habit you have written the same estimate as last year on your card, could you change that today to be 10 % more, just a little closer to the tithe.  If you have not been pledging at all , set some kind of  goal by putting something on your card. 

Whatever you decide to give this year, look out.  Because when you give until something changes … that something just might be you.  Or it might be someone else. Either way it is OK because as it says on your bulletin every week, the is a place where “Where the power of Christ love is changing lives”

You each have your own stories.

·         Some of you have your own stories of how your life is changed by the generous love of God reflected through the people of this church. 

·         Others have seen spouses transformed, neighbors brought home, guilty hearts soothed, broken lives healed, and despairing lives made new; all because of the astonishing generosity of the people here at the Reinbeck UMC.   People who gave and gave and gave; past where it hurts, past where it feels good, all the way to the point where something changed.  Someone’s life, someone’s heart, someone‘s spirit, someone’s relationship with God.

We have also seen changed lives as we have watched the Faces of Faith videos.

1.      Today we heard about how you generously loved and accepted Niki until something changed in her.  “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives”  Give God a hand praise for that! (applause)

2.      Earlier we heard about how you generously welcomed people who were wounded by experiences until those wounds were healed and their lives were changed.  “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

3.      We heard about Haley’s life being changed because Shelby generously invited her.  “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

4.      We heard about the Anderson children’s lives changed because LIGHT is a generous ministry of this church.  “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

5.      Friends, the astonishing generosity of this congregation through the years have changed the world for people from Alabama to Ziare. “Through their ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives”  We should thank them.  (applause)

6.      This church’s history could have ended in 1956. The astonishing generosity of the last generation, however,  brought them through the fire and blessed us with a beautiful ministry center, thereby changing the course of history in Reinbeck. “because of their ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives”  We should thank them (applause)

7.      Your astonishing generosity in the last 4 ½  years has brought this church from the edge of financial scarcity, to this year being the  first year that we have paid our apportionments through the year as we Go rather than begging for someone to bail us out in December. “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives”  You should thank each other (applause.)

8.      Your astonishing generosity has seen that families on the brink of losing everything get a little boost by paying an electric bill or buying a tank of gas, and that has changes despair to hope. “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

9.      Your astonishing generosity has made sure that people across Eastern Iowa do not fall through the cracks of hunger and mal nutrition. “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

10.  Your astonishing generosity has seen our quickly dying Sunday School transformed into a living, vibrant Wednesday night LIGHT ministry where new people come almost every week, and  the Gospel of Christ is at work changing families and changing this next generation. “Through your ministry , The power of Christ love is changing lives” (applause)

You can be proud of that--- but not too proud.  Because  God says “I am not done with you yet”.  I AM NOT DONE CHANGING LIVES HERE YET.

What will God do next year? I don’t know.  I do know that whatever it is, I want to be part of it.  I want to share that journey of changing lives with you.

So let’s  “Give until something changes”

GOD’S ASTONISHING GENEROSITY (OVERFLOWING TO US)

GOD’S ASTONISHING GENEROSITY (OVERFLOWING TO US)

RUMC November 6, 2011

What would you be willing to do for $10 million?  In their book, The Day America Told the Truth, authors James Patterson and Peter Kim reveal some shocking statistics on how far people are willing to go for money:

•  (25%)  Would abandon their church (Maybe that’s where they are!)
• (25%)  Would abandon their entire family
• (23%)  Would become prostitutes for a week or more
• (16%)  Would give up their American citizenship
• (16%)  Would leave their spouses
• (10%)  Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free
• (7%)  Would kill a stranger
• (6%) said they would change their race
• (4%) said they would have a sex change. 
• (3%)  Would put their children up for adoption

It is not too surprising that torturing and killing their children or letting that happen didn’t make the list.  That is no surprise- until you realize that someone did just that.  Allowed people to capture, torture, and kill their son.  How much to you think they got?  100 million?  100 billion?  100 trillion dollars?  Believe it or not, not a penny.  God did that for you-- not for any amount of money-- just for love. 

There are some things that in our culture we do not discuss in polite company. 

Sex used to be on that list, but I think Hollywood has changed that as sex crept into our living rooms through our televisions, it also seeped into our conversations. 

Politics used to be on the list, but more and more, people are not only willing to express political views, but are eager to condemn others for having differing views. 

Religion and money are still pretty much taboo, however.  Isn’t that interesting?  The very topic of my sermon today.  So, consider me impolite if you will, but I am in pretty good company. considering the Bible talks about money in 2,350 passages.  Jesus talked about money more than prayer.  Therefore, what some consider impolite, I would say is just being faithful. 

I said there are 2300 passages about money, but that is nothing compared to the passages about generosity. 

·         The very creation story is a story of the abundantly astonishing; outrageously unbelievable; amazing generosity of God in creating all that is. 

·         The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not so much about homosexuality as it is about the lack of generous hospitality among the people of those cities. 

Skipping to the New Testament

·         We see the parable of the workers in the vineyard we talked about a few weeks ago.  The owner asks, “Do you begrudge me my generosity?  ”

·         We see Jesus telling the rich young ruler “Go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, then come back and follow me.  ” Not being generous is a barrier to following Jesus. 

·         We remember the stories of the Good Samaritan, the prodigal son, the widow’s mite, the feeding of the 5000, the healing of the lepers and the blind and the deaf and the paralytic.  Jesus’ ministry was all about Generosity. 

·         We come to Paul, and the passage we read today.  Paul was encouraging generosity “he who sows sparing will reap sparingly...  God loves a cheerful giver.  ”  You have to realize that Paul was not encouraging generosity to his friends, but generosity to those in Jerusalem with whom he disagreed and parted ways early in his ministry. 

·         The ultimate act of Generosity, of course is God giving his only begotten son so that we might have eternal life.  Jesus who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped; rather, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Neither allowing yourself nor your child to be tortured and killed made that list of things people would do for 10 million dollars.  Nevertheless, God did it just because God is generous.  God is abundantly, astonishingly, outrageously, unbelievably, amazingly, generous. 

Many years ago, I took a picture from when I was about 1 year old to the children’s sermon at the Geneseo church.  I asked the kids who that was.  They unanimously and in unison said it was Richie.  At one point, we could have done the same thing with Robyn’s baby picture and Amber. 

We are made in God’s image.  We should look a lot like our heavenly father. The point is … if generosity is so important to the God who created us in his own image… what happened?  Why is generosity so hard for us? 

I’m not talking just about money right here.  I am talking about life.  Generosity is doing more than is expected of you.  Are we generous if we only do the minimum? Are we generous if we only do that which we have to do. Are we generous if we only do what we want to do, (whether that is in our families, our  jobs or our church membership).   

Friends,

·                         If you are selfish in your marriage, it will not be a happy marriage. 

·                         If you are selfish with your talent, you will find it loses its appeal. 

·                         If you only go to work for yourself, you will likely not last long with the company. 

·                         If you are selfish with your time, even the time you keep to yourself will not be filled with joy. 

·                         If you are selfish in your finances, you will not find joy in the material things you hoard, and perhaps more importantly, you are not living up to the image of God, which was placed in you. 

What would happen if we agreed together as the People of God to aim for living by the biblical model of generous living?   Wouldn’t this be a beautiful world if we all generously gave our time to help those less fortunate?   Imagine what a difference we would make if we would willingly spend our time loving the unlovable.  Imagine how the church would change if we were all  anxious to be called on to serve in the church.

·         Imagine what would happen if we all practiced Biblical financial generosity.  Let me tell you how ... It’s easy. . .

• Every time you get ten dollars, you give one to God’s Kingdom, and the other 9 are yours. 
• Every time you get 100 dollars you give 10 to the Kingdom of God and the other 90 are yours 
•  Every time you get $1000, you give 100 to the kingdom of God and the other 900 are yours. 

Now that doesn’t seem like too much to ask.  Frankly, it doesn’t even seem all that generous compared to God’s generosity. 

If Christians everywhere would agree to do that, however, churches would have 2 to 3 times their current income, which one study showed would create $140B additional dollars that could be spent on other missional activities beyond the typical church budget – which itself would be 100% funded. 

It would also be astonishing because most people who participate in church give on average of 3% or less.  That’s 3cents for every dollar and $30 for every 1000.  That’s kind of sad. 

Let’s be clear I am not just talking about this congregation.  I am talking about the People of God everywhere fulfilling their calling to participate in God’s mission of renewing, restoring, and regenerating a world that has been marred by sin by reflecting the generosity of Jesus (who gave his whole life for us!) in what they do with their money and their stuff. 

 Now, obviously, that takes place primarily through individual churches.   As long as you’re here, the Reinbeck UMC is an appropriate place to do that.  However, ultimately, I don’t want you to give to the Reinbeck UMC.  I want you to give in faithful and  astonishing ways to God’s Kingdom for the rest of your life wherever you go. 

For the past forty years, Eunice Pike has worked with the Maz-a-tec Indians in southwestern Mexico.  During this time, she has discovered some interesting things about these beautiful people.  For instance, the people seldom wish someone well.  If asked, "Who taught you to bake bread?  " the village baker answers, "I just know," meaning he has acquired the knowledge without anyone’s help.  Though Christian, they are hesitant to teach one another about the gospel. 

Eunice says this odd behavior stems from the Indian’s concept of "limited good.  “They believe there is only so much good, so much knowledge, so much love to go around.  To teach another means you might drain yourself of knowledge.  To love a second child means you have to love the first child less.  To wish someone to "Have a good day"--means you have just given away some of your own happiness, which cannot be reacquired. 

The concept of “limited good” seems to dominate our society, and especially our financial dealings.  But; God is not a God of limited good.  God is not a God of limits.  God is a God who is Generous from beginning to end.  God is abundantly, astonishingly, outrageously, unbelievably, amazingly, generous. 

Go and be likewise.