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The Message for Nov. 11, 2018Mark 12:38-44Giving to the KingdomRob Miller, PastorStory: A man stopped by a Lutheran Church one day and asked to see the pastor. “Pastor,” he said, “My dog died and I would like a Christian burial for him.”The Pastor said, “I’m sorry to hear about your dog, but we Lutherans don’t do funerals for dogs. You might try the Baptist church down the street.”The man said, “I’m sorry you won’t do my dog’s funeral, but I understand. I’ll try the Baptist church. But could you tell me how much money is appropriate to leave for a memorial to the church? I was thinking of giving a $10,000 gift in memory my dog.”“Wait a minute,” the pastor said. “You didn’t tell me your dog was Lutheran…”Money talks… Money gets our attention… Money got the attention of Jesus one day. That’s what our gospel reading is about… It’s about giving our money to the kingdom of God.Read Text Mark 12:38-44There were 12 large horn-shaped receptacles at the temple for people to put their offering into as they came in and out of worship. People would come by and toss their money into those horns. They didn’t have paper money -- they used coins. Larger coins made more noise than smaller coins. Gold and silver coins have a nicer ring than copper coins. Throwing in a lot of coins sounds better than just throwing in a couple coins.People aren’t dummies. They had it figured out -- if you wanted to impress people then you put in a lot of large coins -- making a lot of noise. And people were doing that one day in front of Jesus and his disciples.31667451905000Then Jesus heard two faint little clinks. A widowed woman had put in two copper coins -- smaller than our modern day penny (picture). Here is a picture comparing the two. The coins she tossed in weren’t worth a whole lot of money. In today’s currency they might have been worth a dollar or two -- maybe enough to buy a sandwich at McDonalds off the dollar menu.Here’s the thing…She didn’t have any more money.She needed that to live on.She could have put in just one coin instead of both.She didn’t give to make an impression.She didn’t give to get recognition.She simply gave all the money she had.This poor woman gave EVERYTHING she had! The question is - Why? The answer is - Because God was EVERYTHING to her.She didn’t give her money to the temple. She gave her money to God thru the temple. She had…No husband to provide for herNo job to sustain herNo bank account to tap intoNo credit cardsNo Social SecurityAll she had was God.So to show her gratitude, her appreciation, her thankfulness -- she gave her last two coins to God -- and she was probably the happiest person in worship that day. Most of us don’t live our lives that way. Most of us have more than enough. We live pretty comfortably. We are not in want. We have more than we need. And so we don’t rely on God like this woman did. Instead we create all kinds of backup plans. We put our trust in things like ourincomebank accounts credit cards equity in our homes friends family retirement accountsinvestment funds Social SecurityThe truth is -- most of us don’t live like we need God! We don’t depend on God daily like this woman did. We have so many other resources that we rely on -- and by doing so -- we push God out of the picture – out of our lives until a crisis hits. And then we wonder -- why did this happen to me??? What did I do to deserve this??? We forget how blessed by God we really are.Oh… I wish… more of us could live like the guy in this story… His name is Andy… Andy was a faithful church member who was not exceptionally wealthy and yet he had a reputation of giving a lot of money to his church and to many other causes too. Andy was generous with his money. One day he was asked how he could give so much money away and still have enough for himself and his family to live on. “Well,” Andy said, “It’s like this” – As I shovel the money out, God shovels it in. And God has a bigger shovel than I do!That is living by faith… That is trusting in God… I wonder how many people instead -- live like the guy in this story… His name is Bill…Bill attended church but never really got involved. He was very wealthy but was never known to be generous with his wealth. The church started a capital campaign to expand their ministry and make some needed improvements to their building inviting everyone in the church to participate. When the leaders met with Bill one afternoon, they said that in view of their research and his considerable resources -- they were sure that he would like to make a substantial contribution to the church financially in support of the capital campaign.“I see,” Bill said, “so you have it all figured out, do you? In the course of your research did you discover that I have a widowed mother who has no other means of support but me?” “No,” they responded, “we did not know that.” “Did you know that I have a sister who was left by a drunken husband with five children and no means to provide for them?” “No,” they said, “we did not know that either.” “Well, did you know that I have a brother who was crippled by an automobile accident and can never work again to support his wife and family?”Embarrassingly, they responded, “No sir, we did not know that either.” “Well,” he thundered triumphantly, “I have never given any of them money so why would I give to you?”Wow -- can you say sinful and selfish?Please, please, please do not be like Bill, be like Andy…I could list at least a hundred reasons why we should give generously to God thru the church. Instead I want to share with you the #1 reason why... Here it is…Giving to God through the church keeps things in perspective for us and it helps us live by the first commandment – you shall have no other gods.We can turn anything into a god and worship it – especially money. And many people do. In 1 Timothy we are told that…Those who want to get rich?fall into temptation and a trap?and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.??For the love of money?is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith?and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:9-11) Notice that money is not the root of all evil -- the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, says Timothy… Some people love money more than they love God… That’s a problem. Here’s why… Our God is a jealous God. God isn’t jealous of us. God is jealous for us… wanting nothing to get in the way of our relationship with God… especially our money…Jesus put it this way… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)Notice Jesus didn’t say – where your heart is that’s where you will find your treasure… He says what’s important to you – whatever you treasure – that’s where heart will be… That’s where your passion will be…What do you treasure? What is important to you? Is your relationship with God in and through the church the most important treasure you have? I sure hope so… If not, then I am praying for you. And I ask that you pray for me because I’ve failed you -- if your relationship with God isn’t the most important treasure you have… then I’ve failed you as your pastor. BTW – that’s a great question for our small group discussions this week. Is your relationship with God in and through the church the most important treasure you have? Why or why not? When it comes to our giving to God in and thru the church we often use the biblical word Tithe… Tithe means to give God the first 10% of our income. A tithe is the guide for our giving. We strive to tithe in our household. We do so because God has blessed us (and continues to bless us) and we want to bless others through our giving. I encourage our leaders on the church council to be tither too. If they aren’t, I invite them to grow in their giving towards being tithers… Here’s why…Tithing reveals a heart in the right placeis about trusting Godmeans we treasure the things of Godis about blessing others because we are blessed by Godreveals a spiritual maturityBut… I see a problem… maybe that’s the wrong language. Because it suggests that once I’ve given my 10% then I’m good to go - I’ve done my part. Check that off the list… Maybe instead of using the word tithe we use the words…Generous giving – are you a generous giver? Generous giving helps us overcome our sinful, selfish nature. Like in the story I told about Bill earlier.Generous giving shows our trust in God like in the story I told about Andy earlier. Generous giving reminds us that everything we have belongs to God. My clothes are not mineMy house is not mine (belongs to the bank) My cars are not mineEven my body is not mineIt’s all God’s… So we give a portion of it back to God in thanks and praise for what God has given to us…Consider this: Generous givers are the happiest people on the planet. That’s why they are generous with their giving… Are you?One time in worship - after the offering was received - the pastor lifted the offering plates up into the air and said, “O generous God, no matter what we say or do this is what we think of you.” That is so true. That’s what the woman in our gospel reading teaches us. Our giving to God in and thru the church reveals our spiritual maturity. Story: Frank had a horrible dream. He dreamed that the Lord took his weekly Sunday morning offering and multiplied it by ten, and that became his weekly income. In no time he had to give up the internet, his cell phone, his new car, and he could no longer make payments on his house. After all, how far can $10 a week go? He was only putting a dollar into the offing plate every week…If the Lord took your weekly offering and multiplied it by ten, and that became your weekly income, how much would it be? Would it be enough for you to live off of? Think about it! Amen ................
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