Why We Give, Part 1

Why We Give, Part 1

Sermon Notes: November 8, 2009

Rev. Jim O’Neal, Senior Pastor

Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, 9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes, Arizona 85248 - (480) 895-8766

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NRSV

⁶Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; ⁷for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; ⁸but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

1 John 3:16-18 NRSV

¹⁶We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us — and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? ¹⁸Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

A. Introduction

1. Letter in a bottle

a. This is an apocryphal story. In other words it's probably a bit of blarney, but it could have happened, and more importantly while the story may not exactly be factual the tale does make a valid point. I recently received a letter in a bottle. This is what it said: “Dear Rev. Jim: I thought you’d get a kick out of me sending you this letter and my pledge card in a bottle! Especially with what I’ve been through lately. As you know last month I went on a cruise to the South Pacific. I thought it was a good deal for a seventy-five year old widower. Boy was I wrong! The ship sank and here I was in a little rubber raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean all alone except for this scared college kid. He whined, “We’re going drown or die of thirst out here!” I told him to start paddling toward the little bulge to the west. We paddled for hours and sure enough it was an island. A tiny uninhabited one, but we were safe. Well, now the kid was crying, “They’ll never find us here, we’ll starve or die as old men in this place!” “Don’t worry!” I said, “It’s November.” “So what’s that mean?” he asked. “Well,” I said, “Last year I gave $10,000 to Sun Lakes United Methodist Church. And this year I’ve already given $20,000, and 2010 is just around the corner.” “So?” he said. “Well like I said it’s November, the Stewardship Campaign has started back at Church, and Harry and the Finance Committee are going to find me for my 2010 pledge!” Sure enough this boat showed up with Harry and some Church members. Jack asked me if I’d like a ride, and I said, ‘Yes!’ Then Leon wouldn’t let me on the boat till I filled out my pledge for both the Operating Budget and the Building Fund, and wrote a check pre-paying some of my 2010 pledge! So anyways, you can count on me, and I’ll see you in worship as soon as I dry out and feel better. Sincerely Yours, Your buddy R.D."

b. Yes, my friends it is that time of year when we call upon all of our members and friends to help us underwrite the budget of the Lord’s Church. Hopefully we don’t have to chase you down on a desert island. Hopefully you will pray about this and be ready to turn in your pledge card on Sunday, November 22^nd.

A. Introduction… continued

2. Holy Bible

a. The Bible calls believers to be givers. In the Old Testament God spoke through Moses and told the people to give ten percent back to God as a thank offering. The prophets called believers to take care of the widows and orphans. In the New Testament Jesus by his life and words repeatedly told us to reach out in love to others. And the Lord himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Paul quoting Jesus in Acts 20:35 NRSV & others) The disciples and apostles, also, echoed this call for believers to be generous.

b. This morning, I begin a two part series lifting up five Biblical reasons for giving. Today we cover two of these.

B. Give as a remedy to the enslaving power of wealth.

1. Eagle on a frozen log

a. One cold winter a hiker in Alaska sat down to rest on a tree stump. He watched some eagles hunting on a river. They would swoop down and snatch a fish from the water and fly away. He watched one lazy eagle that had developed the habit of sitting on a log as it floated down the river. Twice the eagle used this tactic and beat out his soaring comrades in getting to a fish first. On the third time the eagle hung onto the ice encrusted limb too long. Apparently his talons became frozen to the branch. No longer was he holding onto the log, the log was holding onto him! The hiker watched as the eagle flapped his wings and squawked in vain. Finally the bird was carried into the rapids, over some falls, and killed.

b. This is a parable of money. And each person here will ultimately choose the role of wealth in their life. The question to ask yourself is: “Do you have money, or does the money have you?”

2. USA Today Article

a. “The more you earn, the more discretionary income you have, therefore the more you are able to give to charity.” That’s what a USA Today reporter thought. Then he investigated the giving habits of Americans. He discovered that people with incomes below $10,000 gave three times more proportionally to charity than did people with incomes from $50,000 to $100,000. Further the reporter found out that people with incomes below $50,000 give almost twice as much as do people in the $100,000 to $200,000 category. And the percent of giving goes down to an even tinier amount for people making six figures.

b. Why? We all know why. The eagle once had the limb, but now the limb as the eagle.

3. Holy Bible

a. Paul in his first letter to Timothy warned us: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men 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 6:9-10 NIV)

b. When we develop and stick to the pattern of giving to God proportionally, we fight against the inclination of making money our master. The greatest antidote to the enslaving power of wealth is generosity. Giving money away to charities shows that we have money, and not that money has us.

C. Give in response to the needs of others.

1. Frisbees for Africa (“Frisbees and Guerillas” by Gary B. Swanson)

a. We have so much. We sometimes forget that there are those who have so little. Several years back John Bowes; chairman of the Wham-O Corporation participated in a charity effort. He sent several thousand “Frisbee”, plastic flying discs to an orphanage in Angola, Africa. He thought the children would enjoy playing with them. Several months later a company representative visited the orphanage. The nun who ran the place thanked him for the wonderful, non-breakable “PLATES” that his company had sent them. She said the children, also, found the plates good for carrying water, and even sturdy enough to catch fish with. The representative explained and demonstrated the intended use of a Frisbee. Now the nun was really excited. The children could not only use their plates to hold food, carry water and catch fish, they could, also, use them as toys!

b. On one level this is a humorous story. On another level it is very sad. There are people who would prize even our cast off items. There are people who would gladly eat what we throw away. Millions of people in our world live at subsistence level. Many live on less than $300 a year. There are some 35 million refugees languishing in poverty. Millions will die of diseases that could be cured if only they had the medicine or doctors. For millions the only hope is the Church of Jesus Christ. In some areas of planet earth the only hospital is the Mission Clinic supported by Christians around the world. In the great cities of the world, and in our own metropolitan area, it is Church groups that take the forefront in providing homeless shelters, food and clothing for the poor.

c. And there are several billion people living in spiritual poverty. Some live in third world countries where the name of Jesus is not known or not allowed. Millions in our own country do not attend Church or actively live as disciples of Jesus Christ. The pollsters tell us that about 60% of the U.S. population does not attend Church on any regular basis. While most Americans do profess some vague consciousness of a higher power, far too few know Jesus in a personal way as their Lord and Savior. Do you care enough to do something about these spiritual, emotional, and physical needs?

2. Heifer Project

a. Over sixty years ago a Christian named Dan West prayed for God to show him how he could help others for the Lord. Dan wanted to do more than just hand money to help a momentary need and then walk away. He wanted his money and his gifts to empower folks to be able to help themselves and then pass the blessing on to others. At the time the Spanish Civil War had just ended and people in Spain were in need of food and in particular food with some protein in it. So Dan West, the Indiana farmer, hatched a wonderful idea. He supplied a number of poor Spanish farmers with a heifer. (For those who don’t know, I’ll share the way my buddy in Wilcox explained it to the kids: A heifer is an “unmarried” female cow.) They were to mate the cow with a bull, and then were required to give the first born female to another poor family in the village. This cow would thus supply the family with milk, cheese, and eventually meat, as would the heifer they gave away to another family, and so forth as the gift was shared again and again. Today this wonderful organization is known as the Heifer Project International, and they supply livestock and education to poor people in some forty countries.

2. Heifer Project…. continued

b. Dan West found a way to give in response to the needs of others. How about you? Money will always be needed to feed people and fund the mission work of Jesus’ Church. Please pray about what you will give to this your Church, and turn in a pledge card on Sunday, November 22^nd. Of course, your time and talents are also needed. Get involved with our Mission Committee, serve on some other committee, or volunteer at the New Day Homeless Shelter. And do not forget the spiritual needs of others. Volunteer to help our Education Committee or sign up to become a Stephen Minister. Pray with a fellow senior who is struggling and share your faith in Jesus Christ with them. Invite friends, neighbors, and relatives to some Church activity. Join our Church Growth Committee, and work on ways to bring people to Jesus.

3. Holy Bible

a. Paul is quite clear about God’s call for us to care about others: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” (1 John 3:17-18 NRSV)

b. Christians give in response to the needs of others. You are called to: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18 NCV, Matthew 22:39 NCV, Mark 12:31 NCV & Luke 10:27 NCV)

D. Conclusion

1. Recap: Why we give. We give for the following reasons:

a. Give as a remedy to the enslaving power of wealth.

b. Give in response to the needs of others.

2. Next Sunday: Next Sunday we will talk about three more reasons for giving:

a. Give, rejoicing in the happiness it gives you!

b. Give in remembrance of all that God has done and will do for you!

c. Give as a reminder that God is number one in your life!

(4)

Why We Give!

1. Give as a remedy to the enslaving power of wealth.

2. Give in response to the needs of others.

3. Give, rejoicing in the happiness it gives you!

4. Give in remembrance of all that God

has done and will do for you!

5. Give as a reminder that God is number one in your life!

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NRSV

1 John 3:16-18 NRSV