4-29-18 It is more blessed to receive than to give

Scripture  II Corinthians 9:6-7, 13-15

To GIVE = Greek – didomi  ///  Hebrew – Nathan

READ: p 19-22   “How to increase giving in your church”

Giving is rooted in the heart of God shown through JESUS!!!

John 3:16    For God so love the world, that he GAVE…

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to GIVE his life as a ransom for many."

He gave his LIFE – even to the point of death.  Phil 2:6-8  Jesus had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.  When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!  Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death — and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.

What did Jesus say about GIVING?

Acts 20:35  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to GIVE than to receive.'

This is a new saying for the Christians – it is nowhere recorded in the gospels.

Great illustration is the end of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” He thought it was more blessed to receive than give until he realized the people in Whoville didn’t need presents to know the joy and love of Christ’s birth, it was instead about the love shared which gave him the strength to keep the presents form being destroyed and returned them to the people in Whoville where he learned it is truly more blessed to GIVE than to receive!

Paul establishes weekly giving

          1 Cor 16:1-2      Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

          One of the historical signs of weekly giving – the usher and the offering plate.

VIDEO “during sermon Sports Sunday

10 Characteristics of Giving like God gives:

2 Corinthians 8:1-12               1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. (GRACE-CENTERED GIVING)  2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (GENEROUS GIVING)  3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  (SACRIFICIAL GIVING)  Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.   (COMPASSIONATE GIVING)  5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.  (CHRIST-CENTERED GIVING)  6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.  (FULFILLED GIVING)  7 But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  (SPIRITUALLY EQUAL GIVING* important later)

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.  (LOVE-MOTIVATED GIVING)  9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.  (CHRISTLIKE GIVING)  10 And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.  (RESPONSIBLE GIVING)

2 additional Characteristics of Giving like God gives:

9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  (CHEERFUL GIVING)   9:13 Because of the service/giving by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (GRACE-FILLED GIVING)

(I thank God for my daughter Gretchen = Pearl and son – Nathan = gift, but more so for God’s son – Jesus – the Pearl of Great Price and our indescribable gift.)

 CONCLUSION

How can we give all this a laser focus?  And besides giving, where is tithing specifically mentioned in the New Testament?  It is mentioned though not often because by this time among the Jews it is assumed.  But even that assumption is pointed out by Jesus himself.

Background - Luke 18:12    “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’’

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (also in Luke 11:42)

Some people act as if Christ liberates us from the law so that we can keep more physical blessings for ourselves. That is false — Christ liberates us so that we can be free to serve him more, as loving children and not merely as slaves. He frees us so we can have faith instead of selfishness.

When it comes to money, the real question is, Is our heart in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we putting our money where our heart is? We can tell where our heart is by seeing where we are putting our money. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus said (Matthew 6:21).

 Closed Fists = inability to give or receive  /// Open Palms = ability to give and receive

11-13-16 Riding the waves of Thankfulness!

Scripture  1 Thessalonians 5:18

1 Thessalonians 5

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. #blindside – people will be stunned at what is happening!

          But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

          12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

          16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

          19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.

          23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

          25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

          28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Are you dying toward the return of Christ or are you living toward the return of Christ?

Praise and Thanksgiving are not the same – 1^st cousins

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalm 100:4 shows the distinction:

Thanksgiving – Thank God for things (Thank parents for a car – Praise parents for their generosity)

Praise – Praise for who God is

Every day this week write down four things: I thank God for (something I have) I thank God for (someone in my life) I thank God for (something He has done/is doing/will do) I praise God for (aspect of who He is). Bring that list to church next week

5 slides here:

       1) I thank God for SOMETHING I HAVE

       2) I thank God for SOMEONE IN MY LIFE

       3) I thank God for SOMETHING HE HAS DONE/IS DOING/WILL DO

       4) I praise God for A QUALITY OF GOD

        5) (list all four above on one slide)

Here is an example of a man who knew the secret of thanking God even through trials. When he was 7 years of age, his family was forced out of their home, and he went to work. When he was 9, his mother died. He lost his job as a store clerk when he was 20. He wanted to go to law school, but he didn't have the education. At age 23 he went into debt to be a partner in a small store. Three years later the business partner died, and the resulting debt took years to repay.

When he was 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him, and she turned him down. On his third try he was elected to Congress, at age 37, but then failed to be re-elected. His son died at 4 years of age. When this man was 45, he ran for the Senate and lost. At age 47 he ran for the vice-presidency and lost. But at age 51 he was elected president of the United States.

The man was Abraham Lincoln, a man who learned to face discouragement and move beyond it. Did you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who, in the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, established the annual celebration of Thanksgiving? Lincoln had learned how important it is to stop and thank God in the midst of great difficulties.

CONCLUSION

When you are going through trials you don’t need to be all spiritual and say, well I know this is good for me – in fact this is where people so often misinterpret Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:31-39

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 

          Romans 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Example of praise and thanksgiving while in struggle but not related to the struggle.

Acts 16:22-32

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

          About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

          The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

          They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household."

10-23-16 Have you learned anything?

01 - SHEMA VIDEO 

Scripture                                                   Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.   5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 02 – tie them 

Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

THE SHEMA is the central prayer in the Jewish prayer book and is often the first section of scripture that a Jewish child learns. During its recitation in the synagogue, 03 – cover eyes 04 - mezuzah

orthodox Jews pronounce each word very carefully and cover their eyes with their right hand. Many Jews recite the Shema in the morning and evening. The Shema is written on a tiny scroll and placed inside a mezuzah.

          The Shema is 3 parts in one unity:

05 – Shema Words First Part: Shema = 6 words / Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad

           Response 6 words / barukh shem kevod malkhuto le’olam va’ed

After a pause Deut 6:5-9 is recited stressing command to love God with heart, soul and might.

06 – Three Parts Second Part: Vehayah = Deut 11:13-21 stresses the blessings that come through obedience to Adonai and the consequences that come through disobedience.

Third Part: Vaiyomer = Numbers 15:37-41 This passage concerns the use of the tallit, 07 – tallit 

a rectangular prayer shawl with four fringes (called tzitzit). One tzitzit is attached to each corner of the tallit. The reason for wearing the tzitzit is to remind oneself to observe all of the commandments of the Lord.

LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED

First 2 are right from the 10 commandments

Honor your parents – What was there to rebel against?

Don’t steal – Oct 23

Next is a life lesson where a biblical application can be made

Disappointments happen – endure them – Baseball at age 7

          Heb 12:7-11   Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Stole flags – from cemetery and sold them – learned respect for other people.

          This seems obvious because this person couldn’t get over what disrespect they had shown. When asked permission to share the story without their name – they said – by letting me do that maybe they can finally forgive themselves. Biblical application to make it a true life lesson. John 8:36 If the son sets you free you are free indeed. OR 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not
at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the
sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

Share everything. 

Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush. (Does every life lesson need a biblical application? FLUSH Deut 23:12-14

Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

OK everything does not need a biblical application.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.
Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest
word of all - LOOK.
Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.
The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.
Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.
Take any of those items and extrapolate it into
sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or
your world and it holds true and clear and firm. (THAT IS WHERE BIBLICAL APPLICATION IS IMPORTANT)
Think what a better world it would be if all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about
three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.
And it is still true, no matter how old you are - when you go out into the world, it is best
to hold hands and stick together.

© Robert Fulghum, 1990.

So what?! – this was a sweet lesson about life lessons and how to connect the bible to daily lessons we learn. But what does that have to do with our text? – If I am not preaching the scriptures and the scriptures as Christocentric – Christ at the center – then what is the point?

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.   5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Where is Jesus? Jesus is the fulfilment of the commandments that you and I cannot keep. He kept them – all of them. He never sinned. He took our sin and they were crucified with him.

Jesus summarized every life lesson you and I will ever need.

09 – Scripture  Matthew 22:34-40

 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'   38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'   40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Love Jesus with your heart/passion, soul/depth of being and mind/thoughts. Love Jesus – and show that new love by loving others.

09-04-16 Equipped for a Labor Day of Love!

Scripture  Colossians 3:17-24

17 And Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

17 And Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Vs 17 could be about any aspect of life. Sounds like our entire life should reflect Jesus as the moon reflects the sun which is our way of giving thanks to God for life.

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.     Paul did not argue the

legal status of the day as people would in our day. Men were the legal authority in the home – period. It had to do with position – not importance or value. It was a directive of temperament that would be kind and pleasing and peaceful. It is a call of all Christians to submit to one another. For children and slaves the word obey is Active Imperative where submit is in the middle voice rendering it a choice which is ‘fitting in the Lord.’

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. The primary purpose of marriage was to produce offspring. Paul Veyne said, “love in marriage was a stroke of good fortune, it was not the basis of the institution.” But a Christian husband is commanded to ‘love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.  Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"-which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Just like husbands are to love the wife who chooses to submit, so the Father loves the children who are obedient. It goes back to the first verse for today: Whatever you do*, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, husbands, children, Fathers

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.  Who wants children that live a discouraged life? If the parent doesn’t encourage (put courage into…) the world sure won’t.  Some parents feel so inferior, that discouraging their children makes them feel better. NO! A parent’s job is to encourage your children to be the best they can be in the most positive way – what we did with driving…

LAST GROUP:

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

Some would say that Paul is affirming slavery by addressing them here. The opposite is true. He can’t change the institution of slavery but he can treat slaves like everyone else. Considered as property, one thing slaves lacked was self-respect. Paul treats them as morally responsible individuals like he would anyone else. By doing so, they are elevated to the status of “real people” and Christians regardless of their socio economic status. Illustration: selling pencils to store manager.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord*, not for men, My Rainbow/janitor story – Living this principle this will change your life!

24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. If your hard work doesn’t pay in this life it will in the next, and it doesn’t matter because your excellence at work shows how much you love Jesus!

"KEEP THE WORKDAY HOLY"

Bumper-sticker philosophy, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." For a vast portion of the workforce, that's the best reason they can muster for going to the job each day. According to one poll, only 43 percent of American office workers are satisfied with their jobs.

In Christ our jobs should have more meaning than a paycheck: Martin Luther wrote, "The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays - not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship."

Do good works for God by doing good work for your employer.

MR> ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD

The late Fred Rogers, creator and host of the much-loved children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, had a special understanding of his ministry and his work. His widow, Joanne Rogers, told a journalist: "I always remind people that he was an ordained Presbyterian minister and his educational children’s show was his ministry. His work was his ministry, and he loved his work; my, did he love his work. That's what makes me sad about losing him. Because I think he would have worked for a long time more if he could have.” When we honor God and help people, then our work and ministry blend together in pleasing service to the Lord. Mister Rogers showed us how we can do that in our own neighborhood/Work/or School.

Does your work seem like a waste of time? Imagine what life would be like if nobody bothered to do the job you do.

1. No matter what our task, it's our duty to work for God's glory. In this sense, no job is better than another. Each should result in honor to God.

2. The way we work can earn the respect of those who do not follow Christ. A boss shouldn't have to tell a Christian to use time well or to work hard.

3. Our work is one way to fulfill our dual purpose: to love God and others. Showing love to our co-workers is a good way to show that we love God.

4. We must work to provide for those who depend on us. Harsh words of criticism are reserved for those who don't take care of their family. 1 Tim 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Having a job can be hard work. Even for those who truly enjoy their jobs, it's nice to have a Labor Day breather. But until the day comes when our work is over, our task is to make our labor a testimony to God's glory. It's not the hours you put in that count, but what you put in the hours.

As you wake up each day – what will you invest in the hours you have at work? Not how will you get through the day, but how will you invest that time each day when you work as though working for the Lord? Hear our text a final time with the word today interjected throughout.

CONCLUSION

Add the word TODAY in the text below

Whatever you do TODAY, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Wives, submit to your husbands TODAY, as is fitting in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives TODAY and do not be harsh with them.

Children, obey your parents in everything TODAY, for this pleases the Lord.

Fathers, do not embitter your children TODAY, or they will become discouraged.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything TODAY; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

Whatever you do TODAY, work at it with all your heart TODAY, as working for the Lord TODAY, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving TODAY.

          Do THIS and you will be Equipped for a Labor Day of Love!