We are fortunate in that this wonderful building of ours was paid for long ago. Except for a small loan we took out last year to pay for roof repairs, we owe nothing on this building.
Many churches are not so fortunate. The story is told that a preacher announced to his congregation, “I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have enough money to retire the mortgage on the church.”
As you can imagine, a sigh of relief went through the congregation. Then the preacher continued: “the bad news is: the money is still in your pocket.”
Next Sunday we will have our annual meeting, when we approve the budget for next year. So today, as we prepare for our annual meeting, I want to talk with you about giving.
But I am not only going to be talking about money. In fact, I will talk less about money and more about other ways you can give. Not because money isn’t important—it most certainly is. Not because we don’t need more money—we most certainly do! But I believe that money is only a small part of what we give.
Years ago, someone coined the phrase that describes our need to give: Time, Talent, and Treasure. God does not only want our money, but also our time and our abilities, or talents. All of these things—Time, Talent, and Treasure—are important.
Most of us think we don’t have enough Time, Talent or Treasure, don’t we? I would like to suggest that we do have enough when our priorities are straight. The best way to get your priorities straight with all three of these—Time, Talent, and Treasure—is to give the first portion to God.
But to begin with, I want to make one thing absolutely clear. There is absolutely no requirement that you give anything in order to be a part of this church. You don’t have to give money; you don’t have to help out in any way. No one is going to turn you away if you don’t give. In fact, unless you tell someone, no one will even know whether or not you ever put one cent in the offering plate. As the pastor, I have no idea how much any of you give, and I think it is very wise that this is the way it is.
However, as your pastor, I need to tell you that God does care about what you do with your resources. The standard in the Old Testament is a tithe of ten percent. That means you give the first ten percent of your income to God. I believe that all or at least most of that ten percent ought to go to your church. But trust me—I don’t plan to come around to your homes and ask for a look into your checkbook.
The text I selected for today is helpful because it reminds us of the importance of both faith and works. We are saved by grace, through our faith, not because of any works—that is, not because of any merit on our part or because of anything we do. But, as the text says, it is because we have been saved by grace that we want to do good works.
I am reading Ephesians 2: 1-10
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
As it says here, we are saved by grace. Not because of any merit on our part—it is simply a gift of God that we receive. It comes with no strings attached. You can certainly accept this free gift of salvation and never contribute.
However, we who have received Jesus Christ are a family—that’s what the church is. As a part of God’s family, we have both rights and responsibilities, just as we do at home. We can still choose to do nothing—God’s not going to disown us. But as it says in the text, “we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has some things in mind for us to do because he wants us to grow and be healthy in our faith.
Giving money is one part of the good works we are called to do. This is not anything new. God has always asked his people to give of themselves. We don’t give to God because God needs our gifts; we give to God because we need to give.
As a part of a church, you give partly because the church needs your gifts—your Time, Talent, and your Treasure—but even more, you give because you need to give in order to be a healthy Christian.
As you will hear next Sunday at our business meeting, our giving for the past year is down, while our bills continue to climb. God seems to have rescued us by bringing in the Sweet Pea Preschool, which has provided additional income for us. Yes, they use gas and electricity and they cause a certain amount of wear and tear on the building. But they also provide additional funds, and quite honestly, without them being here for the past year, we might have had to close the doors, because our giving has not kept up with our financial needs.
When we met to plan our budget for the coming year, we prepared a budget that is as tight as we can possibly make it without cutting staff. We are not able to give any raises to any staff. The only paid staff we have is our secretary, our organist, and me, the pastor. All of us will remain at the same pay level. Even with that, we will need additional revenue in order to meet next year’s budget.
There are five groups who use our building during the week, and all of them make contributions to compensate for their use of the building. We have asked them for an additional five percent in what they contribute. Even with their five percent increase, we will still fall short if we continue at our current level of giving.
I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider what you are giving and ask yourself whether there is any way you can increase your giving. I know that for some of you, this is impossible. Please, if your finances are such that you can’t give any more than you are already giving, do not feel bad about this. God knows your heart and he knows all about your finances, and he understands.
On the other hand, if God has blessed you with financial resources and you are holding them back, as your pastor, it’s my responsibility to remind you that God also knows that, and he will hold you accountable for what you have refused to give him.
That’s all I have to say today about money. Instead, I want to focus the rest of my sermon on Time and Talent, because I believe those are just as important as Treasure, or money.
Let me remind you, first of all, that the church is a volunteer organization. This was never meant to be a club, where you simply pay someone else to take care of details so you can sit back and enjoy yourself.
We have a very limited paid staff, who can’t possibly do all the work that it takes to keep a church going. One reason our church staff is small is because we believe in the priesthood of all believers. We are all part of the church because we have received Jesus Christ into our hearts and lives. The church is simply the gathering of those people who put their faith in Jesus. That’s not just the pastor, or the leadership council, but it is all of us.
In the church, we often talk about using our gifts to contribute to the good of the church. I have made up a brochure that we’re going to pass out right now.
As you will see when you get it, I’m going to put you to work. Most of the time in church, you sit and listen—but today I’m going to ask you to participate!
Open this brochure, and on the left side you will see a place for a list. That’s where we are going to start. This side will be for your eyes only. The other side, we will talk about. I would like you to consider turning it in next Sunday, after you have had a little bit of time to think and pray about it.
I want you to start by making a list of all the things you most love to do. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have done these things lately—or if they are things you do every day. Just start by writing down the things you really enjoy doing. You can write anything you want, and you don’t have to show it to anyone else unless you want to.
Just to help your wheels start turning, here are a few from my list. I like to go out to eat; go to the symphony; play with our grandson; visit beautiful gardens; do art projects; read; work Sudoku puzzles.
Take a few minutes and work on your list. You may want to work more on your list at home. As you look over your list, let it remind you to do the things you really enjoy doing.
Now, on the second part of this, what I would like is if you would take this home and really give it some thought and prayer. Then, fill it out and bring it back next Sunday.
You can tear off the list on the first page and keep it—maybe it will remind you to spend more time doing those things you enjoy doing.
Now, let’s talk about the second part of this—the part I hope you will return next week.
The first part is about time. Most of us think we don’t have enough time, don’t we? Earlier in this sermon, I said that most of us think we don’t have enough Time, Talent or Treasure. Certainly there are seasons in our lives when we truly don’t have a lot of extra time. But I would like to suggest that if we give our time first to God, we will find that we have more time left over than we had before.
Why am I asking you to commit to giving more time to this church? First, I think it will be a blessing to you. And second, we need your time. This church will not thrive unless we the members are willing to give more of our time to working, dreaming, and planning together. So I hope you will consider checking that spot where it says, “As God enables me, I will commit to giving more time to QABC.” Your time is the greatest gift you can give.
The second part is about talent. Most of you know there are always things that need doing in a church. But this week I am asking you to get a little more creative in your thinking. There is a reason I asked you to start by writing down the things you enjoy doing. That is because I don’t want you to volunteer to do something you hate doing. If you hate working in the kitchen, volunteer for something else. We still might need you in a pinch, but don’t make your primary area of service something you don’t even enjoy.
Would you do this? Would you please look back at the list you made of twenty things you enjoy doing. Then, would you prayerfully consider which things on that list might be something you can use for the good of our church. For example, maybe you love to read, and working in our church library sounds like fun to you. Maybe because you love to read, you might like to read to someone in a nursing home who needs someone to read to them.
One item on the list is “be part of a group to look at outreach to our community here on Queen Anne.” I would really love to gather a few of you who have a heart for reaching out in this community so that we could pray and dream and work together.
The list I put on here is by no means exhaustive. Some things folks are already doing aren’t on the list, like praying. Please go ahead and write them in as you think of them.
Also, I would love it if we discovered that there are some of you who would like to teach a class or be part of a drama group. I hope you will be as creative in your thinking as you possibly can.
The third part is about treasure. We already talked about this, but let me just say that here again, when you give to God first, somehow God makes your money stretch to meet your needs. If you can increase your giving by 5%, I know that you will be blessed. Give with a cheerful heart, and know that God will bless you and take care of you.
And finally, I want to make a promise to you. I promise that if you fill these papers out and turn them in next week, I will read them carefully. If you volunteer your time and talent, I promise that I will get back to you and talk to you about how your talents can be used.
Remember, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. And as one of my pastor friends says if you think you’re too old to do anything, “God’s retirement plan is the grave.”
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for reminding us that everything we have—our Time, our Talent, and our Treasure—is a gift from you. Thank you for what you have given us. Forgive us for all the times we have squandered our Time, our Talents, and our Treasures.
God, I ask that this week you would speak to each one here as they consider this step of commitment. Give them courage to step out and do something new, if that is your call for them. Encourage them to recommit themselves to the tasks they are already doing if that is your call for them.
Lord, if there are some who think they have nothing to offer, speak courage and hope into their hearts. Let them know that as they take a step of faith and begin to use their gifts, you will bless them with more and more.
We pray for our church, that there will be willing hearts who will do the work that you have called us to here in this place. Amen
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