Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Our Savior Lutheran, 10 October 2004, Pastor Eberhart
Amos 6:1-7
Do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph
1 Timothy 6:6-16
Brought nothing into the world, take nothing out of it. Cannot see God.
Luke 16:29-31
"Send Lazarus to my father's house." If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets (carefully?) they won't be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Children's sermon
(Heidi Koehler)
You can't jump from earth to heaven because sin is in the way. Only Jesus can help us get to heaven.
Sermon
Stewardship. The pulpit is not a place to preach about money. It is a waste of time to ask people to give money. If Christ has my heart, he has my pocket book, too. LBJ had a letter signed by Sam Houston. His great grandfather helped Sam Houston to accept Christ. Houston became peaceful. On the day of his baptism, crowds followed him. He was a hard drinker. He became baptised, and then wanted to pay half the expenses of the church. He told them that his wallet "was baptised too." We're still in the business of spreading the gospel, but inflation affects it. Evangelism. Education, and its goal to reach every age group. "Sleep in peace because thou alone give me safety." We have nothing to fear. A guy once thanked a teacher of his for teaching him "the jesus stuff" when he was a little boy. For some people, preschool is the only place they learn about Jesus.
Sermons on stewardship tell people who are already giving to give. Other people are in a growing process and not totally with Jesus anyway. The devil comes along and says, "see? They're preaching about money again." Amos called the people of Israel to task. If you don't spread the Word in the world, don't be surprised at the results. How many times must you share John 3:16? How many different ways can you say it? Jesus is here every day. Timothy says we're on a journey. God never promised us wealth. Seek the kingdom of God first. Jesus is in your job. You can be Jesus' representitive at your job. The more you know God, the more content you are. The people who know they're inheritors of earth, are princes and princesses of Christ.
Charles Alwin lived in a mountain community. He used to sit in a rocking chair, the old man, relaxing, enjoying nature. Then the catalog came. Mail order catalog. Then everyone had one, and they forgot about what God gave them. They looked at the catalog, wondering why they didn't have the things. There's a book called The Day America Knew The Truth. "I would want to be more wealthy" was the one thing people said when asked what part of their life they'd like to change. Paul said pursue peace, faithfulness, gentleness in our relationships. There's no gurantee of wealth. We are already rich in Christ. It's about attitude, not money.
People say that the lack of money is the root of all evil. But the real question is "how do you spend the money?" People spend 20% on clothing and then there's luxuries...eventually it totals 120%, and that's a problem. Some people run out of money because they overspend, and live from paycheck to paycheck. They are worried sick with stress. People still worry, even when they have abundance. They have faith in money, not Christ.
At a saturday prayer breakfast, a lady was struggling through her life, with many financial difficulties. "Where was God?" she asked. In a review of her life, one saw that she put her faith in her job, her money and other things, and stopped tything. Of course, she got a better job and other things, not because she tythed, but because she put her faith where it was needed. In Jesus.
Rockefeller was a 23 year old millionaire. At 50, he was the richest in the world. But he got depressed, his hair and eyelashes fell out. He was a millionaire, but ate only milk and crackers. He laid on his deathbed, with only a year to live. Reviewing his life, he decided to give to those in need, so he started the Rockefeller foundation. The funding led to the discovery of penicillin, the cure to malaria and other things. His attitude changed, and he lived to the age of 90. You either lose your soul or become a partner with God.
When (Eberhart, as a little kid, got his first job, his mother said) "You'll tythe." (He gave two dollars at church each sunday. He was home schooled. He washed windows, waxed floors, washed dishes for 50 cents an hour. In Britain, $5,000 was the biggest salary at the time. But he still managed to tythe. Net tithing, not gross. He tithed on medical benefits, government taxes and other things. More than gross). As a professional preacher, you tithe to set the example.
We're partners with God, and it's all about attitude.