Gratitude & Generosity Hymn Sing

This hymn sing is meant to replace the sermon portion of an order of worship. There is also an accopmanying Call to Worship.

Call to Worship for Gratitude & Generosity Hymn Sing:

Leader: Scripture tells us to sing hymns to God with gratitude in our hearts.
People: We’ve come today, ready to sing praises to God.
L: We want to live lives of gratitude and praise.
P: We give thanks to God with hearts and hands and voices!
L: Gratitude pushes us towards generosity -
P: With eyes on God, we care for one another.
L: May all that we have, all that we are, all that we give - bring glory to God!
P: And so today we gather with gratitude in our hearts.
All: Let us sing praises to God. Amen.

Gratitude & Generosity Hymn Sing

God Comes First
Colossians 3:1-4:
“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”

What are you focused on? Where is your energy going?

There are many voices in this world that compete for our attention. Some are good - those who love us well; good causes that help one another; those that push us to live more holy lives of love; the voice of the Spirit urging us to spend time with God.

Some are…not so good - a thousand advertisements vying for our attention and wallet; ideologies that want us to buy what they’re selling hook, line, and sinker without thinking for ourselves or thinking of the needs of others; the voices that come when we doom scroll that trap us into anxiety, depression, and apathy; the voices that tell us to only care for me, myself, and I; that bog us down in all the things of this world.

Colossians tells us to set our minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth - for our very life is in Christ. Our life is not made up in the abundance of possessions or in the achievements of this life. Our very life is in Christ who has died for us to give us a new, eternal life. A life of hope. A life of glory. A life of love.

The issue is - the things of this world, all those voices that vie for our attention, they confuse our hearts about the things that are really important. We get bogged down, worn down, and left unfulfilled - always searching for more. And so - we need to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Keeping our eyes, hearts, minds, and souls oriented on the things above, helps us keep everything else in its proper place, helps us know what really matters in this life. Jesus, the God who loves us and fills us with the gift of the Holy Spirit comes first - for it is in Christ that our very lives are found.

In a moment we will sing “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” - many may not know that the author of this hymn, Helen Lemmel, had a serious illness and was left blinded. Her husband, unwilling to take care of a blind wife, left her. It was then, in about 1918, she wrote this hymn. At a time of uncertainty, pain, and darkness in her own life - she penned “turn your eyes upon Jesus.” In doing so, she found what really matters. May we too turn our minds to the things of above.

Let us sing.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, x2, UMH 349

Gratitude Follows
Colossians 3:15-17:
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

When our eyes and our hearts are focused upon Jesus, our priorities fall into place, and we make room for gratitude in our lives.

The exhortation to give thanks or participate in thankfulness, appears about 150 times in the Bible. If our eyes are focused on the things of this earth, we will not experience true gratitude as we will always be seeking for the endless “more.” We will never have “enough” by the standards of the world. We will never be satisfied.

And yet, when Christ dwells in us richly - that is, when we listen to the wisdom of Christ, rely on the peace that the Spirit gives, when we recognize that we are not just ourselves but that we all are one body in Christ - we realize that we have “enough” - for Jesus is all we ever need.

I am not sure that there is a more counter-cultural message than this in our current consumer obsessed world. Can you imagine that Christmas commercial this holiday season, “We’re not selling you anything. You don’t need to buy anything. There is nothing you need but Christ.”

When we focus on God first, it makes room for gratitude in our lives. When we focus on God first, our priorities are in line and we can see all that we have - and all that we share with one another in the body of Christ, comes from God. We can know we are loved and held - and give thanks with psalms, hymns, and voices raised to God.

In a moment we will sing thing hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God” - a hymn we often associate with the holiday of Thanksgiving - which, for many, is a holiday of excess - although there are many in our country who scrimp and save and sacrifice in in order to put food on the table to celebrate that holiday. And that is more in line with the circumstances in which this hymn was written.

Martin Rinckart likely wrote this hymn during or soon after the Thirty Years’ War in about 1636. He was one of the sole surviving ministers in a refugee city - he spent most of his resources in order to be able to feed refugees - meaning he often ate only scraps. It was the time of the plague and he reportedly did over 50 funerals a day. It is under these circumstances that he wrote the words, “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices…”

Would we be giving thanks in the circumstances that Rinckart and his congregation would be in? A life filled with uncertainty, war, loss, hunger, death… Perhaps we would if our eyes were fixed upon Jesus. If we relied solely on Jesus - who gives us peace, keeps us in grace, guides us and frees us - in this world and the next.

Let us sing.

Now Thank We All Our God, UMH 102

Simplicity & Contentment Go Hand in Hand
Philippians 4:11-13:
“Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

As we sang that last hymn, we can imagine that Rinckart felt gratitude and contentment even as he lived a hard and simple life.

It may be that simplicity and contentment go hand in hand - this is the secret of Paul’s contentment in times of plenty and in times of need - keep things simple by focusing on God with gratitude and contentment follows.

The lure of abundance and the accumulation of things and wealth has a gravity that weighs us down. Often the more we have, the less content we are. The more we fear losing what we have. The more we place our hope in things that rust, that moths destroy, that thieves can steal.

Simplicity that is rooted in our hearts being oriented toward God, brings contentment. For what do we truly need? What really carries value? Simplicity breaks the pull of the endless drive for more and allows us to focus on what really matters.

In a moment we will sing the hymn, “Simple Gifts.” This hymn comes to us from the Shaker movement of the 1800s that sought to make little utopias here on earth - they believed in communal living, equality between the sexes, and, above all, simplicity. For them, simple living was the absolute key for being able to connect with God. Free from distractions of this world, simplicity allows us to focus on what really matters - loving God and loving one another.

Simple Gifts, x2, Insert (http://gbod.org.s3.amazonaws.com/legacy/kintera/entry_14599/66/simplegifts.pdf)

Generosity Pours Out to Care of Neighbor
Matthew 25:31-40:
“‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’”

When we turn our eyes on Jesus, when we practice gratitude, when we cultivate contentment through simplicity - it is not just about us and God. It’s about our neighbors too.

God wants us to love one another. This is the second greatest commandment - love neighbor as self. When we live lives orientated toward God, God will orient us toward our neighbors and in our neighbors, in the least of these, we will encounter Jesus.

Lives of simplicity and gratitude free our resources and our hearts to serve one another. To feed the hungry. Clothe the naked. Welcome the stranger. This is the ultimate sign of a life based in Christ - a life of gratitude and generosity where love overflows to all we meet. Where we consider their needs as our own. Where we see the face of Jesus in every outstretched hand.

Love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin - together they are the wholeness of the life we are called to live as followers of Christ. We love God and thus we love our neighbors and serve them. We love and serve our neighbors and in them, we encounter Jesus, which pushes us back to better love God.

In a moment we will sing the hymn, “Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service” which was written by Abert Bayly. He wrote this hymn in response to a call for hymns focused on social welfare. Having lived through The Great Depression and both world wars, Bayly knew how important it was to serve one another, to support one another, to love neighbor as self, to serve Christ through serving our neighbor. Thankfully, Christ lived his life in such a way that wholly pointed toward God and serving our neighbors. When we are generous - with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness - we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Let us sing.

Lord, Whose Love Through Humble Service, vs. 1, 2, 4, UMH 581

It All Comes Back to God
James 4:7-10:
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Ultimately, a life that is fully oriented in Christ, recognizing that our life is in Jesus, pushes us to realize that everything in our lives is not ours - it is God’s. There is nothing in our lives that we can hold back from God. We are called to give God everything. Everything in our lives is both a gift from God and belongs to God. We are but stewards - using our lives and resources in such a way that brings glory and is pleasing to the one to whom they belong.

We should hold all that we have loosely - so that it doesn’t hold us back from drawing near to God. As we draw near God, God draws near to us. As we give all that we have to God, God consecrates it and makes our lives holy.

In a moment we will close out of hymn sing with the hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be,” this hymn reflects all the things in our lives that we are called to give over to God. The hymn includes: My moments, my days, my hands, my feet, my voice, my lips, my silver, and my gold, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love, myself - my life - take it all Lord, and let it be.

Singing this hymn causes us to pause and reflect - what in our lives are we holding back from God, what in our lives is keeping us from gratitude, simplicity, and contentment? What in our lives is keeping us from generosity and service? What in our lives is coming between us and God? May we give it all to God - that our whole lives would be in our God. May it be so.

Let us sing.

Take My Life and Let It Be, UMH 399

“Enough: Defined by Generosity” a sermon on Genesis 28:20-22 & Acts 20:32-35

Genesis 28:20-22
Acts 20:32-35
“Enough: Defined by Generosity”
Preached Sunday, October 12, 2025

When I meet with a family to plan a funeral, I like to take the time to listen to them share about their loved one’s life. Both so that I can honor them and their life as the minister presiding over the funeral - and also to give the family a time to process, to share, to celebrate and give thanks to God.

One question I always ask the family is - what are three words or phrases would you use to describe your loved one? Loving, caring, hard worker, encourager, resourceful, faithful, thoughtful, kind, sweet, generous…these are some of the words that were given to me for recent funerals I’ve done. I don’t think it’s too morbid or too egotistical to spend time reflecting on this question for yourself. When you die and move on from this life, what defining traits do you want to be remembered by? What three words or phrases would you hope that your family would share with the minister? And, are you living your life now in such a way…that that will be your lasting legacy? Asking this question of yourself now, and semi-regularly, helps keep a watchful eye on what is most essential in your life, what your values are, and how you are living them out while you are still six feet above the ground.

On the other end of life, we baptized a beautiful, beloved child of God this morning. We celebrate that so new into this world, her family has made the commitment to raise her in a faith community and for her to know that she is God’s beloved child. This is one of the primary aspects of Baptism that we celebrate when we baptize a baby. Just as in Jesus’s baptism, the voice of God called Jesus God’s beloved son. So we too, in our baptisms, are claimed and celebrated as God’s beloved children. It is our new and primary identity in this life - and for our whole life long - we are beloved children of God.

And a life that is defined by that belovedness, God’s belovedness for us, changes how we live, how we view ourselves and how we treat others. A life defined by belovedness can not be sequestered into an hour a week at church. Belovedness overflows into all areas.

When we are talking about generosity in our sermon series, “Enough,” I believe that knowing that we are truly beloved and living a life of generosity do go hand in hand. Generosity does not come from a life that is parched for love. It comes from one saturated with the knowledge that we are God’s children.

And so, this morning, I’d like each and everyone of us to ask - Do I know that I am beloved by God? Is that belovedness pouring out of me in the form of generosity? Is generosity a defining trait in my life? Am I known as a generous person? Will I be known as one after I die?

And if not - what is holding us back?

One of the primary answers is: fear.

Fear that if we give too much away…we won’t have enough left for ourselves. Or fear that if the bottom drops out from under us, we will find protection, a safety net, in our belongings and bank accounts. Systemic factors definitely influence this fear. Inflation goes up. Unemployment numbers go up…and we hold more tightly to what we have. I do think the fear of, “I won’t or don’t have enough to feed my kids” in a world with increasingly less safety nets is real and valid. But often, the fear comes in and starts when we have more than enough…but the fear of not having enough is still there. There is also the fear, that is less valid, of not having enough for self-gratification. For what I want, for the next vacation, for my daily coffee run…

We cannot let fear overrun our lives. We have to turn our fear over to Jesus. Trust in the God who calls us beloved and let that belovedness overflow in all areas of our lives - including generosity.

This is not the “Prosperity Gospel” that espouses that if you just give a certain percentage or a certain amount then you will have no problems, no job losses, no food insecurities, no medical issues. No - this is not that lie. Living a life marked by belovedness and generosity is a recognition that nothing we have, even our own lives, really belongs to us.

A famous prayer in our tradition is the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:

“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt;
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for the or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee;
Let me be full, let me be empty;
Let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things to that pleasure and disposal…Amen.”

This is truly a mindset change from the way our world sees ownership, possessions, and the driving urge to put me, myself, and I, first.

Scripture echoes this idea that all we have and all that we are…belongs to God.

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” - Psalm 24
“The land is mine…you are but aliens and tenants.” - Leviticus 25:23
In the creation narrative in Genesis, creation is given to humanity for us to be stewards of the earth - Stewards are those who take care of something that is not theirs, and stewards are a very common occurrence in the parables that Jesus tells.
Everything - from our money and possessions, the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, our very lives - they all belong to God. We are but stewards of these gifts. This realization makes us ask - How does God want us to use, or steward, these gifts? The answer is to share them generously.

Generosity begets generosity. Generosity includes caring for the poor and the least of these. Proverbs 22:9 wisely states that those who are generous are blessed for they share bread with the poor.

Generosity also binds all together in loving community. In a place where all belong. In a place where we take care of others and are cared for in return.

Because generosity is so important, Scripture helps give guidelines on giving. This is where the concept of the tithe comes in - mentioned several times in Scripture - a tithe literally means “a tenth.” It’s the theological concept that one tenth of what we have - our harvest, our income, whatever that may be - should be given back to God.

I am going to tell you today - don’t get caught up in the number. For many a ten percent gift, ten percent planned generosity, seems so impossible, that the discussion of a tithe actually shuts down all conversation about generosity and smothers the budding inclination towards a more generous life. The thing, the lesson of the tithe, that I want to focus on this morning is giving to God first. We call the tithe first “fruits” so let’s look at fruit as an example: we have ten apples. I am going to go ahead and say these are not Red Delicious apples from the grocery store, a misnomer name if there ever was one. These are delicious suncrisp apples from White House Fruit Farm. So anyway, we have ten delicious apples - and a tithe calls us to give one apple away and live off the other 9. If we give the one away first…and then live off the remaining nine, we may be tempted to take a bite out of that first apple, but it has already gone on to feed another. If we don’t give first, and then use up all nine and then…well, maybe we take a bite out of the tenth. Or we keep the whole tenth apple for ourselves, insteading of giving it away. There are the voices of fear, the voices of consumerism, the voices - a million voices - that tell us there are ways we can spend that apple for our own “happiness” or security - and generosity never happens.

And so, the concept of a tithe is all about making a plan to give, being intentional about giving - and to give first. Calculate the percentage of your giving - just so you know where you’re at. From there you can think about where you want to be without smothering the spark of generosity that has caused you to make an intentional effort to give in the first place.

And a reminder that more money doesn't actually make it easier to give. In 2025, Forbes reported that there were over 3,000 billionaires in the world. In 2017 there were just over 2,000 and that was twice as many as a decade before that. These are part of the systemic issues of class inequality…To put how much money a billion dollars is in perspective…if a billionaire spent roughly the average US YEARLY salary in a single day - it would still take almost 10,000 years for a billionaire to spend all their money. But, and here’s the cincher, billionaires rarely give more than single digit percentages of their money away.

Indeed, the more money you have - often the louder the voices of fear and self-gratification are - and the more removed we become from the generosity that thrives in connected communities.

Here’s a humorous story about this, originally told by Peter Marshall who was the chaplain of the United States Senate for many years:

“There was a man who struggled to tithe even though he had a large income. The man said to Marshall, ‘I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but.... But now… I am earning $500,000 a year and there is just no way I can afford to give about $50,000.’ Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said, ‘I can certainly see your problem. Let's pray about it.’ The man agreed. So Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Heavenly father, I pray that you would reduce this man's salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”

The truth is, regardless of income level - each and every one of us is going to wrestle with questions of contentment and generosity. Each and everyone of us is going to wrestle with how much “enough” is - how much is “enough” to live on. How much is “enough” for happiness…of course for contentment and happiness, there will never be “enough” for those things cannot be found in money and possessions. At Wednesday morning Bible study this last year, there was a point when we were talking about how much is “enough” to be giving away - is a tithe enough? What about giving beyond the tithe and so on and so forth - and for starters, this is a better conversation to be having because it’s coming from a desire to be generous - The desire to be generous, to give what what can, to give all one can, and to give to God and neighbor first.

I want to take a moment and thank you for your generosity here…I know, I know. I thank you for your generosity every week. I imagine some of you who are here weekly may tire of hearing me say, “thank you.” But truly - thank you! Your generosity sustains the life of this church. Your generosity creates beloved and caring community here. Your generosity allows us to gather to worship and to study the Bible and to be community together. Your generosity allows for our church to be a spot for the community to gather - a third space for AA, support groups, girl scouts and more. Your giving allows us to teach children - on Sundays and through the week as part of BUMP - that they are beloved children of God. Your generosity does so much - thank you! And thank you for those who go the second mile too. Jesus said if someone asks you to walk a mile with them, go a second too. The first mile is the generosity that sustains the life and work of this church. Planned and intentional giving - thank you. Many of you have chosen to walk the second mile by giving to our Today, Tomorrow, Together capital campaign to help ensure the longevity of our facilities and ministries for years to come. Thank you ALL.

Let’s take a step back from our context and talk more broadly again as to what happens when we choose to give and let our lives be defined by generosity. As I said in the beginning of this sermon - this is not the prosperity gospel. It’s not give and you will get what you want. AND. Generosity still affects us.

Generosity shapes our lives by the desire for all that we are and all that we have to bring glory to God. Generosity is a form of recognizing that we are God’s children, claimed in our baptism as beloved. We live into this identity when we give to God first - it is a very practical, tangible thing - that centers our intangible belovedness.


Generosity is the antidote that brings us relief from the voices of fear and self-gratification that can control our lives. If left to the world’s devices, we so easily become self-absorbed, money obsessed people who have little room for the joy of generosity in our lives. When we give - to God, our families, our friends, neighbors, and those in need - it opens our hearts, allowing them to be filled with joy.

And, generosity begets generosity. We don’t always see it but sometimes, in beautiful glimpses of the kingdom, the circle is closed. I recently had a conversation with a pastor who was my pastor at a critical point in my life. He played a huge role in my faith formation. About two years ago, His child heard a sermon I preached - and the Spirit spoke through that sermon, saving this child’s faith at a critical point in his life. And then my former pastor, his dad, came and told me. The circle was closed. This happens all the time but we just don’t always see it…

A gift is given that changes someone’s life for the better, allowing them to give a gift, allowing them to give a gift…until perhaps you are the recipient of a gift, a blessing, that makes your life all the better.

When we give, our world looks more like the world God desires for us all - a world marked with generosity and joy and community - a world where all of us live into our identity claimed in our baptisms as beloved children of God which overflows in contentment, joy, and generosity - and it is enough.

Amen.

"Enough: Cultivating Contement" a sermon on Luke 12:13-21 & Philippians 4:11-12

Luke 12:13-21
Philippians 4:11-12
“Enough: Cultivating Contentment”
Preached Sunday, October 2, 2025

We are moving into our second week of three of our sermon series, “Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity.” Last week at the start of my sermon I asked, in a time of economic uncertainty and anxiety - how can we talk about “enough”? I asserted it’s more important than ever - every day we are being bombarded with temptations to seek for the answers for our lives, our happiness, our contentment in things - material goods - and things that are not Jesus. Upwards of 10,000 ads a day tell us - happiness is just a purchase away. This is not just a practical problem that plagues the ability to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities - it is also a spiritual problem that separates us from God and leaves us worse than it found us. We said there are spiritual and practical steps to take to get off the treadmill of always seeking more - including giving to God first, developing a budget, and praying for a change of heart for all that we have to support our life purpose. United Methodist Pastor Adam Hamilton asserts this as our the purpose of our lives:

“We were created to care for God’s creation. We were created to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were created to care for our families and those in need. We were created to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy...if this is our life purpose, then our money and possessions should be devoted to helping us fulfill this calling. We are to use our resources to help care for our families and others - to serve Christ and the world through the church, missions, and every day opportunities.”

And so this week, I’d like to continue to look at the ways our society keeps us from cultivating contentment in the endless drive for more. We said we are over-run with the illness of Affluenza and Credit-itis. We are also sick with Restless Heart Syndrome - RHS. Perhaps you’ve heard of restless leg syndrome where your leg is always contracting or twitching…I have a good friend who has this and it definitely impacts his ability to rest and to sleep. Restless Heart Syndrome, however, is a spiritual problem. Our hearts, our souls, our very being - are always on the move, looking for contentment in all the wrong places…

James Mackintosh, a Scottish philosopher, said “it is right to be contended with what we have, but never with what we are.” Hamilton explains this quote as thus, “It is a positive motivator to be discontent with our moral character, our spiritual life, our pursuit of holiness, our desire for justice, and our ability to love. These are areas in which we should continue to grow and improve, for. We are meant to become more than we are today. We are meant to yearn to know God more, to cultivate a deeper prayer life, to pursue justice and holiness with increasing fervor, to love others more, and to grow in grace and character and wisdom with each passing day. The problem is that we tend to be content with our involvement in pursuing justice in the world. We tend to be content with our level of righteousness- sometimes being self-righteous. We tend to be content with how much we love others. We tend to be content with our relationship with God. We tend to be content with how often we read the Bible and pray. Generally, we are satisfied with those things that deserve more of our time and attention.” And on the other hand, we are often discontent with the things we have - and this can be material goods and even our relationships.

The new car smell has worn off the new car and we start dreaming of the one we will buy next…
Our dream home has a few more outdated features than we realized so we’re planning the next improvement…
The phone that works perfectly well is lagging just a little and there are two newer models right now so we check for when our contract is available for an upgrade…
That new church community we were so excited to be a part of has a few things we don’t like…so maybe we’ll start church shopping again
The job we were so excited to get is getting ho-drum so we’re browning linked in again…
Or even we think thoughts like…

“Why can’t my child be more like….that other person’s child (or even another one of your children)”
“Why can’t my spouse be more like…”
“Why can’t my parents be more like…”

We should be constantly working on ourselves to continue to be sanctified by and through the Holy Spirit - to every day seek to better love God and better love neighbor as self…

And, we also need to put aside the discontent in what we have - both material goods and even relationships, even in the flaws, to cultivate gratitude. For we will never find contentment otherwise.

Our Gospel reading this morning tells of a man who thinks he has finally reached contentment. Whenever I read this Gospel lesson, I like to emphasize the I’s and My’s - to hear how really self-centered this guy is. Let’s hear it again:

“The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

For starters, this rich man is not using his resources to fulfill his life’s purpose to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy. He is thinking only of himself as is evident from the emphasized words. And he is summarizing all of his life in the abundance of possessions - something Jesus is warning against.

And yet, we also have to ask himself - would his SOUL really find rest in his grain and his goods? Would his bigger barns filled with grain and his life filled with eating and drinking and being merry - would that really cure his Restless Heart Syndrome? Or, before long, would he be out there thinking he needed a new, bigger barn and if only had this much more than he could finally have his soul, his heart be at rest…

Given our shared human nature - I definitely don’t think so. Because we simply cannot find contentment solely in possessions.

In our reading from Phillipians, Paul says he has the secret to being content…”Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.” He is writing this from a jail set that was basically a pit, waiting to find out if he would be executed…and yet even then…Paul is content. Because he knows all he needs is Jesus.

And so let’s turn to some practical and spiritual steps, concrete steps, we can take to cultivate contentment:

1. Look for the silver line:
In all situations, it is helpful to remind ourselves that “things could be worse.” Although, sometimes I wonder about that - if I never see the words “Breaking News” again - I would be happy. And yet…in all situations, and in all circumstances, we can give thanks to God. Look for the silver lining. Look for who God is still at work in the world and in your life. Look for, as Fred Rogers would say, “the helpers.” This can also go back to something I preached about a couple of weeks ago…look for opportunities to turn grumbling into joy.

2. Ask yourself, “How long will this make me happy?” and “Do I really need it?”
This is a simple question to ask and definitely one to ask before any purchases. So often we buy something to find that the happiness of having it doesn't last much longer than taking it out of the box.

3. Find ways to simplify your life.
Simplicity and contentment go hand in hand. Our society has us on the hamster wheel of endless consumption and it is wearing not just our bank accounts but our souls ragged. Set goals of reducing consumption and living below your means. Use something up before you buy something new to replace it. Look for concrete ways to simplify your life.

4. Develop a grateful heart.
I have preached on gratitude before and stressed that gratitude is not just an emotion - it is a practice and there are practical things we can do. Those who specifically write down or say what they are thankful for out loud - especially if they communicate with the person they are thankful for and say, “Hey! I give thanks to you.” express more gratitude and contentment. Likewise, it helps to be as specific as possible when cultivating the practice of gratitude. Not just saying, “I am thankful for my family.” But even listing out family members and what about them you love or specific instances that they sparked gratitude.

5. And lastly, ask yourself, “Where does my soul find true satisfaction?”
We said in our Call to Worship this morning, based on Psalm 63, that our souls find rest and contentment in God. This is a theme throughout Scripture - I’ve shared it before but Psalm 42 and the hymn “As the Deer” resonates with me - “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. You alone are my hearts desire and I long to worship you.” Augustine said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” Our world tells us this longing of our souls can be filled up with material possessions and the endless drive for more - God tells us, “I am enough.”

For it is in Christ where we find our live’s meanings.
It is in Christ that there is overflowing grace and mercy.
It is in Christ where there is hope can always be found.
It is in Christ where we discover that we are loved unconditionally.
It is in Christ that we will find lasting satisfaction and contentment for our souls.

Hebrews 13:5-6 says it like this, “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’”

As I wrote this sermon, in addition to as the deer, there was another song going through my head, “Let That Be Enough” by the Christian band Switchfoot - admittedly, this song came out in 1999 so you wouldn’t hear it on the radio…it goes:

“And all I see
It could never make me happy
And all my sand castles spend their time collapsing

Let me know that You hear me
Let me know Your touch
Let me know that You love me
Let that be enough.”

As you come forward to receive Holy Communion today, I would urge each of us for this to be our prayer: that we would know that Christ hears us, Christ touches us in our lives, that Christ loves us - and that all this, is enough.

For a while there in the Middle Ages, it was not entirely uncommon for the saints to subsist only on Communion - only on the bread and the cup. It is said that for the last seven years of her life St. Catherine of Sienna subsisted only off the Eucharist and water…for the record, this is not medical advice. We need to take care of and nourish our bodies…and - what if we truly saw this meal as all we needed? Because what is this meal but an encounter with our Risen Lord through the bread and the cup…

As you come forward today, pray that Christ alone would be enough, pray for contentment - for our restless hearts to find rest and joy in our God - living lives of joy and gratitude for all that we have. It is enough.

Amen.

“Enough: Simplicity & Financial Wisdom” a sermon on Luke 15:11-16 & Matthew 4:8-10

Luke 15:11-16
Matthew 4:8-10
“Enough: Simplicity & Financial Wisdom”
Preached Sunday, September 28, 2025

Today begins a three-week sermon series called, “Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity.” And I’d like to set the scene for this sermon series… As of June 2025, SSRS reports that 74% Americans are worried about the economy and 58% believe we are headed towards a recession. As of May 2024, PEw reports that only 4 in 10 Americans think they are in a good or excellent financial position.

We may hear the evening news or read the headlines and ask: How can we talk about “Enough” at a time like this? I would say that in uncertain times like these, these topics of conversation are more important than ever.

This sermon and worship series is not going to ignore that there are systemic issues that affect our cost of living, income, and overall well-being. By just our location in this country and in the global economy, we are put into a system that is beyond our control, and often has us in over our heads…and many of us are truly doing our best with the hand that was dealt to us.

And, it is at times like this, when the system is stacked against us - to consider what personal choices we can make and what voices we should be listening to - to cultivate contentment, joy, and generosity - in a world where the odds stacked against us.

We might need to acknowledge that the American Dream, for many, has become the American Nightmare.

By the American Dream I am not referring to the founding father’s dream of the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I am not referring to the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free…” I am not referring to Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of equality shared in his famous, “I have a dream…” speech. These are all “American dreams…” but when people talk about “THE American Dream” - it is usually in reference to suburban houses, white picket fences, and achieving a personal level of success where life is more than comfortable - where we have everything we need and more.

Alexis de Tocqueville, wrote in the 19th Century about Americans: “[they] are extremely eager in the pursuit of actual and physical gratification. As they are always dissatisfied with the position which they occupy…they think of nothing but the means of changing their fortune, or of increasing it…” While this was written almost 200 years ago, it could be said of us today.

Indeed this ideal of the American Dream and the pursuit of wealth in happiness brings us to the temptation of Jesus that we heard in the Gospel of Matthew today: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, “All these I will give you…’”

Every single day, multiple times a day, we are tempted to try and achieve all the kingdoms of the world and their glory…We are tempted by the American Dream of success being tied up with what we earn, what we spend, what we have.

Consider how many ads we see in a day. This week in response to getting a text message ad my one friend said, “I am tired of always trying to be sold something.” I get a bunch of text message ads so it made me wonder…how many ads do I see in a day? As I am writing this sermon I have several tabs open on my computer - social media, Google, the Bible gateway…my phone is sitting next to me. I decided to spend ten minutes looking at my open internet tabs and phone and counting every advertisement I saw. Friends, after three minutes, I was at 50 advertisements. I was so weary, I could not go 7 more minutes…I regularly look at my phone and computer much longer than this…but I have never stopped and counted the ads before. And here’s the really sad thing, I took a typical day of phone use and saw that I was on social media for about an hour and a half abd on Google for a half hour…so just on my phone usage alone that would even out to maybe…1500 ads a day. That is not even counting “Influencers” - people whose whole job it is to create posts on social media to sell your products or ideologies in ways that don’t look like ads. In addition, the day before writing this sermon I got half a dozen ads via text, and 50 promotional emails. Now, before you say, “I’m not on social media” - consider the ads you see on TV, the product placements, billboards, radio commercials, and more… Google will tell you that we see or hear anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads a day.


This is part of what makes the American Dream, the American Nightmare. We are constantly being sold something. But behind each advertisement we see is the voice telling us: if we just bought this product, if we just signed up for this service…we could finally be happy. We could finally have enough. We could have finally made it…but of course, that’s not how any of this works. The promise of more never stops. We spend beyond our means, hoping this next purchase will finally be the one…it never is. As a society, we have so much stuff, too much stuff, that we can’t even store it all in our homes. In 2025, there is 2.3 billion square feet of self-storage space in America. In Boardman, we see how many self-storage facilities there are in our area alone. This drive for more is called “Affluenza” - and it is being facilitated by another illness - credit-itis. As of mid-2025, total U.S. credit card debt is around $1.21 trillion. I literally gasped when I first read this number.

We become wasteful in our pursuit of happiness. In pursuit of “enough.”

Which brings us to the second Scripture we read today, “The prodigal son.” We often think that “prodigal” means one who wanders…but Prodigal means “wasteful” - a son who thought he could finally be happy, go and have fun - and maybe we did for a time, but before long, his wastefulness left him lost, alone, and hungry…

There are more statistics I could share…These illnesses of affluenza and credititis - along with the systemic issues of inflation and a growing class gap - have left us wrung out, in dire straits, and unhappy in body and spirit. We may have to admit that not only is our system broken, but the sin inside of us, which distorts our desires, leaves us broken on the inside as well. We talk about the seven deadly sins and at least three of them are related to money and possession - envy (wanting what another has), greed (an intense desire for more), and gluttony (the desire to keep on consuming). We are valuing wealth, material goods, the pursuit of external happiness…over what Christ has to offer: gratitude, thanksgiving, contentment, joy - and yes, even generosity - for generosity can happen in any financial situation - what Christ offers us is simply “enough.”

When the devil offers Jesus the riches and Kingdoms of this world…the same offer is being made to us every day. And when we say yes, it enslaves us to sin. It puts a chokehold on us that cuts the Good News and the freedom of the Gospel out of our lives. This is what Jesus meant by the parable of the sower when he said some seeds fell among the thorns and weeds. Jesus says, “As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.”

So…what’s the solution?

It’s 2-Fold, practical and spiritual.

For the practical - look at what is within your control.

Plan for generosity first. Put God first in your budget and planning.
1. Create a budget - a plan for both where you need and want your resources to go.
2. Simplify your life. Look for ways to live below your means.
3. Work towards establishing an emergency fund to help cut down on credititis.
4. Look closely at the ways you use credit cards - create a plan to pay off debt.
5. Find ways to save for the future.

On the practical end, for myself, this week was a wake up call to how much I am the target of the constant bombardment for more. I am going to be installing ad blockers, setting screen time limits on my phone (again), and work on having intentional phone free Sabbath time. I am tired of being seen only as a consumer. I want to be seen as a child of God. This ties the practical to the spiritual. The world we live in will often reduce my worth to what I earn, what I consume, and thus how much I drive the economy. This has a negative effect on my soul. I was not made by God to just be a maker and spender of money. United Methodist pastor, Adam Hamilton writes, “We were created to care for God’s creation. We were created to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were created to care for our families and those in need. We were created to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy….if this is our life purpose, then our money and possessions should be devoted to helping us fulfill this calling. We are to use our resources to help care for our families and others - to serve Christ and the world through the church, missions, and every day opportunities.” This understanding bridges the practical and the spiritual.

And, of course, the spiritual solution:

1. Admit to God that we all need help. That we have placed the pursuit of happiness in material gain over love of God and love of neighbor.
2. Seek God first. Seek God’s Kingdom and strive to do God’s will.
3. God’s will for us is to glorify God, seek justice, and do mercy. Look hard at your whole life as to how you are using all that you are and all that you have to achieve this.
4. And perhaps, most radically, start praying to God for contentment. Acknowledge that all that you already have - may be more than “Enough.” Indeed, if we only had Christ - it would be enough.

May it be so. Amen.

Call to Worship - Stewardship

Leader: We come to worship this morning, seeking to be more like Christ.
People: We want to be fashioned after Jesus.
L: Jesus was called beloved in his Baptism.
P: We too are beloved by God.
L: Jesus was forgiving and merciful.
P: We too seek to forgive as we have been forgiven.
L: Jesus was generous, sharing bread with the poor.
P: We too seek to be defined by generosity.
L: In all Jesus did - he pointed to God the Father.
P: May all of our lives and actions point back to our God.
All: May we be more like Christ. Amen.

Call to Worship - Stewardship

Leader: We come to worship today seeking wisdom.
People: What does our Scripture say?
L: “For 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 Timothy 6:10)
P: We come to worship today, seeking wisdom. What does our Scripture say?
L: “As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” (Luke 8:14)
P: We come to worship today - longing for wisdom to guide us on a path of simplicity and joy. What does our Scripture say?
L: “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?’” (Matthew 16:24-26a)
P: These teachings aren’t easy! Yet we know they are wise and true.
L: Our God calls us to a better way of life - a way of self-denial, yes - and also a way of simplicity, contentment, generosity, and joy.
All: May we worship our God who guides us all with holy wisdom. Amen.

“Unclenching Our Hands” a sermon on Deuteronomy 15:1-11 & Matthew 19:16-22

Deuteronomy 15:1-11
Matthew 19:16-22
“Unclenching Our Hands”
Preached, Sunday, May 11, 2025

Today is a day of note. It is Sunday, always a “set-apart” day for rest and connecting with God. It is Mother’s Day - an important day for many families. And it is our conclusion of what we are calling the “active phase” of our Today, Tomorrow, Together Capital Campaign. It is our Commitment Sunday where we invite those who have not yet made their three year commitment to this campaign to do so and where we make note, celebrate, and give thanks to each other and God for the momentous amount of generosity, sacrifice, and HOPE for both the church of today and the church of tomorrow, that is behind each and every gift.

With the importance of today noted, we will move on to talking about this: (*open and close hand*) - okay, let me explain myself by turning to our text from Deuteronomy.

There is a command here that every seven years there is to be a remittance of debt for fellow Israelities in their community. The question I was asking of myself in this text was, was it a one-year hold on collecting debts? Was it a forgiveness of debts? I honestly couldn’t find the answer… but it was, at the least, putting debts on hold for a year - done every seven years. It was a practice for the big remittance, the big forgiveness that is the year of Jubilee which is every seventh seventh year. But what strikes me is what comes after giving the command. The text says, remit debts every seven years…but should there really be any among you in need in the first place? An exact quote: “There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today.” In essence: Should there be anyone in need among you? Not if you’re treating each other like you should! Should there really be any among you who had to go into debt to survive? Not if you care for one another as you have been commanded! Oh if we only still held and followed this value today.

The last line of the passage from today really gets to the core of the values embedded in this passage: “Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’”

Open your hand…

Are you starting to get what I mean by this? (*open and close hand*)

Now, I want everyone to do this with me. Close your fists tightly….Now open, release….Now close tightly…and now open, release…

This is the primary concept or idea we are looking at in our sermon today - the juxtaposition between holding on too tightly to something or releasing it, letting it go.

Deuteronomy gives us instructions to open our hands for the good of our neighbors, to not hold too tightly or begrudgingly onto things, instead to liberally open our hands to our neighbors, the poor and needy.

In our Gospel lesson from Matthew we see a man holding on too tightly to what he has. A man comes to Jesus and asks him, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” To which Jesus replies, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Well, “Which ones?”

“And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. Also, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

You can almost hear the young man checking off the boxes in his head. Yupp, I’ve done all those…But what’s of interest here…is Jesus did not actually list all the commandments, the ten commandments, as we know them. He didn’t mention the first ones that deal with relationship with God: No other God before me, no idols, no mis-use of the Lord’s name. He didn’t mention what I call the bridge commandment because it deals with both God and neighbor, the command of Sabbath. He went right to the commandments that deal with our neighbors: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, honor your father and mother… so if we’re counting commandments….we are at 9. What is the 10th Commandment that Jesus does not mention? “You shall not covet…”

Realizing that Jesus did not explicitly state this commandment, but knowing that the young man probably KNEW this commandment - as did Jesus - it gives new meaning to the rest of this interaction as the man asks,

“I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Maybe he’s hoping that Jesus will say “nothing else…” That he conveniently forgot the commandment of covetting, of always wanting more.

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

That’s the NRSV translation which is what I normally preach from but I actually like the Common English Bible more here… “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”

And then that line we know all too well: “When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

He was holding on too tightly. Too tightly to his possessions. And maybe too tightly to his narrative of what those possessions could do for him. His hands were closed tightly around what he had - not only his hands but his heart and soul too. And by so tightly holding on to what he had, by not unclenching his hands, it kept him not only from love of neighbor…but from love of God.

Let’s open and close our hands again. Clench them tightly….now open, release…clench them tightly….now open, release….

If your fists are clenched tightly, literally or metaphorically, you cannot, as Deuteronomy says, open your hand and give liberally and ungrudgingly to your neighbors, the poor and needy. If your hands are clenched too tightly…we cannot fully love God and neighbor.

So everyone, clench those fists again…hold them up, look at them. What does a world of clenched fists give us? I feel like we’re all rock ‘em sock ‘em robots. Literally or metaphorically, a world of clenched fists does not give itself to generosity, reciprocity, love and care…it leads to, well, fighting, hoarding, mine and yours, have and have nots…

Something really beautiful happens when we unclench our fists - go ahead, unclench your fists - when we unclench our fists…we can better be in relationship with one another. We can fulfill the commandments. We can be complete…this understanding that without loving our neighbors, without being part of a community together…we are incomplete, we are not whole. We are not living as God intended us to live.

Unclench your fists. Open your hands.

Turn to your neighbor and offer them your hand - You can shake hands. You can hold hands. You can high-five…if you don’t know your neighbor that well, you can wave at them! What difference would we make in our world if we all had open hands? With open, unclenched hands…You can offer a hand out…or a hand up. You can be in relationship with each other. And when you’re in relationship with one another, we can go back to the question in Deuteronomy, “Should any among you really be in need? Not if you’re all living as we are commanded to do.”

So my question this morning is: What are we holding on to too tightly? For some, it may be possessions, money, stuff and how we interact or use it all. It might be part of our own life that is holding us back - regret, shame, low self-esteem. It might be an ideology of othering we’ve held on too tightly that keeps us from loving our neighbors.

It might even be a vision of what our church has been - what it was, a decade, two decades, or even 5 decades go…that we are holding on to too tightly, so we cannot love our church and community and one another now, here in the present, and move forward into God’s future for us, hand in open hand.

To be clear - so many of you have opened your hands to this church, this Today, Tomorrow, Together Capital Campaign is a HUGE and momentous sign. We don’t get to the 545,950 that was already committed to this campaign without open hands. And we don’t get the loving faith community we have without open hands and open hearts. And we certainly don’t get to this point without making sacrifices, of whatever each of you has let go of when unclenching your hands, to join hands with one another, to help and love their neighbor, to be church community… Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. For your generosity, and your open hands.

Friends, in just a moment, we will join together in our Commitment Liturgy that is printed in the bulletin, and ushers will invite you by rows to come to the front of the church, and place your commitment cards in the baskets. Now, we know that many of you have already turned in Commitment Cards. Thank you. We know that some of you are not ready yet to do so. Or some of you may be guests with us today and this part of the service doesn’t apply to you…

Which is why, in your bulletins, every single one of us has a blank index card. Because every single one of us has something in our lives that we’d like to give to God. Maybe it is something you are holding on to too tightly and you are ready to release your hands, unclench your fists in the act of letting go of something… Maybe you have already opened your fists and what you’d like to give to God is a commitment of time, talent, or treasure - or a way you can better love God and love neighbor. Examples might be…becoming a Sunday School volunteer, forgiving the person who harmed you, fasting from social media, taking the next time to become a foster parent, becoming a volunteer for a good cause, reading your Bible daily, taking on the practice of daily praying for our world or visiting the homebound…the possibilities are endless.

And so, I’d like each of you to take those cards, and hold them in your hands. You can do that right now, hold them in your hands, and think of what you’d like to give to God today. What God is calling you to give, to do, to release…with open hands and open hearts. If you’d like, you can grab a pencil from the pew and write on that card. Or you can just think it, inscribing on the card with your thoughts and heart…

And so when we come forward, some of you will be bringing cards for our Today, Tomorrow, Together Campaign - thank YOU - and all of us will be bringing forward that piece of paper, a tangible sign, a concrete action - of giving to God of our whole selves, with open hands…

And so, let us join together in the responsive litany printed in your bulletin…

Leader: The 90th Psalm reads: Let your acts be seen by your servants;
People: Today!
L: let your glory be seen by their children.
P: Tomorrow!
L: Let the kindness of the Lord our God be over us.
Make the work of our hands last.
P: Together!
L: Let us pray, As we open our hands and give what we have over to you, Lord, bless all the ways we and this church bless and serve you. May our generosity bless this community for generations to come. And so we pray with the Psalmist:
All: Make the work of our hands last! Amen.

You may come forward as the ushers invite you. Amen!

"Living Out Generosity: Gifts" a sermon on Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19-21
“Living Out Generosity: Gifts”
Preached Sunday, September 24, 2023

Today is our final Sunday in our sermon series, “Living Out Generosity.” We have been talking about our membership vows we make as United Methodists, to faithfully and generously serve God with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.

Generally, stewardship campaigns at churches focus majorly on the financial, and we will focus on that today, AND, I have chosen to focus on all of our vows for this series because I truly believe that generosity begets generosity. And when we are generous in one area of our lives, it spills over to our others.

So throughout this I have tried to simplify how we think about these things and what it means to live them out. Let’s do a re-cap:

To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.

And that brings us to being generous with our gifts. And while sometimes we talk about being generous with gifts as being generous with our talents, our spiritual gifts, which God has gifted all of us with and that is a part of a generous Christian life - today I want to talk specifically about financial gifts. For I feel, of all the things we talk about: prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness - this is the one that makes us most uncomfortable. It’s the hardest one to talk about. And even, hear me say this, great harm has been done by those who talk about it flippantly or without sensitivity. While I summed up the other vows in short phrases that push us to not just be but do - draw near, show up, see, be, share - I cannot yet do that today when I talk about giving generously with our gifts. What I can do is encourage each of us to get a little uncomfortable. To talk about our understanding of money and finances, to make a plan that ensures our basic needs are met, and that takes into account love of God and love of neighbor.

So why is talking about money such an uncomfortable thing for us? Something that makes us shift in the pews or a topic that is considered one of the impolite things to talk about: sex, money, and politics are the three things that can make the conversation at a family dinner go awry - even though as a church we are, in many ways, called to talk about these things - that is, the Gospel doesn’t exclude any areas of our lives.

In order to figure out why talking about money makes us uncomfortable - we have to have uncomfortable conversations. Conversations with ourselves and with God - and conversations between spouses and even parents and children. We need explicit conversations about how we approach money and giving and we need to pass these conversations on to our children as well.

We need to start with looking within ourselves and identifying our narratives we’ve been telling ourselves about money. This includes how we grew up, if we wanted or had enough, if we were formed with narratives of abundance or narratives of scarcity. If we saw giving as something that was done because people were shamed into it, or because people cheerfully planned to give, or if we ourselves were the recipient of generous giving. If we get anxious or scared when we talk about money. If having money or not having money affects our self-worth, our self-image, how we view ourselves. We bring all of this to the table, to the forefront of our minds, when we start to talk about money and giving. We need to understand where we’ve been to understand where we are. This is not easy work and it is work our larger culture, by and large, tells us not to do - doesn’t want us to do. If we don’t talk about money, money is more likely to have power over us. To shame us, to control us, to get us to buy certain products or act in certain ways that selfishly benefit others, to continue the never-ending rat race of always wanting and working for more.

Instead, I believe when we do our own inner work, and understand our own money stories, our own reactions, we can then begin to have agency in how we use this resource to the glory of God and aid of others.

Henri Nouwen in his book “The Spirituality of Fundraising” says, “The reason for the taboo [around money] is that money has something to do with the intimate place in our heart where we need security, and we do not want to reveal our need or give away our security to someone who, maybe only accidentally, might betray us.”

Basically, I am not saying that we are bad people for having a complicated, uncomfortable, relationship with money and I do not want to make you feel guilty for it this morning - what I am saying is, our relationship with money is based on our very human need for security, to feel safe. When we realize that this is the place where this comes from, I feel like it erases some of the stigma around money. At the end of the day, our concerns about money come from that place in our heart that is concerned about our safety and security and the safety and security of those we love.
Our culture tells us that the answer to our questions about security comes in the accumulation of wealth and material goods - but the Bible has a very different answer.

The Gospel from this morning says to not put our trust in earthly things: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I want to highlight that last line, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Now, we usually think that where our heart is, our treasure will follow. Right? Like, we give and invest and spend money on the things that are important to us. Jesus actually says that it is the opposite. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. This is not just a change in semantics. Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Let me repeat that ‘cause I think it’s important: Jesus knows that the place where we spend our money will become our treasure, whether we want it to or not. Financial commitments require time and energy. They can pull our heart in a direction that perhaps neither we nor God ever intended. If you buy a house that requires a large percentage of your income, you have no choice but to spend time and energy and money in paying for it. For my generation, it is student loan debt. I have many friends who have become consumed and overwhelmed with the burden of finding a job that pays enough that they can make even the smallest dent on their loans - not to mention one that offers health care! Our ability to pay back these large, all-consuming debts becomes a marker of our worth and our ability to even survive. When you put your treasure into anything, your heart will follow. And some of it, we can’t help. Some of it is the way our system is set up with systems of generational poverty, student loan debt, medical debt, the rising cost of living, and so much more. And that’s not cause for shame. It’s an unfair and injustice reality that breaks God’s heart.

And, when the church offers an opportunity to give, for those who are consciously able to, it’s a chance, an opportunity, not just to support the life, work, and ministry of the church but to invest your treasure in a place where your heart will follow - a place that, every day, works to be more like the Kingdom of God.

I am not embarrassed or ashamed to stand before you today and say that we as a church need your financial gifts to accomplish our goals and to live out the calling that God is placing on our church - to fully discern and live out where God is calling us and who God is calling us to be as a community of love and as a church. I am not embarrassed and I do not approach this ask with trepidation because it is a spiritual act. Nouwen says, “As a form of ministry, fundraising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry.” Just as preaching, leading you in prayer, and offering pastoral care are spiritual acts that I am called to do as your pastor, so too am I called to invite you into generous living and giving generously in all areas of your life, including your finances. All of these things invite you into deepening your spiritual life and living more closely into the life God calls us to as followers of Jesus. And so, I want to talk about money as joyously as we sing our favorite hymns - the reason I decided to do a hymn sing the Sunday we talk about generosity through our finances.

So yes, as a church and as your pastor, we are going to ask you for money. Once again this year, we will be sending out pledge cards and asking you to fill them out. The ask, however, does not come from a place of insecurity for our security is found in God. The ask comes from a place of seeing where, together, our generosity can build a community of love, where we can come together with generosity in all areas of our lives, to create a community of love here at Boardman United Methodist Church, to create the Kingdom of God, here in our midst.

My prayer is that it is not just for the money or gifts that is the outcome of generosity with our finances, not just an increased budget or being able to meet all our commitments and goals - although that is certainly a wanted outcome, too. My hope and prayer is that through the spiritually transformative act of giving, we ourselves would deepen our own faith and relationships with each other and strengthen our ties to God and to this community.

I believe as a church community, we have some of the most important things that the world needs: belonging, friendship, prayer, peace, love, service to others, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we have the ability to invest in the local church, we are saying: these things matter to me and I know they matter to others. I can invest in something I believe in, hoping to share it with others.

And so let’s go back to where we talked about simplifying our membership vows.

To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God.
To be generous with our presence is to show up.
To be generous with our service and witness is to see Jesus, be Jesus, and share Jesus.

And now, maybe I would say, to be generous with our gifts, is to take stock of our hearts…and our treasure. And see if they are aligned or if they are at odds. To see if our treasure is pulling us in a direction we want our hearts to go in.

And so my closing challenge to you is this:

Ask yourself the hard questions. Have these conversations about your money and your faith with yourself, with God, with your family. And, if and as you are able, make a plan to cheerfully and generously invest both your treasure and your heart here - in a church community that is working to build the Kingdom of God, in a church that has so much to offer the world.

I do want to thank you for going on this generous journey with me. For taking up my challenges. For seriously examining what it means to live a generous Christian life. Thank you for all the ways you already do and all the ways we are all growing together.

Amen.

"Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness" a sermon on Matthew 25:31-45

Matthew 25:31-45
“Living Out Generosity: Service & Witness”
Preached Sunday, September 17, 2023

This morning we are continuing our sermon series on living out our membership vows that we make as part of a United Methodist Church. To serve God faithfully by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. I have endeavored to simplify how we think of each of these things. To be generous with our prayers is to draw near to God. To be generous with our presence is to show up. And today we are going to talk about being generous with our service and our witness. I'm talking about them together because I do believe they are so closely related. So to give generously of our service and witness is, simply put:

To see Christ in others.
To be Christ to others.
Those two comprise giving generously of our service.
And then to share Christ with others - which is giving generously of our witness.

When we talk about being generous in our service, seeing Christ in others and being Christ to them, there is no passage that comes to mind more than Matthew 25. In it Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, visit the sick and the prisoner - we do these things to Christ himself.

What we do to each other, especially those who are in the most need, those who are the most marginalized, what we do to the least of these, we do to and for Jesus.

Mother Theresea said, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, This is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”

I fully support the practice of reminding ourselves that the least of these are Jesus.

The next time you see someone who is an addict say, “This is addicted Jesus.” The next time you see someone living on the street say, “This is homeless Jesus.” The next time you see something on the news about immigrants or you hear or see a local raid say, “This is undocumented Jesus.” The next time you see someone who is acting erratic or talking to themselves say, “This is mentally ill Jesus.”

We need to practice seeing Jesus in the least of these. We need to train ourselves to recognize that Christ is among us - and often in those who might make us feel most uncomfortable or unsure of what to do.

When we see Jesus in the other, we are compelled to serve them. And when we serve others, out Christian charity or goodness or whatever it is, we come to see Jesus in others. The order is not what matters, what matters is the love and respect not just for Christ but for all those whom Christ manifests himself in: the least of these among us. For in the words of Catholic activist Dorothy Day, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” This can be a hard realization for us as Christians who proclaim and feel a deep love for God, but too often fail to love the least of these or those we classify as others, not us. And yet, in order to deepen our faith, deepen our love for God, we must undertake the practice of loving our neighbor.

Which brings us to the second part of service. If the first part of service is seeing Jesus in the other than the second part is being Jesus to them.

We know that Scripture tells us that we are the hands and feet of Christ. St. Theresa of Avila, expanded upon this well known Scripture by saying:

“Christ has no body but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which his compassion looks out upon the world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”

We may be the only Christ someone ever knows when we offer them love through service. Or we may be the first representative of Christ they ever meet when we are generous in our service.

Christian service can really by summed up as this:
See Jesus in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.
And BE Jesus to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.

Or, as it says in a famous quote attributed to John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

All, all, all. See Christ in All. Be Christ to All.

This is Christian service.
Which is also closely tied to our Christian witness.

As we BE Christ to others, have no doubt that we are being watched. By those who want to know why we do what we do. And let’s be honest for a moment, Christians have not been the best witness to Christ in our world. The famous Ghandi quote is, “'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus calls us to be Christ to the world, to treat all we meet as Jesus, to show our faith through our love. But when you ask most nones (those who aren’t affiliated with any religion) or dones (those who have been hurt by the church) what they think of Christians, what the witness of Chrisitians by and large has been in our country and world - they are likely to say some unappealing and downright harmful things. The crusades; enforcement of strict gender roles and norms including inciting violence against those who don’t fit into strict boxes; the co-opting of religion by political parties that tell us there is one way to vote if we are Christian; the abuse perpetrated and covered up by religious leaders; they may even talk about street corner preachers and billboards that shout HELL IS REAL and try and scare and shame people into a relationship with Christ.

Friends, this is not it. It’s not how Christ calls us to act. It’s not how we share Christ with the world.

The early church didn’t grow because of the right doctrine or amazing worship services or family friendly programming or even convicting sermons. The early church grew because of the radical way they showed up and showed love to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. This was their generous Christian witness. But it wasn’t done without also talking about why they did: their love for Christ and Christ’s love for the world.

A quote famously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and spread widely in Christian circles is this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Yes, it’s true - our Christian service, what we do, how we see Christ in others, how we be Christ to them - this is a powerful Christian witness. And, it is not enough in our world. We must show our faith with our whole lives: our actions and our words.

If we only talk about our faith but that talk is not infused with love and not backed up by our actions, people will have no desire to enter into a relationship with us, our church, or our God. It will be empty talk.

And if we only DO but never talk about our faith, how are others to truly know the why behind what we do and how we live our lives? How are they to know how our faith gets us through the hard times, comforting us through dark nights. How it increases our joy, making the light all the brighter. How it has given us a community and relationships that surround us with support and love. How our faith shapes us, forms us, has made us who we are...if we don’t say WHY along with what we DO, then no one will know beyond “well, they were being kind.” We must combat the negative witness of those who call themselves Christians but don’t share the love of Christ in this world. We must. We must let Christ lead us in all we do.

In order to share our witness, we must also share our service. In order to share our service, and for them to know why we do what we do, we must share our witness.

It’s like the hymn goes: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And I would add - by telling them about that love.

Today we had the joy of baptizing three wonderful children of God. In our baptismal liturgy we promised that “With God's help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ.” So that we would surround these children with a community of love and forgiveness, that through us, they would come to know Christ - they would know the God of love.

When we look at these children, we should say to ourselves, “Here is Jesus as a child. I will treat them like Christ himself. I will show them, with my words and actions, who Christ is, and what the Love of God looks like.”

This is generous service and witness. That we would see ALL we meet as we see these children that we baptized today. Loved by God. Loved by Jesus. Seeing them as Jesus himself. That we would see the least of these and every person we meet as Jesus. Then once we see them as Jesus, we then can BE Jesus to them, being the hands and feet of Christ in this world. And as we BE Jesus to them, sharing Jesus with them, not just with actions of love but words of love too.

Being generous in our service & witness is just this:
Seeing Christ.
Being Christ.
Sharing Christ.

So my challenge to you this morning is not an easy one, it is one that requires self-reflection and discipline, and that is to ask ourselves:: Are we being generous with how we see others? How we treat others? And how we share the Love of Christ with our actions and words? How can we train our eyes, our hands, our mouths, and our whole hearts to be generous in love, in service, and in witness? This is the call of the Christian life, a call to a life of generosity, and of love.

May we all be found to be generous.

Amen.

"Living Out Generosity: Prayers" a sermon on James 4:7-8

James 4:7-8

Living Out Generosity: Prayers
Preached Sunday, September 10

When we join a local United Methodist Church, we make vows to faithfully serve God by being generous with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. Last week we explored what it means to be generous with our presence. To put it simply, to show up. To show up for God: to intentionally set aside time to just be in God’s presence. And to show up for our neighbors: to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.

We are continuing on with our sermon series on these membership vows and how we live them out in a spirit of generosity - knowing that they are all interconnected. And as we begin to live out one or more of them with intentional generosity, the others will also follow.

Which brings to today when we focus on our membership vow to faithfully and generously give of our prayers. This may seem like the most basic of our vows, or the easiest, most instinctual for someone following the Christian life. And a generous prayer life does lay a fertile foundation for generosity in the other areas to grow and flourish. And, I think part of the problem is we often assume prayer is this basic thing, this instinctual thing - but for many people, it’s not. We don’t know how to tackle it, we fear we aren’t doing it right, it gets blown out of proportion and we so often over-complicate it. As our Scripture from Romans says, “We don’t know how to pray as we ought…” And I don’t think that’s a shaming thing - it’s more like, an acknowledgement, that even from the time of Paul to now, people struggle with prayer. So today we are going to try and take a simple and practical approach to prayer. I do think we could spend a whole year preaching on different aspects of prayer and different ways to approach it. I don’t want to diminish the broadness of prayer, I don’t want to erase the complexities and nuances of prayer - what I do want to attempt to do is present prayer as an access, a bridge, a doorway to God with no barriers in the way. Something simple, easy, and accessible enough that prayer can become a part of all of our lives, enriching our relationships with God and one another.

That’s the most straight-forward way to talk about prayer - that is relational and two-fold. First, prayer shapes our relationship with God. Second, prayer shapes our relationships with each other.

Let’s look at the first:

In the book of James, these words of wisdom come to us: Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you. Many may read this as a contingent statement. IF we draw near to God THEN God will draw near to us. I would say, however, that this is not a contingent statement but a consequential one. When we make the effort to be closer to God then the natural consequence of that action, the outcome of that action, is that we are closer to God. As simple as that.

Prayer forms the foundation of our relationship with God. If we want to have a relationship with God, if we want God to draw near to us then we need prayer. If we want to have a deep and rich relationship with God then we need a deep and rich prayer life. If I were to simply define prayer I would define it as drawing near to the presence of God. To draw near to God, that implies action on our part. Acting on a desire to be closer to God. I want to highlight prayer as acting on a desire. So often when we talk about prayer or intentionally working on our faith, we frame it in “shoulds.” I should pray more. I should be more intentional about spending time with God. I should go to church more. I should, should, should… Shoulds come from a place of shame and I don’t think shoulds get us anywhere. God doesn’t want our shoulds. God wants our desires. I catch myself thinking in “shoulds” a lot and have been intentional about re-framing them as wants. I want to pray more. I want to be more intentional about spending time with God. I want to draw near to God.

God is always present with us, God is always as near to us as our next breath. What sets prayer apart from simply being is when we make a conscious effort to act on our desire to be with God: to stay in God’s presence, to orient ourselves - our hearts, our souls, our minds, our bodies - toward the Divine. Every Sunday when I walk down the aisle of the sanctuary, come up here to lead us in worship, I pause for just a moment at the altar. I take a deep breath and I say to myself “pivot.” To pivot my mind and body away from everything else, the worries, the conversations, what I experienced before worship, what I have awaiting after - I pivot away from that, and pivot towards God. At the most basic level, this is what prayer is. To pivot ourselves toward God.

Initially, we may have to practice this pivoting, this drawing near to God. To make that shift in our minds and hearts to make ourselves aware that we are in God’s presence. For some it comes easier than others but prayer is a skill that we can develop, to learn, to form into a habit. When we do this regularly, prayer can become like second nature for us. We can orient ourselves more easily towards God and become aware of God’s presence around us and draw ourselves into it with less exertion. Prayer takes practice! This is what I believe we are called to do, to pray without ceasing, as the writer of Thessalonians says - and in order to get there, we have to make the conscious effort to orient ourselves towards God over and over. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg says this about prayer, “You must get up from your routines & your busyness and take a step toward engaging the sacred. You need to make the choice to move your body, your will, into the direction of prayer.”

So when we desire to be in the presence of God, when we actively choose to draw closer to God...now what? It is here that I believe prayer can take many forms. Our words, either spoken or thought, our breathing, our laughter, our tears - all these things can be seen as prayer when we are aware that we give them in the presence of God. I already quoted from our Romans Scripture this morning that we do not pray as we ought. The full quote is: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Our sighs can be our prayers. Whatever we have to offer God in that space where we have intentionally drawn near to God, the Spirit intercedes, receiving our prayers in all their forms.

I am not going to delve deeper into what those forms can look like. Some talk out loud, some go for walks and give God their thoughts, some journal, some breath, some talk in the car, some create lists of people they are praying for, some use books of written prayers - part of the practice of prayer becoming a habit, a rhythm, part of your life, is finding the method that works for you.

The act of prayer is deeply intimate. If prayer is what shapes our relationship with God, it has to be. If we long to have an intimate relationship with God, we must engage in the vulnerable act of prayer. When we are before God in prayer we are bared - God knows every part of us - and offers us grace and loves us deeply. Whatever we have within us, we are called to actively bring it before God - in whatever form it takes, God receives it as prayer. And, as in any relationship, bringing our listening heart before God is important as well.

So - as we draw near to God, as we consciously act to orient ourselves so that we are aware of God’s presence around us, God also draws near to us. That is, God is always ready to receive our prayers. God is always with us - God is only ever as far away as our next breath. And yet, we are so often unaware. When we enter into a space of prayer, all of a sudden we are aware that God has been right there all along, extending out a hand, inviting us into relationship, into conversation, into love this whole time. And through praying, through pivoting, through drawing near, over and over again, we build a deep and rich relationship with God and we become more aware of God’s presence with us throughout our lives.

Prayer is the act, more than any other, that shapes our relationship with God. Our relationship with God then shapes every other aspect of our lives.

Prayer is two-fold, because it shapes our relationships with each other as well. We promise each other in our baptismal and membership vows to pray for each other. More than that, we say that to each other week after week. If we aren’t actively praying for each other, then why do we have a prayer chain or a prayer list? Too often churches call that the gossip train - and if we are not praying for each other when we look at those emails, when we see the names on the list - then that’s what it is. But. If we are praying for each other, it is something else entirely, it is building relationships with each other.

When we pray for someone, it changes how we see them. It is hard to pray for someone and to not see them as children of God. Jesus even tells us to pray for our enemies. It’s hard. And it doesn’t excuse actions that people do that hurt others - and it causes us to pause and realize that God cares for each and every one of us. As we pray for each other, our relationships are changed.

A quick testament by a show of hands: have you ever had a relationship change - grow stronger, heal, or be born - because of prayer?
By another show of hands: have you ever felt the power of others praying for you?
And, by show of hands, have you ever been compelled to action - to seek reconciliation, to lend a helping hand, to change a behavior - because of prayer?
Thank you for sharing the power of praying, by testifying to it, by raising your hands.

Prayer shapes our relationships with each other. How much better would our whole world be if all of our relationships were steeped in prayer for one another?

When I need prayer, I know I have people in my life I can ask for prayer and through the power of prayer, I know I can feel God’s love and grace supporting me because I know I have others praying for me. I don’t know what the outcome of the prayers will be. I don’t know if they will be answered in the way I want...but what I do know is that I am not alone - and that I will never be alone. And when I pray for others, I am compelled to let them know with my words and actions that they are not alone either. Through prayer I am assured that I am a beloved child of God that has a home in a community of beloved children of God. That which we proclaim in the baptismal liturgy with our words, we proclaim it with our hearts and with our lives when we pray for one another.

I am also going to issue a prayer challenge to all of you this morning. And that is to pray for our church. I want to say to all of you that you need to pray for our church. And that’s not a need like a should but it is a need that, if we desire for our church to be transformed for God, to reach new people, to grow, to be relevant to our larger community, that starts with prayer. It’s why I asked you to pray for our Boardman United Methodist Preschool kids - why their names are up here on our altar space and why so many of you took home the name of a kid to pray for. Because the more we pray for them, the more we see them through the eyes of God, and the more the eyes of our hearts and minds are opened to see how we can be God for them. And the same is absolutely true for our church. God is at work in our church - God will be at work in our church - AND we need to pray for this, to intentionally put our church in God’s hands, to place our trust of the future of our church in God’s hands - and that all starts with prayer.

And so in our bulletin this morning you will see there is a bookmark-like card with a written prayer on it. I am asking every person at Boardman United Methodist Church to pray this prayer for our church daily. You can pray more, to add to this prayer, but only if you desire to. I am suggesting the time of 7:07pm - based on Matthew 7:7 and the following verses:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

We need to pivot ourselves, and our whole church, toward God. Because we desire the future God desires for us. And that starts with asking - with prayer. So, set an alarm on your phones for every day at 7:07pm. And when it goes off, pray this prayer. Keep this bookmark somewhere you will have access to it - or even take a picture of it to keep on your phone. I believe there is power in knowing that, even if we aren’t in the same place, we are praying this prayer together, with each other, every day, at the same time.

And, don’t get too caught up on the time. Remember, it’s a want, not a should. If the time is a time that doesn’t work for you, I’d simply encourage you to pray this prayer daily at a time that does work.

And, let’s pray that prayer for our church together now:

God who has guided us faithfully through the past, we place our church in your care. Lead us into the future with trust and courage. May we be bold for the sake of the Gospel. May we reach new people with your love. May we grow in love of You and love of neighbor. Our hope rests in your unfailing love and grace. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

As we wrap up our time talking about prayer, I want to ask: are you living a generous prayer life? Are you regularly giving freely of your time and your thoughts to draw closer to God? Are you generously giving all that you are and all that you feel over to God in prayer? And are your prayers generous to one another? Are you praying for your neighbors, your enemies, and your church as much as you pray for yourself? Are you fulfilling our membership promises to one another to pray for the church and one another? Are you fulfilling your baptismal promises to God to draw near to God?

When we are generous in prayer, we are generous in our relationships. We are shaped by the time we spend in the presence of God. Our relationships with one another are shaped in love and grace as well. And everything else in our lives - our discipleship, our relationships, our generosity in all other areas - follows our prayers.

May it be so. Amen.