Acts 2:42-47
“With Glad and Generous Hearts”
(A
video clip was shown about people’s various thoughts as the offering plates
were passed down the pews.) Stewardship. Tithing.
The offering. These are words
that evoke a wide range of feelings within us.
We had someone visit our church last Sunday for the first time and after
hearing the talk about “Growing One Step” and then listening to me preaching on
our giving to God, they said, “See, all
the church does is talk about money.”
Well,
that is not all we talk about here at this church. But during this time each year we do focus on
this subject, because we believe that an honest look at our giving to God is
probably one of the most spiritual things we can do. So, I want to talk to you today about an act
of worship that you may not have thought of as worship … and that is “the
offering”.
I’ve
heard people say that in the age of plastic money, the charge card and
computerized banking, “Couldn’t the church find a more efficient, less
intrusive way of collecting its due? Why
do we have to pass the plate and take up an offering every Sunday?”
Well,
we need to pay attention as the plate is being passed down the aisle and as
people put their gifts in it. Pay
attention as we break the bread and lift up the cup of Holy Communion. For something very important is happening
here. The offering is a significant
statement of our faith.
One
of the persistent dangers … the sacrilege against which we must be eternally
vigilant, is the tendency to divorce Sunday worship from daily life. There is a danger that what we do on Sunday
morning is turned into an event that has nothing do to with our everyday
lives. There must be some link between
our worship of God on Sundays junior’s spilt cereal at breakfast; or our boring
routine at the office; or the monthly paying of our bills; or the cancer that
will not heal.
If
our worship here on Sundays is not relevant to our daily lives and to human
need, then it is being unfaithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is an “incarnational faith”.
Meaning the presence of God came to dwell among us in the person of
Jesus Christ. Jesus came and lived among us, and he is here as a visible and
tangible sign of God’s love for us.
So,
never think that what we do here in Sunday worship is just a spiritual
affair. There may be religions where
their faith is practiced only in holy places.
There may be religions in which political debate, bodily health,
material well-being, and physical needs are irrelevant. Christianity is not one of those
religions. Christianity is about a Lord
who comes, not to take us out of this world, but rather, to give us a way to
live in this world.
And
every time we receive the offering in worship, we are participating in a visible
and tangible expression of how our faith connects with the real world. We are lifting up ordinary things, like
bread, and wine, and money, and saying, “Because of the life, teachings, death
and resurrection of Jesus Christ, these ordinary things of life have taken on
new significance for us.”
In
his ministry, Jesus was always taking the everyday stuff of life … seeds;
birds; flowers; coins; lepers; children … and he lifted them up and set them in
the context of the
How
many times have you heard the preacher in this pulpit and others challenging
you to: “Get out there and to do something that will make a difference for
Christ in this world.” Well, the offering
and what you give to God is your chance to do something! In fact, the offering is a test of our
worship. I mean, is this service only a
time to sing a few hymns; think few lofty thoughts; then go home or out to eat
for a big meal? Is that all there is to worship? Or is this a time to put our money where our
mouth is? Indeed, we are reminded of
Jesus’ words: “Where our money is, there our heart will be also.”
So,
for us as Christians, the offering is not “an unwarranted intrusion”. It is the litmus test of what we are
about. Our offerings to God are the link
… the necessary connection between our intentions and our deeds … between our
worship of God and the daily stuff of life.
What
we do on Sundays in worship should be what we do on Monday through Saturday in
the world … which is to offer our lives to God.
Our actions, our gifts, and our deeds are our offering to God. We give on Sundays and we live for God every
day of the week, because God has so graciously given to us more than we ever deserved.
This
is what we see in our scripture lesson for this morning. After the events of Pentecost and the gift of
God’s Holy Spirit, the church gathered on a weekly basis, “To devote themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers.”
But the scripture continues: “All
who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their
possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
Notice
the link between their worship and their lives in the world. In
the Early Christian Church, the offering originally consisted of the people’s
gifts of bread and wine for the Holy Meal of Communion. In homes where they gathered for worship, as
Paul says, “They broke bread at home and
ate their food with glad and generous hearts.” Then after their service, the leftovers were
taken to the orphans and the widows, and shared with those who were needy. So, from the very beginning, our worship has
been connected to our lives and need in the world.
And
notice that the test of our worship is how “together” we are as a church in
this. It’s whether or not our worship of
God on Sundays is able to produce “glad and generous hearts” that are concerned
about the things in this world that break the heart of God. It’s not about how well we are able to listen
to the Word or to sing the songs of worship.
True worship is about how well we are able to show forth our “gladness”
and “generosity” in offering ourselves and our gifts to God.
This
is why we take up an offering each Sunday. This is why we challenge you with a
Stewardship Campaign each year. It is
how we put our money where our mouth is.
It is how we put our faith into action and seek to make a difference in
the world we live in. We give in
response to a God who has given more to us than we ever deserved or can imagine
… even willing to die for us on a Cross.
And so, we give with “glad and generous hearts”, because we want others
to know the joy we have found in Jesus Christ.
Now,
with “glad and generous hearts”, let us celebrate this holy meal together in
thanksgiving to God.