Consecration Sunday

 Last Sunday concluded our churchwide study and worship emphasis called Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. The final topic of our series was “Defined by Generosity.” We considered the futility and emptiness of accumulating and hoarding possessions and wealth, and we saw that God promises blessings and joy to those who choose to live a life of generosity and self-sacrifice. We also took action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year.

This week you will be receiving an estimate of giving or commitment card in the mail. On a practical level, we ask our members to turn in estimate of giving cards each year so that our Finance Committee is able to set an accurate ministry budget for the coming year. This allows us to make the most of every dollar given to the church. On a personal level, the commitment card is an opportunity for you to spend time in prayer and reflection, considering what offering you would make to God through our church in the coming year. Please be watching for the mailing. Then fill out the card and bring it with you to worship this week for Consecration Sunday on November 15. We also will have a second Consecration Sunday on November 22 to ensure that everyone is able to participate.  I hope you will be able to join us for one or both of these meaningful services as we celebrate and consecrate our gifts to the ministry of our church for the coming year.

Yours in Christ, 

Pastor Dave Repenning

Sermon #4: Generosity
Matthew 25: 31-40
Genesis 28: 10-22
2 Corinthians 9

You are a generous people. Today we collect the Operation Christmas Child boxes. They will be sent to children in need around the world.

Last week our communion offering was for our local outreach. We collected over $700, nearly 3 times the normal communion offering. Our support for the Annual conference and world united Methodist Missions has been paid in full for this year.
Next week I will be participating with a group that will review grants given from that money.

Jesus’ story of the judgment seat and him separating the people like goats and sheep tells us the importance of Generosity. Those who are chosen and affirmed are chosen because of their generosity.

I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me something to drink
A stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me
I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.

I hear the same thing in funeral preparation. The defining thing lifted up by most people is the dead person’s generosity. He gave to those in need or he would give you the shirt off his back.

Today we are going to speak about giving to God, or the church. It is a way that we can reach far more people than you or I can do personally. This week I made a thought about how many people have their life touched by this church each week. I came up with something between 400 and 500 people. People who come here for preschool, worship, to sing, for self help groups, boy scout leaders, girls scout leaders, handicapped people, and more. This church touches their lives and enhances their walk with God.

Why do we give?

1. We give because we have been blessed.
The first tithe comes from Abraham who wins a battle and is able to free his nephew Lot along with Lot’s belongings. Gen 14:17-20
He went to the priest of God, Melchizedek of Salem, and after being blessed, gave one tenth of everything he had taken to the priest.

2. We give because we have received God’s promise. Abraham’s grandson Jacob was fleeing from his twin brother and had a vision of a ladder going to heaven. In that dream he was given a promise from God. His response after the dream was to promise to give on tenth of all that God was to give him.

3. We give because God tells us to give. Later God gives Moses the laws for the people of Israel. They are to bring a tenth of their harvest or their animals and offer them as a sacrifice to God.

4. Lastly we give because it feels good. Paul tells us, “God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7b
Offering for Jerusalem. Saving up each week and preparing to send the gift.
Plan what you are going to give. Know that God has blessed you.
Know that your giving has blessed others and they are so grateful they are sharing their joy with others.

This is the end of our series on giving, called “Enough”.
In your bulletin is another guide on your personal goals for the coming year.
It includes a giving goal and challenges you to look at tithing as part of your goal planning. Most importantly I hope you have learned and made a commitment to be good stewards of the little or the abundance God has given you, and as a child of God, you will grow in your ability to be in charge of what God has given you.
Attached to the insert is a referral slip to some financial advisors to help you if you need help with your finances. We can also do a more intense study on Christian finances, getting support from one another. Or you can go to the crown.org web site and get other materials to help you in your family finances.
None of us is too successful at this and none of us is too hopelessly lost. We can all grow from learning more.

Pray about these things, look at your goals and commitments, and joyfully make your decisions about these things.

This week you will get a letter from me with an estimate of giving card for 2010.
Next week we will give you an opportunity to bring that card to the altar and we will consecrate these commitments to the glory of God.

Paul gives instruction on giving Corinthians
Give regularly: 1 Corinthians 16 take an offering in the first day of every week.
This offering was for the church in Jerusalem which was undergoing great hardship and persecution.

Plan what you are going to give.

Don’t give reluctantly: 2 Corinthians 8 & 9

Dear Friends,

Our church-wide emphasis; “Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity” is nearing its conclusion. Last Sunday we talked about “Cultivating Contentment.” We addressed our human tendency to accumulate possessions and wealth, and we discovered how to consciously change our ways. We also prayed a special prayer, “The Contentment Prayer”, which is at the end of the sermon on our website. You can download it there or pick up a wallet-size card with this prayer at church. Pray it regularly. If you were unable to be with us, check out the sermon message on our website; (milfordunitedmethodistchurch.wordpress.com).

This Sunday brings our final topic in the series: “Defined by Generosity.” What defines your life? Is it wealth? Belongings? Faith? Many of us live with a scarcity mentality, worried that we must gather and hoard as much as possible, saving for some imagined “rainy day.” Or we focus on self-gratification. But the Bible promises both God’s blessings and joy for those who choose to live another way. During the service we will take action to change our lives by setting five specific personal goals to work toward over the next year. We are also collecting “operation Christmas Child” gift boxes and placing them around the altar as an act of generosity. On the following two Sundays, November 15 and 22, we will consecrate our gifts to the ministry of our church for the coming year.

I urge you to join us this Sunday as we learn how to live a new way

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dave Repenning

—as people who are defined by generosity and who experience true joy.

 Sermon #3: Cultivating Contentment

Luke 12: 1-15

Philippians 4

 Jesus tells us about a farmer who amassed a large amount of crops worth much money.  It seemed to be his driving force and goal in life.  But Jesus challenged his goals because it was material things that could be taken from him like that.

 They could be destroyed by a disaster, taken by others, burnt in a fire, or lost to a flood.  And when God came to take his life, he could take none of it with him.

 In recent years we have witnessed a number of devastating natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. These natural disasters remind us that everything in this world is temporary. This is why we can say with Jesus, “[My] life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Yet our culture is shouting that it’s not true. The result is a wrestling in our hearts. Despite the fact that we say we believe Jesus’ words, we still find ourselves devoting a great deal of our time, talents, and resources to the acquisition of more stuff. We say that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions, but we live as if they do.

 Most recently we saw the fires in California sweeping across the countryside.  People were forced to leave their homes and everything they had spent a lifetime accumulating.  The only thing they could keep was what they could carry in their two arms.  It is our human tendency to want to collect more.  It is the way we address our inward cravings.  But it never really satisfies that craving inside of us.  We always seem to want more.

 And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

(Luke 12:15)

 If you looked out your window and saw a wall of fire moving toward your house, what would you grab to take with on your way out the door?  What one thing?Not long ago people in such a situation ran from their homes.  When they reached the emergency shelter;

 One boy had saved his pillow.

A woman saved her family pictures and some books.

A boy named Angel saved his saxophone.

A girl saved her two cats.

And another woman saved some valuable documents

While someone else save her Bible, shoes and cell phone

 What would you have saved?  What are your most important material possessions?  Suddenly in a disaster the importance of things becomes less and less.  Returning home after a tornado destroyed their community, some people were interviewed.  They found that their lives and the lives of their loved ones were far more important than the material things they had lost.  “I can rebuild a house, but I can’t bring back my wife or my children.”

 So often we spend our lives accumulating stuff that really isn’t that important.  The true thing that is important is our relationships and ultimately our relationship with God.

A week ago Wednesday I met with a small group.  Each of us had gone through some type of recent loss or trauma.  And yet each of us knew that our faith in God would sustain us and bring us out of the crisis in a better place than when we went in.

 I’ve also counseled several people about to lose important things; one a house, one a car, one a lover and so on.  The conclusion of most of the people was that they could see where there immediate pain and loss would lead to a better situation.

 Let me give you an example from another church I served.  A young woman with a two year old child called my office.  She lived in an old store front with her grandfather and her baby.  Grandfather had suddenly moved away and she could not afford to live their.  She need air conditioning because the building had no opening window.  She owed $350 on her electric bill.  Could I help her keep her electric on?  I came and visited her and we did some of the things we suggested last week in the sermon.  We wrote down her income and her expenses.  It took about five minutes for me to way, “What you’re telling me is you cannot afford to live where you are.”

 You’re right she said.  She called my three hours later and asked for a ride to the homeless shelter.  That was a place where she and her baby lived on a mattress on the floor with three other women and their children in a room about the size of our fellowship hall.  Within two months she had received training, got a job and moved into an apartment she could afford.

 Honestly looking at her situation and then realistically responding to it was the beginning of her deliverance.   Adam Hamilton has a list of things we can do to find contentment with our situations and our lives, if you want to talk about them I would be glad to sit down with you and review his process in our small groups or individually.

 The Apostle Paul also has some suggestions on how he has grown to be content with all things in his difficult life.  He speaks to this in Philippians chapter 4.  So today I would like you to turn with me to that scripture.

 He begins by talking about his relationship with other believers.  Toward the end he refers to them as the saints.  Part of Paul’s strength is his relationship with all of the Saints.

 Verse 4   “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice”

Saying words of rejoicing has a power to make our life more joyful, whether we feel like rejoicing or not.  It lifts of the positive and can give a joy in difficult situations.

Likewise if we spend all of our time saying we are miserable, we probably will be miserable.

 Vs 8   Think about these things:   Positive things.    Again focus on the positive and not the negatives in life.

 Vs 11 Receiving blessings:    Be happy with them.  Don’t turn away God’s blessings and seek to reject them.  If you are given a gift, receive it and cherish it.

 Vs 13   God’s power and our strength  “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

 Vs   19   My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ.

Know that our needs will be provided for by God, though we still have to do our part to accomplish this.  In this way Paul was able to find God’s joy and contentment in his life, even though he was a prisoner, had a chronic illness, and was waiting to be executed.

 Contentment prayer

Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have,

To remember that I don’t need most of what I want,

And that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.

 Other helps from Adam Hamilton Four Keys to Cultivating Contentment

(Philippians 4:11-12).

1   Four Words to Repeat: “It Could Be Worse”

 2  One Question to Ask:  “For How Long Will This Make Me Happy?”

 3   Developing a Grateful Heart

 4   Where Does Your Soul Find True Satisfaction?

 Five Steps for Simplifying Our Lives

1. Set a Goal of Reducing Your Consumption, and Live Below Your Means.
2.  Before Making a Purchase, Ask Yourself, Do I Really Need This? and, Why Do I Want This?
3.  Use Something Up Before Buying Something New.
4. Plan Low-cost Entertainment That Enriches.
5.  Ask Yourself, Are There Major Changes That Would Allow Me to Simplify My Life?

 The Power of Self-Control

“What are the long-term consequences of this action?”

 “Is there a higher good or a better outcome if I used this resource of time, money, or energy in another way?”

“Will this action honor God?”

 Helpful Scripture Verses

 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he 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.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.

(Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

“O God, you are my God, I seek you, / my soul thirsts for you. . . . / My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, / and my mouth praises you with joyful lips / when I think of you on my bed, / and meditate on you in the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:1, 6) 

“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11) 

Jesus said the two most important things we must do are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). If we keep our focus on these two things, we will find satisfaction for our souls and lasting contentment.

Dear friends,

We are halfway through our church wide emphasis Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Last Sunday, our topic was “Wisdom and Finance.” We looked closely at the biblical principles of money management and learned how they apply to our daily lives. We also reviewed some common pitfalls and cultural traps and discovered how we can avoid them. If you were unable to be with us, you can find the sermon message with two financial planning worksheets on our website, milfordunitedmethodistchurch.wordpress.com

This Sunday our topic will be “Cultivating Contentment.” If you ever feel a strong desire to have more, or if you ever look at your surroundings and feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things, then you don’t want to miss this message! We will address head-on our human tendency to accumulate possessions and wealth and learn how to consciously change our ways. We also will be handing out a special tool that will help us to re-focus daily on contentment and simplicity. I hope you will join us!

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dave Repenning

ENOUGH 1

WHEN OUR DREAMS BECOME A NIGHTMARE

Genesis 2:15-25

Mark 4: 1-9, 13-20

 The American Dream

Last weekend I was in South Jersey and drove by the house in which I grew up.  The house is about three times bigger than when my family moved there.  Just to give me the full perspective I noticed the Brock’s house next door.  It is being rebuilt.  It was stripped down to the frame and not much else.  It seemed so tiny compared to our old house next to it.  The houses are all bigger and grander than when I was growing up.  Isn’t that the American dream?  It was the dream of my parents; to better our lot, obtain more. 

 We live in a world that encourages us to live beyond our means.  We are enticed to have it now and pay for it later, as opposed to saving and being good stewards of our God given gifts.  It is a dream built upon consuming, acquiring, and buying.  It is now turning into more of a nightmare than a dream.   Adam Hamilton speaks about it as a disease.  In fact two diseases.

 The first disease is AFFLUENZA.    The need for more and bigger stuff.  Our commercials keep telling us we need this, we can’t live without that and we need it now.

So the average house size has gone from 1,660 square feet in 1973 to 2,400 square feet in 2004.  There are also more and more self storage spaces.  Today there are about 1.9 Billion square feet of self storage space in America.

 Think about yourself.  What is the next purchase you plan to make?  How much extra room do you have in your house for stuff, or have you run out of room because you already have too much stuff?

 The other disease is CREDIT-IT-IS.  It comes from such things as 6 months same as cash, or save 20% on your next purchase if you buy on you store credit card, or perhaps 3% interest for the first year.  

 Credit-it-is leads us to believe we can get what ever we want right now.  Enjoy it today and pay for it tomorrow.  The average credit card debt in 1900 was $3,000.  in the last 20 years credit card companies have made it so easy to increase that debt that today the average American has $9,000 in debt.  And then there is the debt that has increased in second mortgages and other quick loans.  I find it interesting that I used to get personal mailings saying I am already approved to borrow against the value of my house.  Well, actually it’s your house, and they are saying they’ll lend me money on the church’s house.  

 Now all of this easy credit can be paid back with a minimum payment of what used to be 2% of the balance and has recently gone up to 4% of the balance.  Given the standard or below standard rate of 18% interest it will take you 240 years to pay it back.

 This leads us to the Spiritual Problem, which is sin.  Sin distorts the image of God in which we were created and God’s intent to be a blessing to us.   We were created to desire God and meant to find security in God.  Now we tend to desire possessions and seek our security in amassing wealth.    We come to a place where we sacrifice the good God created for us be for comfort, convenience, safety and pleasure.  Now these are not bad things in themselves until they become the central focus of our lives. 

 Our quest for things and wealth leads us to debt and bondage to the things we pursue.  Jesus asked the question “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?”  (Mark 8:36)

 Paul reminds us in I Timothy 6:10b “Some people, eager for money have wandered from faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 

 The Biblical solution is to ask God to change our hearts.  There is a neat little story floating around the internet that describes this process.

It’s about a pumpkin.  Most pumpkins are not perfect.  They often have shapes that are not quite symmetrical and have little scars or blotches on their skins.  In the next week or so we will be buying these things and bringing them home to make Jack o Lanterns.  The first step is to cut a hole in the top and take out all of the slimy smelly junk inside.  Then we carve a face on the pumpkin and put a candle in it.

 This is like what God does in us.  He cleans out the yucky stuff, our sinfulness, puts a joyful face on us and then puts his light in us to shine in the darkness of our world. 

 What God does for us is replaces greed, envy, lust, and materialism with simplicity, restraint, generosity and joy.  Next week we will be looking at ways to move our life in that direction.  Today we need to focus most on asking God to begin changing our hearts; to give us hearts that once again thirst for God and not the material things of this world.

 Would you join in the following prayer:

 The Contentment Prayer

 Lord help me to be grateful for what I have,

To remember that I don’t need most of what I want,

And that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.   Amen

 Finally as you begin to pray sing the following song several times:

Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.

Change my heart O God, may I be like you.

Thou art the potter, I am the clay. 

Melt me and mold me, this  is what I say

Change my heart, O God, make it ever true.

Change my heart O God, may I be like you.

 This sermon is based on the book and accompanying materials from Adam Hamilton entitled Enough

Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity

Stress. Anxiety. Fear. These words capture well the state of mind of many of us in America today. We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, and many bankruptcies and mergers. Every day seems to bring another piece of economic uncertainty.

A  recent survey by the American Psychological Association  found that over three in four Americans are stressed about the economy and their personal finances. Half were worried about providing for their family’s basic needs. Over half of respondents reported feeling angry and irritable, and reported lying awake at night worried about this. The report concludes that, “The declining state of the nation’s economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide.”

 Join us in worship the next five weeks for a sermon series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Our nation is experiencing what many have described as the “American Nightmare.” Increasing consumer debt, declines in savings, lower income growth, and a volatile stock market are all a part of our economic insecurity. We have lived in a society that tells us “you deserve it now,” whether or not we can afford it or really even need it.

 All of us have struggled with these issues at one time or another. They are important issues that we cannot ignore. This is why, over the next five weeks, we will be having a church-wide study and worship emphasis called Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. During this time we will explore what the Bible teaches us about financial management, through corporate worship and small group study.  Visit our  website, milfordunitedmethodistchurch.wordpress.com for details about small-group study opportunities.

 We’ll hear expert advice and stories about what others have learned by working through financial challenges. Each week we will provide you with some practical tools you can use to assess your financial situation and develop a financial plan with a biblical foundation.

 At the conclusion of the study series, we will have the opportunity to make personal commitments of our offerings to God through our church in the coming year. We will consecrate these commitments in the worship service on two consecutive Sundays (see the schedule that follows).

 I hope you will join us in the coming weeks as we look at how we can manage our financial resources and truly experience simplicity, generosity, and joy.

 Bob Fitch, Stewardship Chairman

Wednesday September 23, at 7a.m. See You At The Pole.