Please note: The following sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.

It's that time again, time for the stewardship sermon on Consecration Sunday.

Normally we bring in someone from the outside to give this sermon, perhaps someone who has had some experience in stewardship matters. But this time, Ray Huff of the Stewardship Committee felt that it might be better to have one of our own to speak to you.

I'm Lou Kolb, the guy who's been asked to come and talk to you about your money. Other things too, as we'll see, but whenever you mention stewardship, folks tend to think of money first. And that's a very touchy subject.

We get uneasy when someone wants to talk to us about our money. Usually when that happens someone wants to separate us from it; and here we come, demanding a number - a number indicating how much you'd be willing to part with for the sake of St. Mark's for a whole year.

Why can't we just give what we happen to have week to week. Well there are a lot of good reasons for collecting those numbers, especially budgeting. Anyone who runs a household knows about the need to budget and plan financially.

Now if you think it's uncomfortable doing it this way, imagine being one of the Israelites who were with Moses in Old Testament times.  Then, God was very explicit about what he expected from his people. Then ten per cent of everything they had was his.  Not only that, but all of that ten per cent had to be top quality.  No blemishes. God expected the best of what they had.

And even in New Testament times when they questioned Jesus on whether this was the proper way to give, he said this you ought to have done.

Today, we're rather more casual about what we give to God. The New Testament doesn't lay out specific directions on what and how we are to give like God did with Moses. And so we have lots of questions. Do I have to give anything? How much - ten per cent?

Well to come up with proper answers to those questions, we must first answer another question. Do we belong to God or does God belong to us?  It's a question that each of us must answer for his or herself. 

God gave the explicit instructions concerning giving that he did in the Old Testament to show the people that he must come first.  But if it's God who belongs to us, then we come first.  We, essentially, are God.

Frankly, much of the world acts this way.  We bend and shape God to fit our needs.  But obviously those of us who come to St. Mark's know that it is we who belong to God.  Joyce Hershberger said it so beautifully last week, everything we have comes from God.  There is nothing we have that he needs. 

C.S. Lewis said God to be God has no needs.  So we're certainly not giving to fill any lack on his part.  Why then?  Well, we give out of love, out of gratitude, we give as an indication that we recognize and acknowledge who God is, the author of our worldly and spiritual wealth. And we give to show what god is worth to us.

As Pastor Ken said recently, worship is a contraction of worship. When we come here on Sunday morning to worship, we are making a statement of what God is worth to us. And when you put that number down that is also an act of worship, another way of showing what God is worth to us. 

God has already made his statement of how much we are worth to him.  He did that when he gave his son to save us.  Jesus is his best and was absolutely unblemished.  And God gave him without reservation for it is as much in his nature to give completely as it can be in ours to withhold.

Please remember that what you give has nothing to do with what anyone else gives.  This is not a competition between congregants to see who can give the most, or to point fingers at who gives the least. What you give, is a matter between you and God. 

Remember also that giving, especially giving to God, is not limited to just money. Our time and our talents can be marvelous resources when used in his cause.  Remember the Lutheran motto, God's work, our hands.

Each of us has something to give.  That's partly why I'm up here. God has given me the gift of a voice which has enabled me to make a living.  How can I not also use it in his service?

As you prayerfully consider what you will give to God, consider also does God belong to us or do we belong to him?  And ponder what his worship is to you.

Amen.

St. Mark's Lutheran Church

142 Market Street

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

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