Sermons for the Month
Cultivate That 100 Percent Attitude
DATE: September 26th, 2004
SERVICE: 17th Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 25:14-30“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
(This sermon is based, in part, on the skit "Percentages" that was presented during the service. As the sermon begins, set a timer for just under two minutes and place it in a visible location. Make a joke about paying no attention to the timer.)
Tell the truth … as today's parable from Matthew 25 was read did you feel just a little bit sorry for the third slave? Did you sympathize with the one who received one talent, and who subsequently was chastised for keeping it safe? I mean, after all, he did what many of us might have done. His actions may even seem prudent to us. He had been entrusted with the property of his master, and was given no instruction to do anything but preserve it. Just think, the other two - by trading their shares - could have lost it all. But, his portion was never in danger. Perhaps he was unimaginative, or too cautious, but at least he was not reckless.
I'm guessing that many of you join me in feeling a secret sympathy for the so called "worthless servant." It seems quite unfair that, because he was cautious, what he had was taken from him and given to the one who had more to begin with. And not only that, Jesus seems to be saying that he will suffer for his lack of initiative. Somehow, it just does not seem right….
(At about this point the timer should ring.)
Well, that's my 10 percent; I have done my part. I'm certainly not like that slave who I was pretending to feel sorry for during the last few minutes, the one who shirked his responsibility. Like the woman in this morning's skit, I have given my tithe; my 10 percent. So…I guess I'll sit down and we will move on.
Excuse me? While some of you think my quitting now is a great idea, others of you don't think it's quite right? Well, let me explain. In the Bible there are references to tithing. That means we give 10 percent of what has been given to us by God back to God. So, God has given me the ability to write sermons. This church is accustomed to about 15 minutes worth of sermonizing each Sunday. So, I just gave 10 percent of the sermon God gave me this week - 1 minute and 50 seconds worth. (Although, since I've continued talking, I'm up to about 15 percent now. Is that a love offering?) So, I did my part, right?
By now - between the skit and my opening - some of you may think that we are beating a dead horse. (We get it, we get it, you might be thinking.) Still, indulge me for just a few more minutes while I point out that the message today's skit, today's Gospel lesson, and now the sermon are attempting to convey is that our giving of time, of talents and of money should not be based in some formula but in an attitude of gratitude AND of boldness AND of being intentional.
First think about the parable. The characters in it have differing abilities and are given various talents (which is an amount of money) by their master. One was given five, another two and another one. The master then went away and the servants are left with the responsibility of managing that which they have been given. They know they are being trusted to make good use of the time that he is gone.
Two of them show gratitude, boldness and intentionality in their responses, and the other does not. The five-and two-talent servants were evidently grateful for the responsibility they had been given and acted boldly and intentionally. They "traded" and "worked" with the money that had been entrusted to them and "made" additional talents, multiplying the gift. However, the one-talent man was either afraid or lazy when it came to his response. He dug and hole and hid his talent, doing nothing.
And that's what got him into so much trouble. He did nothing. It seems that if he had acted, even if the end result was not what he had hoped it would be, it would have been better than his non-response. You see, there was great potential in the treasure, but it was wasted.
Now, let's go back to the skit and the beginning of the sermon. We laugh at the thought that someone would sing only a part of a song, or drive elderly people only part way to church, or stop two minutes into a sermon. It seems ridiculous for someone to feel like they have done enough and can stop. We can clearly see the falicy in their 10 percent attitude, and yet, it's how many people function when it comes to responding to the gifts of God. In reality God does not say, "I want 10 percent of you." God says, "I want all of you."
So, the first thing we have to work on is gratitude. How hard it is to truly conceptualize that all that we have - abilities, our faith, ideas, possessions, other people, scripture - is a gift from God. Everyone has different gifts in varying amounts. Our task is to acknowledge what ours' is - not to worry about someone else's - and be grateful.
Then, we must not only acknowledge the gift but use it, multiply its value. In other words, we say YES to the faith-filled sharing of gifts. That requires boldness and intentionality. Sitting around and doing nothing is not an option. We must have a 100 percent attitude, not a 10 percent attitude, meaning that we do not go about sharing our gifts in a hap-hazard way. It's hap-hazard if we throw a dollar into the offering plate at the end of the week because that's what we have left, or if we volunteer to work at the rummage sale for an hour or two because we have nothing better to do that day. That's not a 100 percent attitude; instead we must give our response thought and prayer and then act.
I hope that here at Faith the challenge to do that is constantly before you. That's why I want to encourage you to take time to reflect on the gifts God has given you. Then I would like to offer two concrete ways for you to commit those gifts with boldness and intentionality in the coming week. These are two specific ways to say, "Yes".
The first is to think about your abilities and complete the Time and Talent Survey that is in your bulletin today. The second is to prayerfully consider your financial support of this congregation in 2005. Next week estimate of giving cards will be distributed and filled out during worship. Both the cards and the survey will be brought forward has an act of worship during the service.
Please come prepared. Please pray about these things in the next week. Obviously there are many needs for people's time, talents and money here at Faith.
One of the great things that happened in 2004 was the addition of Carolyn Wagar to the church's staff as Minister of Christian Growth and Discipleship. Her work has expanded the ministry of our congregation through new small groups and programs, including a family-focused mid-week Advent opportunity that is coming up in December.
We hope to grow our music ministry to include more options for youth and children, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to put Bob Mollard's gifts as organist and choir director to good use.
You'll soon be hearing about a new outreach ministry that the Flashlight Band is developing and the Advertising Team is helping promote. The Property Team is up and running and our building is looking better and better. I smile every time I see that landscaping and new sidewalk, but I was not so thrilled about the recent sanctuary roof leak. I am glad, though, that we have people who are willing to oversee it's repair and the money in the bank to do the work. We have run out of room for Explorers' Club upstairs and had to move a class onto the main level this fall, and the youth ministry is thriving. The Congregational Life Team would like to offer more events for all ages. All this requires money-well-spent for salaries, equipment, child care, materials, utilities and mulch. I'm not kidding when I say the list could go on and on. I'm glad to have the opportunity to ask you to do more, I won't apologize for it, since it's an indication of a healthy ministry.
But, I'm even more intent on asking you to adopt a 100 percent attitude. God has gifted us with various treasures. Some can volunteer 10 hours each week, others can be here on Sunday for a couple hours. Some can write music and sing while others can care for children. Some can give 15 percent of their income, and some can give 5 percent. What ever you prayerfully decide, do it with an attitude of gratitude and boldness and intentionality showing your desire is to make serving the Lord a priority in your life. Multiply the value of what you have been given so that the Good News of Jesus Christ thrives. Say "Yes" to God and then listen for these words, "Well done, good and faithful servants!" AMEN