Readings (click here for full text of the readings):
   Amos 5:6-7(10-15); Psalm 90; Hebrews 3:1-6; Mark 10:17-31

Note: This sermon was preached from an outline, and thus it may be somewhat difficult to get the full gist of it from the notes that follow.

Sell everything you have and give it to the poor

• He didn’t mean that
• He couldn’t have meant that!
• Then another doozie
• “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
• Trust me, I was in Africa: this camel going through the eye through the eye of a needle just isn’t going to happen.

• Jesus wasn’t being literal about it
• Right after the camel line: “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
• But we have to admit that it’s pretty darn hard for a rich person to get to heaven
• And Jesus did tell the man who seemed to be keeping every other commandment to sell everything he had and give it to the poor
• I’m not poor
• I don’t make millions of dollars a year, like professional athletes and CEOs do
• Average yearly income for a citizen of the poorest 20 nations in the world: $211
• Even if we’re middle class in the United States, we’re among the richest in the world
• We could just ignore that one commandment and hope nobody notices
• We could point to all the commandments we do keep: like not killing and not committing adultery and listening to our mom when she tells us what to do
• But then we seem an awful lot like the guy in today’s gospel who came up to Jesus and got more than he bargained for
• We could come up with some pretty darn good excuses
• Jesus was talking to a single guy who didn’t have a family to support
• People depend on us
• Maybe they thought the end of the world was on its way, so there was no need to plan for retirement
• Or we could do it

• What is stewardship?
• “All that you do with all that you have, after you say, ‘I believe.’”
• So it’s clear that stewardship isn’t all about money
• It’s about listening to God, and giving of yourself
• Average household in U.S. gives ~3% of its income to charity
• But households that attend church at least once a month give more than twice as much as households that don’t
• We may not be giving everything to the poor, but we are listening
• And what ways are there to give at St. Paul’s?
• Worship
• Choir: 2 new members
• Parts of the service: lector, intercessor, chalice bearer, lay eucharistic minister
• Liturgy committee
• 5^th Sunday ideas
• Behind the scenes
• Bulletins and epistle: Pat, Penny, and Jeanne
• Merry Maids
• Coffee hour & Soup ministry: Cricket
• Bread, Word, and Song: Bob Biegen
• Flower guild: Lenore
• Making things happen
• Painting the doors that need painting
• “Welcoming committee”
• Will be talking about evangelism as we go along
• But stewardship also has to do with money
• I don’t care about the bottom line
• Said it so many times last year, people probably got sick of me saying it
• We had faith
• Vestry courageously and unanimously passed a resolution
• Recognizing that tithing is the Scriptural goal, we commit to proportional giving.
• What is tithing?
• 10% of your income
• “A tithe of all you produce is the Lord’s and it is holy.” (Lev. 27:30)
• What is proportional giving?
• We prioritize certain things: rent, food, etc.
• Sometimes we leave God and God’s children in need only what’s left over
• Proportional giving is a statement that we put God first, and trust that everything else will work out
• “The purpose of tithing is to teach you to put God first place in your life” (Deut. 14:23 (LB))
• Pam and I committed to tithing, because we couldn’t ask anyone to do something we weren’t willing to do
• The result?
• After a decade of deficit budgets, St. Paul’s had a budget in the black
• And we’re looking at a respectable surplus on the budget this year
• Cause for thanks
• Not cause for resting on our laurels
• It’s great to pay the bills
• But there’s more to life than making it from month to month
• This year
• Pam and I make same commitment
• Vestry again unanimously affirmed tithing as the Scriptural goal, and committed to proportional giving
• And today I’m asking you to do the same
• NO pledge cards today (although that’s a smart idea)
• Hit ’em up right away
• Asking you to go home and pray, and listen, and figure out what God is calling you to do
• “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  (2 Corinthians 9:7)
• The pledge cards will come in due time, and I would ask that you prayerfully consider them, but prayer has to come first
• As you consider, remember this
• There are many ways to contribute to St. Paul’s, as we’ve talked about
• Consider becoming a part of the various ministries here at St. Paul’s
• There are a lot of worthy causes to contribute to, St. Paul’s being one of many
• Pam and I tithe on our St. Paul’s salary to St. Paul’s, and from my other jobs to other charitable causes, as well
• What does St. Paul’s do with the pledges we receive?
• Keep things working here
• Buy supplies
• Pay salaries
• Fix the roof when it needs fixing
• Figure out what to do with the organ
• And so it goes back to the basic question: Is St. Paul’s important to you?

• Things we need to do
• We need to practice what we preach, and trust in God
• Tithing on our pledges, without thought of the bottom line
• We’re the rich ones
• 1970: average person in top-20 country: ~20 times
• 2000: average person in top-20 country: 130 times
• St. Paul’s ministry
• Also, adopt a missionary?
• Kellermanns?
• Mention their visit
• We need to recognize the important contributions that people make, and support them in their ministries
• Judy
• Aggie
• We need to trust
• I don’t care about the bottom line
• We have to have faith, because if we don’t have faith, we don’t have any business being here in the first place
• If we have faith, and if we listen to God’s voice, no matter how hard it might be to hear what he’s saying, then, as Julian of Norwich said
• “All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well."

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