Pastoral Letter 219

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,

Grace and peace to you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Last Sunday marked the 47^th Anniversary of the Uniting Church in Australia. Lane Cove Uniting folks joined us for our Combined Service on the occasion and praised God for all those who worked hard and established the Uniting Church 47 years ago. Members from both congregations took part in the service doing the Readings, Litany and Prayers. Our guest preacher Mr. Jim Mien AM gave the sermon titled “God is Still Building the Uniting Church in Australia”. Jim shared from his vast experience as a Uniting Church active member, who had served for many years on different levels as Moderator and Chairman of many School Boards and UCA Committees. He shared with us stories, he recalled the 22 June 1977, the Inaugural Worship Service as someone present and what the Uniting Church has done since its establishment, referring to the three Bible Readings. Thanks for all those who came from both congregations and joined us and those who participated. After the service we had Morning Tea and a time of good fellowship with our guest and the sisters and the brothers from Lane Cove Uniting.

We are just five weeks from our traditional annual Market Morning, which will be held on Saturday 3 August 2023, from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. Now it’s time to bring in our donations and let people around us know that we are happy to receive goods for Market Morning. I am sure that we will be able to get good results as usual and allocate some money for charitable purposes. Please be available the week commencing on Monday 29 July for setting up the hall. Our aim this year is “everything should go!”.

Please save and put in your diaries two important dates in August. The Documentary “The Golden Chain of Mercy” will be Premiered in Sydney, in Event Cinemas, Top Ryde, on the Opening Gala Night of the Armenian Film Festival, Friday 16 August 2024 7:00 pm. Then it will be rescreened, again in Top Ryde, on Sunday 25 August 2024 4:00 pm. We will have more details in the coming weeks. Our church, a small part from our Sunday worship and the voices of some of us is in the film. How about that? I am sure you all are excited to see the film. I am pleased to let you know that the UCA is actively on board and supporting this project.

Please continue to pray for those who are going through difficult and tough times, seeking God’s presence, help and healing and let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.

If you are not able to join us tomorrow for worship, please light a candle and worship with us following to the attached Order of Service.

Here are some prayer points for this week:

1. Pray for the Uniting Church in Australia seeking God’s help as He continues to build His Church.
2. Pray for the UCA 17^th Assembly to be held 11-16 July in Sydney.
3. Pray for the sick. Especially for Virginia, Robyn, Juliana and those who are not well physically or emotionally.
4. Pray for the refugees and victims of disasters, abuse and war.
5. Pray for world peace, especially for the Middle East, Palestine and Israel.
6. Pray for the Artsakh refugees in different parts of Armenia facing many challenges.
7. Pray for the days ahead and the uncertainties that we have.
8. Pray for the Documentary Project and its successful outcome.

Best Regards

In Christ

Krikor

MESSAGE

Give Generously

2 Corinthians 8:1-15, Mark 12:41-44

People don’t want to talk much about giving. It does not mean that they don’t want to give or like to give. They can say that they have given enough to God and to those who are in need. They give their time, trying the best they can in the support they provide for the mission of the church. They raise funds to support and help the needy, they allocate some of the profits they make for certain projects, they collect food, they give for a good cause, and they bring their offerings every Sunday. And because they do all this, they think they don’t need to hear more about giving, even one Sunday of the year when they hear a sermon on the joys and benefits of giving and how they can be cheerful givers.

The church should be willing to hear about stewardship because there is a need, and they are invited to bring their share for the spread of the Good News.

Did you know that of the 39 parables Jesus told, 11 (some say 16) of them are related to money? What would happen if every sixth Sunday we came to church, and I preached a sermon on money? It wouldn’t be very long before you would call a special Congregational meeting asking for something to be done.

But that is exactly what Jesus did in the gospels. In fact, Jesus spoke more about money than He did about heaven, or hell, or salvation, or repentance. Even when someone asked Him what shall I do to inherit the eternal life? His answer was simple and strait forward: “Sell all you have and give it to the poor”. Perhaps Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said: “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also” (Matthew 6:21).

Giving and talking about money in church doesn’t have to be painful. We recognise its importance because Jesus recognised its importance.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul highlights three important principles that should guide our lives as we seek to glorify God in all that we do. He wrote to the church in Corinth as an encouragement for them to give to the offering that was being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem. It is evident that when Paul had last visited them, there had been discussion about the possibility of a gift for the Jerusalem Christians. It is not clear if Paul doubted the Corinthian commitment to the cause, or if he just wanted to ensure that he had not laboured in vain in that field. Either way, Paul reminded the Corinthians that:

1. Giving should be guided by grace

According to Paul giving is the way to participate with God in His Kingdom. God provides us the means to give, so that in our giving we might share His blessings with others. The most amazing thing to me is to think that the God who created the universe, who holds the stars in place, and commands the waters of the oceans, expects from us to provide for the needs of the poor and those who suffer.

Notice that Paul nowhere mentions tithing. Tithing is the biblical standard that we should seek to meet as we plan our giving. Tithing is explicit or specific in the Old Testament, and it is implicit or indirect in the teaching of Jesus in the New Testament. To argue otherwise is to argue against the plain meaning of Scripture. The tithe literally means giving to God 10% of our income.

But we could say: “We live under grace not law”. Yes, we do, and that is why we look to Paul, who has been called the apostle of grace, to find some help. Living under grace is actually the foundation for giving. It is grace that led the Macedonians to give beyond their ability. So, we give because we have experienced God’s grace in receiving.

The hand that is open to give is also open to receive. The opposite is also true. The hand that is closed cannot receive the infinite treasure that God longs to give.

2. Giving should flow out of what we have, not what we don’t

That’s exactly what Paul told the Corinthians. God wants us to give what we have, not what we don’t have. The simple truth is that if we don’t give with the little we have, we are not going to give if we have much. Our faithfulness is never measured by the size of the gift, but rather by the size of the sacrifice.

In our gospel reading we see Jesus and His disciples sitting outside the Temple watching the folks passing by to drop their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two copper coins, a fraction of a penny. Jesus said to His disciples: “This poor woman has put in more than all the rest have given. They gave out of their abundance, but she has given everything she had.”

According to statistics, the poorest households give 5.5% of their income to charity. The wealthiest households give only 2.9%.

The woman in our text is never named in the Bible. There are only two accounts of her act given in the New Testament. She is mentioned here and in Luke 21 and both chapters give her story in only four verses. The scene is at the Temple where Jesus made it His custom to go. Let us look for a few minutes at this passage and notice several things.

First, about God, second, about the attenders, and third, about the Woman

A. Few things about God – vs. 41 – 44

1. God is interested in our giving. God has given us so much in time, talents, and money and He wants to see what we do with what He has given us. He is interested in our giving because when it is done right, it is an act of worship.

2. God is more interested in the attitudes and motives than He is in the gift itself. We really cannot give God anything because He owns it all, but we can give in the sense of returning to God what He has given to us.

3. God is interested in our sacrifice to Him. This woman gave two coins about 2/5 of a cent in our money today and was praised by the Lord for her gift over the others who came and gave much more. Why? Because God saw in her gift something that He didn’t see in other people’s gifts. He saw real sacrifice and selflessness. God is not interested so much in what we give as He is in what we keep back for ourselves. She held back none. God is interested in our sacrifice to Him.

4. God does not expect all to give the same. God does not expect the poor and the rich to give the same. The woman in our text did not give as much as the others who did.

5. God praised her for the generous offering – He praised her. She went away never knowing that the Saviour had seen her deed, made the comment about it, and would put it in the Scriptures for all to see.

B. Few things about the people – vs. 41

1. The rich were very generous and gave much. They were not rebuked for their giving. He did not put them down for what they gave so much as put the woman up for what she gave. It was as if He praised their offering but praised her offering more. It seems all brought an offering too which is commendable.

2. The rich were not too busy to attend the Temple. They did not use business as an excuse to stay away from church. They were not so lazy that they felt they needed to stay home and sleep in. In spite of their busy lives, they were at the right place at the right time for the right purpose.

3. They were givers and not just getters. We have taught our children the thrill of getting. We do this at Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, and for good grades and achievements. Many have never grown away from the excitement of getting and never experienced the thrill of giving.

C. Few things about the woman – vs. 42 and 44

1. She is more interested in God and others than herself. This was very rare then and is very rare now. She knew that most of the money given in that Temple offering would be given to the poor. She could have said as many do, “I need it as much as they do“.

2. She is completely unselfish in that she had two coins to give and could have kept one for herself. If she had only one coin, then the decision would have been simple. She could have given it or kept it. But she had two coins, and the choice was greater. She could have kept them. She could have given one and kept one, or she could have given both. She gave both.

3. She demonstrated great faith in God. She trusted God to stand by her and meet her every need.

4. She gave her all and in so doing, her deed has in it the spirit of the cross. Jesus gave His all and so did this woman. He gave His life and in a way she did too.

5. She might have given the way that she did because she knew of no other was to serve God. Maybe it was her only way. This was her only way to help. She could give.

God blessed this woman. In this one act she showed herself to be more of a disciple of the Lord than many of the great men of the faith who have had their names shined across the pages of history. God took note of what she did, and God takes note of us. Of one thing I am sure, I do not believe this woman starved. God takes care of his own.

3. Giving should be an act of worship

Paul tells the Corinthians in verse 5 that the Macedonians “gave themselves first to the Lord.” Our giving will never be what it should be until we have first given ourselves completely to God. I am reminded of the words of the old hymn “I Surrender Lord … I give you all.” Also, the words of the hymn “Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee. Take my silver and my gold, nothing, Lord, would I withhold”.

Giving guided by grace, giving that flows out of what we have, not what we don’t, and giving as an act of worship will honour and glorify God. Jesu said: “They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on”. She kept nothing. She gave everything she had with joy and a thankful attitude. She gave generously.

Let us be cheerful and generous givers.

Amen!