Christmas is over....is the giving?

Yesterday I got to teach at "Big People Church". This is a much different type of teaching for me. Usually I teach Jr. High and High School students using games, hands on activities, skits, and whatever else. This is how students generally learn. For whatever reason, adults like to sit quietly and listen to someone though. So, I decided to mix things up a bit. We used music, art, story, and then of course some quiet listening time. :)

Anyhow, I taught about giving. This was probably a pretty daring thing to teach on being it was only my second Big People sermon. God put it on my heart though-so I did it. That being said, I thought I'd post some notes on the sermon for those of you who'd like a review or who weren't able to make it.

The first part of the sermon won't work well in note form but I'll do my best to explain it to you. A former student of mine made two awesome canvas paintings during a song that was played. The first painting was of Mary and Joseph in the stable. The second painting was of Joseph outside of the stable crying out to God. Right after this we read a script called Joseph's Prayer by Max Lucado. It is a passionate plea to God for things to be different. In the end though, he thanks God for the stable and the inn-keeper and remembers that things could be much worse.

I've got to wonder if Joseph had a point though. Shouldn't God have come into the world in a more glamorous way? Well all know that He could have come in a different way, but I can also see a million reasons that He came the way He did. One of those is to show us what giving is all about.

You see, at Christmas time giving is on our minds. Unfortunately, because of how business has turned Christmas into a consumer holiday-spending is also on our minds. I'm not sure that this is what giving is supposed to look like though. Now, don't get me wrong-there is nothing wrong with spending money on other people. But it seems to me that we only do this around Christmas. I think the Bible paints a pretty great picture at what giving is supposed to look like.

Just take a look at the Christmas story in Luke 2. We get to see that Mary and Joseph were given a stable to have a baby in. Now, this isn't a great place to give birth by any means. But isn't it better than being on the streets? Tradition and oral history tells us that an inn-keeper didn't have any spots for Mary and Joseph, but rather than sending them away, he gave them this stable instead. What a great Christmas gift! (Not exactly the type of gift we're used to though, right?)
If you are a father, imagine watching your wife give birth in a barn. If you are a mother-imagine GIVING birth in a barn! Pleasant? Probably not. Better than the streets? Absolutely!

Now take a look at Mark 12. You've got this woman at the temple who puts two small coins into the offering while others are placing much more. Jesus points this out though and says to his disciples that this woman gave MORE than those around her because she gave what she had as opposed to giving out of her wealth!
Have you ever been in a situation when you wished that you could give but you just didn't feel like you had enough? Maybe it wasn't enough money, but maybe it wasn't enough time or patience or even talents. I think Mark 12 paints a picture of how wrong that is. Don't wait around until you have more. Be like this woman and give what you have NOW. She didn't wait to make more money before she put it in the offering, she just gave what she had when she had it.

I had a buddy in college who grew up in an extremely wealthy family. One semester he decided that God was calling him on a 6 month mission trip. This trip was going to be fairly expensive but those going were encouraged to ask for support from others to help pay their way. My buddy decided that he didn't want to call on strangers to pay his way because his parents could afford this many times over. One afternoon he called his father and told him what was going on. His fathers response shocked me-"Son, I give my 10% on the first Sunday of every year. I have nothing left to give to this sort of thing."
You see, his dad missed it. He missed God's call to give what you have. He thought 10% was "enough". He missed an opportunity to send someone to spread God's word to a city in need. He missed what giving really is.

If you give your 10% and call it a day and ignore how God is calling you to give outside of that-you are missing it! God doesn't call us to just give 10% of what we make. He calls us to give what we have!

Open up to Matthew 25. Feed the hungry. Give water to the thirsty. Take in the homeless. Visit those who are sick or in prison. These are all calls upon our lives to give. Are you giving like this? If you give your 10% and assume that it is going towards those things-you are missing it.

We have a family in our church-two sisters. They are wonderful and I consider them heros. A year or so ago they took the classes to become foster parents. They now have 4 wonderful girls-1 year, 2 years, 11 years, and 17 years. They have a small house. The girls share rooms, the living room is small and packed out with furniture so everyone has places to sit. One sister even recently moved into a different house so the girls would have more room. These two sisters get it. They get what giving is. They love these 4 girls with all their hearts. They are living the call to give what you have.

You see, we get to serve a God who gave everything He had for us. In return-all He asks of us is the same-to give what we have. God doesn't ask us to come up with more than what we have. He just asks us to be ready to give what we have.

In Luke 12, Jesus makes a bold statement. He tells his disciples to sell their possessions and give to the poor. Do you think you could do that? I know it would be extremely challenging for me.

Christmas is over. I'm pleading with you today that your giving will not be over. Each one of you has something to give. Will you give it?