November 12, 2023 – Stewardship Sunday Texts: Readings of the Day
Dear Friends in Christ,
For a number of years, a local grocery store chain sent us a free coupon for Dawn. Every month or so we would get our dishwashing liquid. We had quite a build-up under our sink. One year all of our extended family got a thing of Dawn. With this abundance it was easy to put an extra squirt in the dishwater. We have two left under the sink, the natural inclination is to be a little stingy going forward, because it will be free no more.
This is what faces Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Easier to give in abundance, but now that we have a recession and tough economy . . . well, you’ll see in the rest of the sermon.
You always get honesty from your Pastor. I’m not crazy about giving this sermon, but since just a portion come to our voter’s meeting it is important that everyone knows what is happening. This is the one item that stresses me and keeps me up at night. I have never prayed more about a sermon and God’s direction than this one. But the Lord and his disciples talked a lot about finances, it is all over the Bible and a Shepherd who knows some of you longer than I have known Holden should let the sheep know what is going on. There will be pain, joy, laughter and probably the longest sermon I have preached in years.
Today we consider our mutual support for this congregation’s existence and the mission for our Lord Jesus Christ.
“GIVING TO THE OWNER”
I have stated at the last two voter’s meetings the biggest short-term and long-term challenge is our mortgage. It always has been. First, a brief history lesson. In 1999 the church had a historic vote – a 1.4 million, a 1.8 million, or a 2.2 million dollar church. The vote was for the 1.8 million dollar plan. Cost overruns pushed this to 2 million. We started the 25 year mortgage in 2000. Should be paid off in two years. To get lower payments, which we needed, we have refinanced twice, the last in 2010. That pushes the loan to 2035.
We are not here to argue the wisdom of past decisions. In our Collect of the Day, our church groundbreaking prayer, we prayed that this church would be “successfully completed to the good of your people.” We intend, with God’s help to honor that commitment.
You hear me say all the time that Karson and Holden are God’s children. He has allowed us to be their parents. Our finances are the same thing. They belong to God. We don’t really own anything. Somebody once said, “It is difficult to save money when your neighbors keep buying things you can’t afford.” While parts of the economy have moderated, our homes have not because of the ridiculous prices people have been paying the last couple of years. I get it. But I also get this. When you are standing next to a casket looking down at the person who was once alive and vibrant, the reality sets in that they don’t even own the ability to dress themselves or comb their hair. So much for ownership.
God owns everything. We are merely stewards of what he has loaned us. He entrusts things to us to use for His glory.
Let’s remember our blessings. A new sanctuary furnace, stained glass windows, pipe burst clean-up, elevator repair and new windows and doors just in the last two years. But above and beyond that is the greatest blessing we possess. God owns us. From baptism on we are his child. He has taken away our sin and forgives us through Christ. He feeds us His Holy Supper that strengthens us for the tough choices and upheavals of life. We don’t fear death and decay because we know what is on the other side of the grave.
We are set apart for work in the Lord’s Kingdom. Through faith in Christ God owns you and me. God owns this place we call Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and those that gather here. He has entrusted this place and one another to us. This is your church.
No one group is going to take care of this church, determine the heat in winter or what to give to missions. No one else is going to determine our spiritual direction or how to pay the mortgage – nobody is going to take care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Bloomington IL but the members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Bloomington IL. No outside organization or government funded agency is going to step in and do what we must do for the glory of Christ and to witness for Him. God has placed this wonderful responsibility on to each of us sitting in the pews this morning.
So Pastor, what’s the plan? It is in our Scripture readings for this morning. In our Old Testament God’s people brought forth the firstfruits and the tithe, not the leftovers, for the work of the church. The tithe in our Adult and Junior Confirmation classes is explained this way. We return 10% back to God. The formula is easy. What you make before taxes divided by 10 is the yearly tithe. You can then divide that by 52 and that breaks it down weekly. In the Bible, the offering is actually what is above and beyond the tithe. In the Epistle, the Macedonians, who had affliction and poverty, gave with joy “in a wealth of generosity.” Our motivation to do all this is in our Gospel. Jesus breathed his last for us. The temple curtain was torn in two which brought us back to God. “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Our church is pretty consistent and has been for years. We normally meet our budget by the end of the year, but because some gifts are given at the beginning of the year, including our loan rebate, and some are given at the end of the year we struggle in the middle, usually around the end of July to Christmas. This year has been a little worse. I hold my checks to pay other bills, which is my choice, because I don’t add a finance charge.
The big question, what are we going to do with God’s help? You called the right man. Finances are a passion. I was the bookkeeper for dad’s business, so I have experience with not always having money. I don’t know another LCMS Pastor who is as involved as this one. I love this church. I love all of you. This is my servant nature. The other thing is I am competitive. Toni says I am competing against our mortgage. She’s right. We are not going to lose. You called me to preach and administer the Sacraments. Along with that you got a young man who brings soft toilet paper and a gift for finance. In the last recession, I spread every bill out on the conference table. Recommendations were made and we cut $25,000 from the budget. This budget is as lean as it can be. Do you realize we pay, just as an example, $2500 a year for water, when all we do is flush a few toilets and drink a little water. Ridiculous but true. We have to have stormwater coverage and big pipe for our sprinkler system.
All of this effects our ministry. I can’t tell you how many things are taken care of by members apart from the budget. Thank you.
God has also placed a man on the inside, again, your Pastor. Do you see His hand in all this? Your Shepherd is on the Church Extension Fund Board fighting for our loan and our rebate.
The math is simple. We need $5,000-$6,000 a week to meet budget. We have 50 giving units. If those units give $5,000-$6,000 a year we are fine. Luther wrote in our confession today that we shouldn’t be selfish and that we help others. That is what a church does. Those of us blessed help those who struggle to reach our goal.
Hang on, we are just about done. There is a plan I want to lay out for you. Our loan payoff right now is April 2035. I am 58. Lord willing, I plan to work until 67 and retire in December 2032. The greatest gift we can give the Pastor that follows is to have this loan paid off. The Council approved this next thing. A thank offering for August 2025, which will be our 25th year in this wonderful church. This gives everyone time to plan. Like Paul writes in our Epistle, “I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift.”
Everything belongs to God. He is in charge. Be in prayer. He will continue to bless. Now we know and may the Holy Spirit lead us in GIVING TO THE OWNER.
AMEN.