Miracle on 34th Street

Today marks the beginning of Advent and the word Advent means coming and while it is the season when we see the coming darkness of winter; this needs to be the season when we focus on the coming light of Jesus.  We need the light of Christ to lift our hearts and lives above the darkness we so often feel and we need the light of Christ to lift us up from the bitterness and division which we have seen these past few months.  Since the campaign season and elections were stressful times, we decided to take a light hearted approach to Advent and focus on the light of Jesus by looking at something we hope everyone enjoys – Christmas movies.  While we each might have our favorite movie, my hope is that we can find unity and joy as we look at four of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time.  So over the next 4 weeks we are going to put aside all political divisions and join together as a family around movies that point us to the real meaning of Christmas which of course is Jesus.

This week our focus is on a movie that is considered by most people to be the #1 Christmas movie of all time - Miracle on 34th Street.  It was released in 1947 and interestingly enough it wasn’t released in theaters at Christmas time but during the summer.  It won 4 Academy Awards and you’ll be glad to know that one of those awards went to Kris Kringle himself.  What makes this a wonderful movie isn’t that it focuses on Christmas but on the rediscovery of faith and hope and in very clear and powerful ways points us directly to the Christ Child.  The movie begins with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade needing a new Santa for the float and in walks Kris Kringle.  (movie clip 1)

Doris Walker is responsible for making the parade happen and when she needs a new Santa, she hires Kris Kringle.  Kris does such a great job in the parade, they hire him to be Santa in the Macy’s department store on 34th Street in NYC.  What we need to know about Doris is that she doesn’t believe in Santa, the truth is she doesn’t believe in much.  A bitter divorce reminded her that there are no fairy tales and there is no prince charming and so she has lost much of her faith in people and in the goodness of life.  Doris is a harsh realist who sees the world through her intellect and common sense.

Doris represents many people today who also approach the world only through their scientific intellect.  If it doesn’t make sense and if it can’t be proved then it can’t be possible.  While some people might naturally be more logical in how they approach the world, we call these “left brain” people, in many ways our world has become more rational and scientific.  Faith and religion are often pushed aside and with it goes the hope that comes when we believe in something larger than ourselves and our reason.  When we are ruled by common sense alone, we lose the truth that God created us in love and that the power of God’s love is still a force of goodness that we can tap into.  

A classic example of this kind of a person was a professor I had in college.  He had worked as an anthropologist and had travelled all over the world and been part of some amazing discovers.  He was on the archeological dig in Ethiopia where they discovered the bones of Lucy, the oldest living human remains found, and yet he was very clear that he did not believe in God.  I wrote a note on one of my exam papers asking how he could have seen all these amazing things and yet not believe in God.  He replied, I have seen some amazing things like poverty, injustice, violence, suffering and death.  After seeing all of this, you tell me how there can be a God.   Many people today say the same thing.  Whether it is the problems of the world or the problems of our lives like the hurt, disappointment and failure we have felt from those we loved, many people have shut themselves off to the hope that life can be good and that God is real and with us.  They only look at the world through common sense and what can be seen and proved.

Doris has raised her little girl Susan to look at life the same way.

Susan doesn’t believe in Santa or much of anything, but she has taken to a neighbor named Fred Gailey who sees the world through a very different set of eyes.

Fred sees the good in people and he has hope for the future.  Fred has faith and believes in more than what the eye can see.  The Bible defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen, and Fed has faith.  Fred has faith that Kris Kringle might be more than meets the eye and so Fred is the lawyer who ends up defending Kris in a trial that becomes the centerpiece of the movie.   Kris goes on trial because he has claimed to be Santa Claus and in this scene we see the two world views of Doris and Fred collide and through them we see the very different ways people see the world.  (movie clip 2)

Doris can’t believe in things if they don’t make any sense.  She is all about what is rational, reasonable and scientific.  As she said, it is not a question of faith but common sense.  Fred, on the other hand has faith, he believes in things even when common sense tells him not to.  Fred sees the world through the lovely intangibles of kindness, joy and love – things that are attractive to Doris but unrealistic.

Many people in our world today might say we can’t build our lives around the lovely intangibles of kindness, joy and love.  Do you know what these intangibles are?  According to the Bible they are the fruit of God’s Spirit.  Galatians 5:23.  The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  These are the things Fred believes in, trusts in and has built is life upon and he follows these things even when common sense tells him not to.   These are the lovely intangibles we have to have when we come to the real Christmas story of Jesus because without them, the story makes no sense.

Logically, the story of Christmas makes no sense.  Common sense tells us that a baby cannot be born to a virgin girl.  God coming into the world as a human being is not logical.  How does that even happen?  How does the full power of God confine itself to flesh and blood?  Common sense would tell us this doesn’t happen.  And besides, if God was going to come into the world wouldn’t God share this news through a heavenly hosts of angels to all the influential and powerful leaders of the world and not a bunch of outcast shepherds scattered across the fields of Bethlehem?  There is no common sense in the real Christmas story, the story of Jesus birth only makes sense if we will embrace the intangible of love and believe that there is something bigger than what we can see and greater than what we can imagine – a God who loves us.

To make sense of the Christmas Story we have to see the world through the lovely intangibles that come from the Spirit of God and the only way this happens is if we allow ourselves to get close to God and open ourselves up to the God who sends this spirit and came to walk with us in the flesh and blood of his son.  Can we open our hearts to the God who loves us so much that he doesn’t leave us in darkness but sends His light into the world?  When we begin to open ourselves up to God we begin to find hope and hope is what opens our eyes so that we can see the power of kindness, joy and love.  When we open the door to God we see with new eyes that the child born in Bethlehem is truly the son of God and the Savior of the world.

In time, Doris’ life changed because she opened her heart to Kris Kringle and she comes to believe in him through the persistent love of her daughter Susan, her friend Fred and through Kris himself.

 What transforms her heart and what transforms our hearts so that we can find hope is the persistent love of others and the amazing love of God.  When we get to that place where we can say to God, I believe in you – life changes.  When we take this single step of faith, hearts are transformed and hope is born.  Doris believes in Kris and her life is changed, when we believe in Christ our eyes are opened and our lives are changes so that we desire to have our worlds built on the lovely intangibles of God’s spirit and the values of God’s kingdom.

So the miracle on 34th Street is the miracle of hope being born in Doris and the lovely intangibles of God’s spirit coming into the world through a man called Kris Kringle.   In the moive, Kris Kringle is the one who changes everything and when people believe in him their eyes and hearts are opened and they begin to live a new way.  Kris Kringle is not just Santa Claus but the symbol of Jesus Christ because it is Jesus who changes everything and it is Jesus who brings hope into our world and the fruit of God’s spirit into our lives.  Kris Kringle is the Christ Child and the name Kris Kringle actually means Christ Child.


The name Kris Kringle comes from the word Christkindl which means Christ Child.  Let’s go back and take a quick look at the history of Santa Clause.  The name Santa Claus comes from the words Saint Nicolas who was the Bishop of Myra in the 4th century.  Nicholas was known for his secret gift giving and later became a saint of the church and his practice of giving gifts continued and people honored him by secretly giving gifts to others on the feast day given to him in December.  One story I read about St. Nicholas was that he would take coins and hide them in stockings or pieces of cloth and toss them in open windows so that they would be found by chidlren in the morning.  Now I understand why there was always a silver half dollar in the toe of my stocking every Christmas.  Thanks Mom and Dad.

In the Dutch language,  Saint Nicholas became Sinterklaas which became Santa Claus and the story of this gift giving man continued strong until the protestant reformation.  Martin Luther thought too much focus was being given to the Saint and not to Jesus so he tried to shift the focus from Sinterklass to Christkindle or from Santa Claus to the Christ Child.  Luther was trying to keep Christ in Christmas (sound familiar) and so Christkindle became the focus and in time that world became Kris Kringle.

So Kris Kringle is just another name for the Christ child and  in the movie Kris Kringle is the symbol of Jesus Christ.  In the movie, the first thing Kris did was change the values of the world by promoting love and putting children before greed.  This is what Jesus did when he talked about love and grace coming before power and position.  Jesus message was that the first will be last and the last shall be first and Jesus used a child to say this.  This is what Kris was saying.

Kris could also see the potential and the good in people and worked to bring that potential out.  He didn’t just do this for Doris, he changed the lives of Mr. Macy and Mr. Gimble and other retail leaders by changing the values of their business.  This is what Jesus did as well.  Jesus took fisherman and tax collectors and saw potential leaders who could change the world.  Jesus saw value in widows, prostitutes and children and honored them with his time, love and blessing.  Jesus changed hearts and he changed the values of the world.

It’s also clear to see Jesus in Kris Kringle when we look at how Kris was treated by the world.  Some people thought Kris was crazy, just like the religious said of Jesus.  Kris was false accused, just like Jesus.  Kris went to trial, just like Jesus.  Kris’ love changed people’s hearts, just like Jesus and his presence gave people hope – just like Jesus.  Kris Kringle points us to Jesus Christ and so the movie is so much more than just a heartwarming story of a little girl and her mother, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ – it proclaims that hope comes when we aren’t ruled by common sense and reason alone but start to believe in the Christ Child.

As we begin this Advent season let’s ask ourselves who Kris Kringle is today.  The simple answer to that is that we are.  We are Kris Kringle.  We are Santa Claus and St. Nicholas because we are the presence of the Christ Child in the world and we are the men and women whose life and love and faith needs to bring hope to others.  When we live so close to God that his spirit dwells within us and the fruit of God’s spirit, or as Fred Gaily would say, the lovely intangibles of kindness, joy and love, are evident in our lives then we will be the light that will lead others into the fullness of life that is only found in Christ.

Without us being the presence of Jesus and bringing the light of Christ into the world, Christmas is just a season where we overindulge in food, candy, cookies and gifts but when allow Christ into our lives and through us into the world, this season is one of hope and possibility.  Will we be Kris Kringle, the Christ Child and during these next four weeks help turn things around?  The Miracle on 34th Street begins on Thanksgiving Day and ends on Christmas Eve and a lot happened during those 4 weeks.  A lot can still happen in four weeks.   A lot can still happen if we will give ourselves to being the light of Christ.  Let the miracle of hope continue in us and in this season of Advent.   
Next Steps
Miracle on 34th Street

1.  Each day this week, allow the light of God’s word to shine into your life.  Reflect on how hope is seen in these passages.
• Hebrews 11:1-6
• Isaiah 9:2-7
• Luke 1:5-20
• Luke 1:26-38
• Luke 1:36-45
• Matthew 1:18-25

2.  Galatians 5 says the fruit of God’s spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  In what way do these lovely intangibles guide your view of the world?  Which fruit do you need to ask God to bring forth in your life?  Ask God to do that during this Advent Season.

3. Identify at least 4 ways you and your family can be Kris Kringle (the Christ Child) over the next four weeks.  Let these goals guide your plans and activities leading up to Christmas.
1. _________________________________________
2. _________________________________________
3. _________________________________________
4. _________________________________________

4. Prepare for next Sunday by watching the holiday classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  (It will be shown as part of our family movie night Sunday evening at 6 PM.)

How Will You Measure Your Life? Who You Serve

For the past two weeks we have been talking about how we want our lives to be measured.  It’s important to think about this because how we are living today and the priorities we set today will determine how we will be remembered by others and how we will be measured by God in the future.  The first week we talked about the importance of spending our time loving others and giving ourselves to acts of love and kindness.  We gave out little cards as a reminder to do 2 acts of love each week so that a year from now we can measure ourselves by the love we have shared.

Last week we talked about how our lives need to be measured not by what we earn and accumulate in life but by what we are willing to give.  We need to give our money and time and talents and energy to God and others and when we live this way we will come to the end of life and hear God say, Well done my good and faithful servant.  Others will also remember us not by what we have amassed during our lives but by the difference we have made by giving ourselves to God and others.  

God not only measures how we use the resources of time and wealth that he has given us, but God also measures how we use the power we have been given.  Power is the influence we have in the lives of others and like money, power is neither good nor bad, but can be used for good or evil.   When we use our power for good we are lifting others up and helping them, when we use our power for evil we are just trying to be in control and have things our way.  While we often just think about power in politics and in our national leaders,  power can be seen in every one, old and young.

Children are experts at using their power to be in control and get their own way, ask any parent of a toddler.  What’s amazing is that children aren’t taught this, it’s just there in them which this quest for power and control is in all of us.  My Mom talks about how I used my power to control my sisters when I was young.  My Mom would put me in a playpen where I would immediately toss out all my toys and then sit down and cry.  My sisters would feel sorry for me so come in and put all the toys back into the playpen.  I would wait until they left the room and then I would throw them all out of the playpen and cry until they came back and served me again.  Apparently I got very good at doing this and could do this for quite some time.  While my Mom but a good spin on this and said I was teasing my sisters, the truth was I was using my power to control them and get them to do what I wanted them to do.  Somewhere along the line my sisters started using their power and stopped doing everything I wanted because today when I sit and cry because I don’t get my way they just ignore me.

While this might be a comical example of children using their power, much of what we see in children and youth is not funny at all.  Bullying is an abuse of power.  When some children use their position and influence to put others down, it is an abuse of power.  Bullying doesn’t stop when we leave school, however, hostile work environments are an abuse of power.  The horrible ways people talk about others on social media is an abuse of power and at some point in time we will all be measured by how we use the power we have been given.

The issue of power was clearly addressed by Jesus when his disciples came to him seeking positions of power and authority.  Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem at the time of the Passover and while Jesus knew he is going to Jerusalem to give up his life for others and carry a cross, his disciples were thinking that Jesus was going there to becoming a political leader and maybe even a king.  As they walked along the road, James and John, two of the first followers of Jesus, who had been with him from the beginning and saw all the ways Jesus served others, asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hand when he came to power.  Mark 10:35-45

What James and John want is power.  They want to be in charge and have control.  It’s like they are asking Jesus for the top positions in the cabinet Jesus is going to form. Even though Jesus had always talked about sacrifice, serving others and denying ourselves and the disciples had clearly seen Jesus building a kingdom where he gathered together the outcasts and sinners, the disciples still wanted worldly power.  While Jesus talked about loving others, the disciples still wanted to be in charge of others.  This is the struggle we all face.  We know what Jesus says about how we should love sacrificially and live for others first, but we still want to be in charge and have control and have all our needs met.  As this battle rages within us; which force will win?  Will we seek positions where we can use our power to control others or will we humble ourselves and use our power to serve others?  How will we measure our lives?

Jesus is clear that our lives need to be measured by how and who we serve.  Look again at Mark 10:43 – whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  Our lives need to be measured by serving people and helping people and putting the needs of others before our own and Jesus used three powerful illustrations to make this point and the first one was a child.

Earlier in Mark, children being brought to Jesus so he could bless them and children in Jesus day were not honored and revered the way they are today.  Children had no social power or position so spending time with them was seen as a waste.  The disciples saw what was going on and tried to keep the children away from Jesus because he had better things to do.  But Jesus rebuked his disciples.  Mark 10:13-16.

So Jesus used a child to show us that our lives will be measured by how we use our power.  When we use our power and position and influence to bless others we are commended, when we use our power to control others or keep others in their place, we are condemned.  Jesus used his power to help and save others and Jesus calls us to use our power the same way.

The second illustration Jesus used to talk about how we need to use our power was a towel.  At the Passover meal the disciples had all gathered together and there were no servants on hand to wash people’s feet and none of the disciples wanted to do this job either, so Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, wrapped a towel around his waist and started washing the feet of his disciples.  Our lives need to be measured by how we serve others.  Providing shoebox gifts to children around the world is one way we are doing this.  Feeding the hungry in our community and making sure people have food for Christmas is one we are doing this.  The towel needs to be the measure of our lives.  Will we humble ourselves and use the power God has given us to serve.  Sometimes service is messy, inconvenient and challenging, but it is the measure God uses.

The last symbol of how we need to use our power is the bread and cup.  Jesus didn’t just bless children and serve others he was willing to give up all his earthly power and his life in order to forgive and save.  What would it look like for us to measure our lives not just by service but by sacrifice?  What are willing to give up and go without so that others can have life and feel loved and know the full measure of God’s love and kingdom?

A child, a towel and the bread and cup need to be the measurements we use in evaluating our lives.  Are we reaching out to the least and last are lost?  Are we serving the needs of people in our community?  Are we sacrificing what we have and who we are so that others can live?  This is the measure God uses in our lives and we hear this in the parable of the sheep and the goats.

This parable often leads to questions about our salvation.  Are we saved by what we do or are we saved by grace through faith in Christ alone?  Let me say clearly that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  Salvation is not earned it is a gift, but our faith in Christ can be measured and seen in how we live.  If we truly believe in Jesus then it means we will strive to live our lives the way Jesus did and we will serve the way Jesus served.  We aren’t saved by our service but our faith can be measured through our service.  With that in mind, let’s look at this parable of Jesus.
Matthew 25:31-46.

Jesus shows us that our lives will be measured by how we serve.  Did we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and welcome the stranger?  Did we care for the sick and visit those in prison?  Our lives will be measured by how we use our power to do these things, to serve others.  If we can’t look to specific times and places in our lives and say – this is how I served, then we need to start serving.  If we can’t identify how we lift up those who are forgotten in our society or how we take up a towel and serve others or sacrifice for others, then we need to re-evaluate our lives so that we are giving ourselves to the things that matter the most.  It’s not too late for any of us to change our priorities and start serving and this season of the year is the best time to find specific times and places and people to serve.  Trust me, there are people all around us who are in need and if we will open our eyes and ears and hearts God will show us the people God wants us to serve.

So our lives will be measured
How we love
What we give
Who we serve
Which means these are the things we need to give ourselves to and these need to be a priority in our lives and today is the day to start.  I am not sure that I will ever do a series like this again because in the past 3 weeks as we have been talking about the measure of our lives I have done 6 funerals.  It certainly has put all of this into perspective.  None of us knows how much time we get in life.  None of us knows when our lives might be over and when we will be standing before God.  When that time comes, how will we measure up?  Will God be able to see all the people that we loved?  Will God be able to see all the ways we gave our money, time and resources back to him?  Will God be able to point out the people we served?  How will we measure up?  How we are living today will not only determine what people will be saying about us later, but it will be how God will measure our lives at the end.  So let us commit our lives today to loving and giving and serving all in the name and in the love of God and in the power of Jesus.



Next Steps
How will you measure your life?  Who you serve.


Jesus used three illustrations to talk about serving others: a child, a towel and the bread and cup.

1.  A Child
Identify those in our community who have no voice, no respect and no standing.  In what ways can you bless them?

2.  A Towel
Identify an immediate need in your family, friends, church or community.  What can you do this week or through the upcoming Christmas Season to meet that need?

3.  The Bread and Cup
In the areas of service you have already identified, how might God be calling you to not just serve but to sacrifice?

4. Read the parable of the sheep and the goats found in Matthew 25:31-46.  Jesus said we will be measured by:
• Giving food to the hungry
• Giving water to the thirsty
• Offering hospitality to strangers
• Clothing the naked
• Helping the sick
• Visiting the prisoners
Choose one of these measurements to focus on during the Christmas Season and serve Christ by serving those in need.  Invite others to serve with you.

5.  Make time during this week of Thanksgiving to thank Jesus for His blessing, His service and His sacrifice

How will you measure your life? What you give.

Last week we began thinking about how we measure our lives.  There are all kinds of measurements that we use through life.  As kids we have those height charts on the wall.  We are then measured by grades in school and promotions at work.  This week we honored our Veterans who have given so much of their lives to our nation and world and in the military, people are measured by ranks and medals.  It’s important to ask ourselves how we want our lives to be measured because what they will be measuring and talking about at the end of our lives will be determined by how we are living our lives today.

The truth is that the measurement we often use today to evaluate our lives is money.  While we may know this isn’t what we should do, we often fall into the trap of thinking that our lives are successful when we earn more money or own more things.  We are fascinated by the lists of billionaires and millionaires we read about and we are constantly looking around to see if we are keeping up with our friends and neighbors when it comes to our cars, homes and even phones.  What this tells us is that we often do measure ourselves by how much we make or how much we spend on ourselves and our families because we have come to believe that it is more money and more possessions that will make our lives better.  But deep down we know that pursuit of more money, wealth and possessions doesn’t bring happiness.  We also know that the Bible says the exact opposite.   1 Timothy 6:9-10.

Now let’s be clear, it does not say that money is the root of all evil, money is actually neutral and can be used for good and bad things, but our love of money or our pursuit of more money and all the things we think money can do for us leads to all kinds of evil.  Greed and a lust for more in this world can lead us to leave faith behind, it can ruin families and destroy friendships and our pursuit of more wealth can even lead to the deterioration of our physical health.  The stress that greed brings can cause all kinds of health issues which can make our lives miserable.  So while money itself is not evil and while earning a good and honest living is godly and honorable, it is our love of money and our pursuit of more money that can ruin our lives.

While wealth and possessions often becomes the measure of our lives, I said last week that have never met with a family before a funeral where they asked me to talk about how much their loved one earned or accumulated during their lives.  They don’t want me to talk about bank balances and investments, they want me to talk about how a person loved and they want me to talk about how that person gave.  How will we measure our lives?  Will we measure our lives by how much we earn and keep and accumulate during our lives or will we measure our  lives by how much we give?

Once again, we are going to look at a parable of Jesus that talks about how important giving is to the measurement of our lives.  The parable of the talents that Jesus shares is found in Matthew 25 and before I read it, it is interesting to think about when Jesus shared this parable.  It was just a few days before his crucifixion.  In Matthew’s gospel Jesus spends his last days on earth in the Temple teaching and many of his parables and teachings focused on how we need to prioritize our lives and live with meaning and purpose.  Maybe Jesus was thinking about his own life and how it was going to be measured or maybe Jesus just passionately wanted people to hear this important message before he died.  Either way, this parable helps us see what needs to be the measure of our lives.
Matthew 25:14-29

Let’s start by talking about what Jesus means when he says that the servants were given a talent of money.  A talent was a unit of measure and while it often differed from time to time, the average weight of a talent during the life of Jesus was 75 pounds.  It says the servants were given different talents of money and so if we assume they were given gold then one was given 375 pounds of gold, one was given 150 pounds of gold and one was given 75 pounds of gold.  In today’s market that would be:
1 talent of gold = $1,375,000
2 talents of gold = $2,750,000 -  
5 talents of gold = $6,875,000
So each servant is being entrusted with something of incredible value.  It doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to the master, but it is given to them to be cared for while the master is gone.  What this incredible wealth represents is the totality of our lives.  The master giving his servants these talents is God giving us the fullness of our lives.  All our gifts and abilities and time and energy and experience and knowledge and wisdom can be seen as the talents God has entrusted to us and when the master returns, or when our life is over we have to give an accounting of our lives, God will ask us how we measured up.  The standard isn’t how much we made for ourselves but how we used all God has given us for God’s purpose and glory.

Yes, the servants went out and used the talent given to them to earn something and make something and maximize the return on what they were given, but notice that in the parable they weren’t doing it for themselves, they didn’t keep what they earned, they gave it all away.  They gave it back to their master.  God gives us the fullness of our lives and God asks us, I would say God pleads with us, to use everything He has given us but not to use it for our own purpose and our kingdom and our well being, but to use it all for God’s purpose and God’s kingdom.

When the servant who had 5 talents gave his master those five and then five more, he was praised.  When the servant who had 2 talents gave his master those 2 back and then 2 more, he was praised, but when the servant who was given 1 talent and just gave that talent back to the master, he was condemned because he didn’t use what the master had given him and he didn’t give the master anything in return.  What we see here is that the measure of these servants lives wasn’t on how much they earned or how the earned it but on what they were able to give – what they were able to give back to God. One message of this parable is that our lives need to be measured not by what we earn or accumulate but by what we can give back to God and what we can give to others.  

Jesus said the same thing in Luke 12:15 when he said, a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions.
The early church taught the same message when they shared a quote from Jesus, it is more blessed to give than to receive.  So what does it look like for us to measure our lives by what we give and not by what we make?  To answer that we have to find ways to measure what we give and the best place to begin is with our checkbook or for those who don’t write checks anymore, with our bank statements.  Since money often does become the measure of our lives we need to start asking how we give by looking at how much money we actually do give away.

People have said that if you want to know your priorities, look at where you spend your money.  If God is a priority in our lives, does our bank account show that?  What would it look like or should it look like if God is first in our lives?  If nothing else we should be able to see in our financial statements a tithe to God.  All through the scriptures the tithe has been used as a standard of measurement for our faith and trust in God.  The word tithe simply means one tenth and God asks us to give one tenth back to him as a sign of our faith and trust in Him.  The tithe is a measurement of our faith.  It is a symbol of God being a priority in our lives and it is the best place to start in a measurement of our giving.

For many people, giving one tenth to the church or to the work of God seems impossible because of our limited and sometimes shrinking incomes, we tell ourselves there is just not enough to go around.  We see our resources like these rocks and sand and after we spend all we have on our homes and healthcare and cars and food and clothes and everything else we need in life, there is no room left to give money to God.  But if we make giving to God the priority and give our tithe to God first, we find that there is room for everything else.  Our spending habits might change and our priorities might shift but in the end everything fits.

Our giving to God needs to be the priority and it needs to come first.  The offerings in the Bible were called the first fruits and people were called to give to God first and that call was a smart one because if we don’t give to God first we will find we often won’t give to God at all.  So what are we giving to God and when are we giving?  Are we giving God on tenth and are we giving to God first or are we giving whatever might be left over after everything else gets paid?

Some people have asked why God called for a tithe, or one tenth and I really have no idea, that’s just what God says, but if we look at it in reverse what we see is that God is generous and giving because God says, I want you to keep 90% of everything.  Our government doesn’t do that.  God is generous.  Maybe 10% was the amount God knew would challenge us but not overwhelm us, I don’t know, I just know that it has been the call of God from the beginning and it is a true test of faith and trust.

I would invite you to think this week about what you give to God.  Do we give 10% of all we make and earn and accumulate?  Do we give 10% of our time?  We are each given 168 hours each week; do we give God 16 hours a week in worship, prayer and service?  Even if we take out 8 hours a day for sleep, we are given 112 hours a week, do we give God 11 hours a week in worship, prayer and service?  And what about the talents God gives us?  Are we using our abilities for God and God’s purpose?  Are we using our expertise and experience for God and God’s purpose?  Are we using our wisdom and knowledge for God and God’s purpose?  If not, how can we start to measure our lives by what we give to God and not just what we have been given by God.

God does not just call us to give back to him, however, he also calls us to give to others.  In a word, God calls us to be GENEROUS with all we have and to use the fullness of our lives to bless others.  As we reflect on our lives and where we spend our money and how we spend our time – how much of our lives do we give away to others?  As we think about the upcoming Christmas Season, how can we keep giving to those in need as a focus and priority in our lives?  Can we agree to give one less gift to everyone in our lives and fill one more shoebox for a child in need?  Can we give a toy or a donation to toys for tots in honor of each child or grandchild we have?  Instead of doing a Christmas Cookie exchange where we exchange and take home all our favorite cookies to eat, can we do a Christmas Cookie give away and make sure those who are alone at the holidays or our active duty military who will be away can have homemade cookies to remind them they are not forgotten?  In a few weeks we will begin signups for the Christmas dinner and as you begin to plan your holiday meals I invite you to think about how you can give your money and your time to a ministry that touches so many lives in our community on Christmas Day.

The holiday season is a great time to start thinking about how our lives can be measured by how we give and if we can do this for the next 6 to 8 weeks then maybe the new year will be measured not by what we will make or earn or save or accumulate but by what we give to God and to others.  If we can make this the measure of our lives then at the end of life the word we will hear from God will be this: Well done my good and faithful servant!

 
Next Steps
How will you measure your life?  How you give.


1. This week look at your finances and calculate:
• How much you make
• How much you spend on your family
• How much you give to others


2.  People have said that if you want to know what your life’s priorities are, look at your checkbook.  What does your spending each month say about your priorities?  Using your checkbook only, identify the top three priorities in your life.


3. John Wesley said, Gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.  Looking at your life’s resources, how can you save more and give more?


4. God calls us all to give a tithe (one tenth) back to God.  What percentage of your life do you give to God?  Do you give 10% of your money?  10% of your time?  10% of your energy?


5.  Increase your giving to God this week and commit to tithing in the coming year.


6. How much of your life do you give to others?  Again think about your money, your time and your energy?  What one thing can you do this week to increase your giving to others?


7. One thing we can all give to our nation right now is prayer.  This week give time in prayer for peace and unity.  

How Will You Measure Your Life? How you love.

The first Sunday of November is recognized in many churches as All Saints Day or All Saints Sunday.  This isn’t just a day to remember those who have been declared official saints by the Catholic Church but a day to remember all those who have gone before us in the faith, especially those who have died during the past year.  In just the past month, I have been blessed to be part of celebrating three of our own saints here at Faith Church, Ruth Grove, Alice McCaslin and this past Monday Mary Kahle.  In meeting with the families and listening to friends share stories, what I heard in every situation was how these women, these saints, loved.

In asking the family what they wanted people to know about their mothers, no one said, I want you to talk about how much money was in their bank accounts or how many pairs of shoes they had in their closets.   They didn’t want me to read a list of accomplishments or rewards, or talk about all the contents of their homes.  What they wanted me to talk about was how these women loved.

In fact, I can safely say that I have never met with a family where all they wanted me to do was read the balances found in their financial portfolios.  I have never had someone say, Andy please talk about how they always put their job ahead of their family and were consumed by the latest gadgets and how they always had to have a new car.   While I have celebrated the accomplishments of many individuals during the past 23 years, what everyone wants me to talk about is how people have loved.  How they were faithful in love to a spouse, showed their love as a parent and were loyal in love to both friends and country.  I have been asked to talk about how love was expressed in hard work and sacrifice, how it was shown in the selflessness of someone who placed others first and how the expression of love made a difference in the hearts and lives of so many people.

So today I want to ask you, what would people say at your funeral?  If your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers were sitting here for your memorial service – what would we be talking about?
How will your life be measured?  Will we be counting up your work accomplishments and reading your financial statements and listing the inventory in your home or will we be talking about your capacity to love?  For all of us, what people will be talking about then will be determined by how we are living today.

For the next few weeks we are going to reflect on how our lives will be measured and listen to some parables of Jesus that can help us set the right priorities so we can make sure we are giving our lives to the things that really matter.  Today we are going to hear the first parable that Jesus told and while it is called the parable of the sower and the seed, it is really a parable about soil and the condition of our hearts.  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

The sower in the story is Jesus and the seed is the word of God, or the truth that Jesus was trying to share with the world and the four types of soil are the different types of people Jesus encountered.  The soil reflects the condition of the heart and the first soil Jesus mentions is the hard packed spoil of the path.  This is soil so hard and beaten down that nothing can penetrate it so when seed falls on it, it can’t get through so the birds come and carry it away.

These are people who are so hard of heart that they won’t even consider what Jesus has to say.  The hardness of their hearts might come from pride and arrogance or an unwillingness to consider that there can even be a God let alone a God who loves them but this hardness can also come from past hurts and pain that make it hard for people to open themselves up to love and grace and the truth of God.   Jesus encountered many people like this and so do we and it’s sad because not only are their hearts hard but many times so is their life and spirit.

The second soil mentioned is shallow ground and this is the kind of soil found all over the Holy Land.  There might be an inch or so of top soil but then beneath that is rock so a plant might spring up quickly but with no soil for the roots to dig into, these people will wilt under pressure and fall away from God when things get difficult.  They have a surface and superficial faith that doesn’t last when the going gets tough and Jesus faced many people like this too.  Crowds followed Jesus and they loved him as long as Jesus was feeding them and healing them, but when Jesus started to talk about sacrifice – people turned away.  And when Jesus had to carry a cross, even his disciples turned away.

We also know people like this who are with us and supportive as long as things are going well and their way, but when problems come or challenges appear in life or in faith, they turn away.  They don’t last through the struggles and they don’t work to dig deep into their faith to find strength and power in God or a love and grace that can help them endure.

Jesus then talks about the soil that is full of weeds and while this soil looks good, when the seed starts to grow so do all the weeds and the weeds choke out the good plants.  Jesus says those weeds are the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth.  This kind of heart is one that sets the wrong priorities.  When we don’t put our pursuit of God first and when we don’t put love above all else in life then we are allowing the weeds to grow and those weeds, our pursuit of money, status, power or recognition will kill any authentic faith and destroy important relationship.

Jesus saw these hearts everywhere and so do we.  The people who put their careers first and think that making money, gaining status, and making it to the top is what life is all about often leave behind broken marriages, destroyed children and shattered dreams.  We hear these stories in the world of politics, entertainment, sports and business, but they are everywhere.  We hear of people all the time who are so focused on the wrong things that their life and faith and often family is choked out and destroyed.

But then Jesus talks about the good soil and this is a heart that is eager to hear of God, learn about God and put God first.  This is the heart that has the capacity to put love first in all things and embraces the love we hear about in 1 Corinthians 13:7,  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.  This is the kind of love families ask me talk about and children celebrate when a parent dies and this love leaves a lasting legacy or as Jesus says, produces a harvest 30, 60 or 100 fold.

Jesus ended his parable by saying, he who has ears, let him hear.  What Jesus is asking in this is what kind of soil we are and what kind of soil do we want to be.  How will we measure our life?  How much of a harvest will we produce?  Will we produce love in abundance?  Will our love touch 30 people, 60 people, 100 people?  That Jesus wants our lives to be measured by love is made clear in John 15:5 when Jesus again talks about our lives bearing fruit and producing a harvest.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  Jesus then says, that what it means to remain in him is to obey his commands and then he says, My command is this; love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has on one than this, that he lay down his for his friends.

So our lives need to be measured not by the square footage of our homes or the balance of our accounts or the list of our accomplishments but by whom and how we love.  The most important people God calls us to love is our family because these are the people we promise to love or the people given to us to love.  In marriage we are making a covenant to love our spouse at all times and in all places.  We are not promising to like them at all times and in all places, but to love them in sickness and health, and for richer and poorer.  In marriage we are called to love in the face of sin and failure and forgive as Christ has forgiven us.

Love in family goes beyond our spouse because we are also called to love our children and our parents.  Children are given to us by God and so our love for them is sacred.  Children are a gift and how we nurture and develop that gift is important to God.  Children require a love that truly bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things because children will push and challenge us in ways that no one else can.

We are also called to love our parents.  In fact, this love was so important to God that he made it one of His 10 Commandments, Honor your father and mother.  This commandment was not given to children so they would obey the rules, it was given to adults so they would care for their parents as they got older and needed support.  So the first people God gives us to love are those in our families: spouses, children and parents but God then extends the call to love by telling us to love one another.

So Jesus calls us to love all people but then he tells us what this love should like.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  Love is to be sacrificial.  Love goes out of its way to help.  Love doesn’t think of what is good for us but what is good for others.  Love sets aside our agenda and our will and even our own rights to give and forgive and this is the kind of love that people want me to talk about funerals and memorial services.  People ask me to talk about how Mom was always there when needed and how Dad sacrificed his career or hobbies to be at a game or show up at school.  Are we living in such a way today that we will measure up to this kind of love at the end of life?  If not, can we make a shift in our lives and in our hearts so that our lives will be measured by love a year from now?

How will we measure our life one year from today?  Will we look back and count up how much money we have earned or saved?  Will we look at how far we advanced at work?  Will we look at what car is in the garage or what new phone is in our hands?  I hope we will look back and be able to count up all the ways we loved others.  In fact, I want to invite you to be a 100-Fold follower of Jesus and commit to 100 acts of love over the next year.

Jesus talked about how a single stalk of grain can produce a harvest 30, 60 or 100 fold and I want to invite you to be the 100 fold kind of a person so that next year we will be able to look back and count up 100 acts of love, service and kindness.  And please hear this, it’s not about the number and it’s not about the pride of accomplishment, it’s about living and loving in the way of Jesus.  100 acts of love is just a goal to strive for and a positive way to measure our lives.

We have some cards to give each one of you today to help remind you to live this kind of life.  100 acts of love is just 2 acts each week.  My guess is that most of us are already doing this, but making this commitment is a good way to measure and evaluate our lives and faith.  If you think you already measure up then let me ask you to step up and add one more act of love and kindness each week and commit to 150 acts during the next year.  These are things that people will remember and celebrate and give thanks for when you are remembered and talked about as one of the saints.  

One act of kindness and love we can all take part in this month is to support Operation Christmas Child and take and fill a box for a child in need.  You can also fill a box online or make a donation to the church to help ship the boxes others are filling.  We count these boxes at the end of the month when we collect them because every box is an act of love that reaches out to a child in need and each box can change the heart and destiny of a child, family and even community.  But every box filled and brought back also marks a heart right here that is soft and deep and ready to produce a harvest 100 fold.

Make the commitment today to measure your life by whom and how you love and commit to being a 100-Fold follower of Jesus.
 
Next Steps
How will you measure your life?  How you love.

1.  What three things would people talk about at your funeral if you were to die this week?
Is this how you want to be remembered?
Is this how you want your life to be measured?

2. Read Matthew 13:1-9, 13-23.  What kind of soil describes your heart and life?  How can you work with God and others to develop a heart of good, deep and rich soil?

3.  Commit to being a 100-Fold Follower of Jesus and set a goal of 100 acts of love over the next year.  To start this process, identify 8 acts of love you can accomplish this month and share with someone who can help you accomplish them.  Think of things like supporting Operation Christmas Child, Christmas Boxes for the food bank and Toys for Tots.  Find ways to reach out to your neighbors, surprise and support your coworkers and serve you family and friends.