Redeemer Lutheran
Church- Richland WA
Messages from the
Pastor and Elders
September 2010
Pastor's
Message
Why We Struggle in Giving
Jesus gave us all His one and only Son (John 3:16). Just as
Jesus gave, we are enabled by God's grace to be giving people. For
Christians, giving is not an option. We are to give our firstfruits
generously and joyfully out of gratitude for who God is and what He has
done and continues to do for us. So why don't Christians give as they
should?
The following are some reasons people don't give more:
1. Spiritual problems. People act as owners of
their things rather than stewards. They readily acknowledge God as the
owner with their lips but not with their hearts and actions. Those
lacking an intimate relationship with Jesus do not make giving a
priority.
2. Financial problems. The average credit card debt
per household is approximately $8,000. Many don't manage their money
wisely. Until we spend less money than we make, we will find that
money is tight and unavailable for giving generously.
3. Compartmentalization. We compartmentalize when we
divide our lives into competing parts. If we disconnect God from
the managing of our money, He is not in control, and we are prone to
hoard money rather than give it.
4. Limited vision. We are apt to give less than we are
capable if we do not understand all that our church or other Christian
organizations are doing. If we understand and relate to the
vision and mission of the church or organizations seeking our
contributions, we will give generously.
5. Limited relationships. People give more when
they are connected to the church or Christian organization through
relationships. If good relationships exist with the pastor
or church leaders or even other members, people tend to be more
generous.
If we are struggling in our giving, we need to seek God's strength to
grow in our faith and trust in Him. It is only by God's grace that we
can be empowered to grow in the grace of giving.
May God help us all grow in the His love and grace so we become the
generous givers He wants us to be.
Elders Message
Peace to you fromGod our Father and the Lord Jesu.s Christ!
I
n July, during a recent Contemporary Service, the sermon hymn was
"Seek Ye First". The lyrics to
the three verses provided below should sound familiar to all.
Seek Ye first the kingdom of God, And
His righteousness, And all these things shall be added unto you,
Al-le-lu, Alleluia!
Ask and it shall be given to you,
seek and ye shall find,
Knock and the door shall be opened
unto you, Al-le-lu, Alleluia!
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word, That proceeds from the mouth of God, Al-le-lu,
Alleluia!
The first verse comes from the book of Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 33; "But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as we//."(NIV)
DO you seek God first? Do you seek Him when you get up in the
morning, as you drive to work, take care of the kids or whatever else
you may be doing, including recreation? We should seek Him in
everything we do. In verse 25 of this same chapter in Matthew,
Jesus tells us not to worry about life, what we eat or drink, or what
we wear. God will provide if we seek Him first. In our secular world,
many people would advise us to have at the top of our list of
goals/achievements, a nice house, a new or late model car, and plenty
of money. God may be on the list, but nowhere near the top. As long as
you have money in your pocket, a roof over your head, and a car in the
garage, these individuals would consider you a success. Unfortunately,
there are very few who would think you are a success if God is number
one in your life. There is nothing wrong with being a success, but we
must put God on top of our list, and seek his kingdom first! If we seek
Him first, everything else will take care of itself.
The other two verses of this song are also Bible verses that we all
know. They come from Matthew 7:7;
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the
door will be opened to you." and Matthew, 4:4;"... It is written: 'Man does not live on
bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God'.
These verses may be the focus of a future column.
May God give you all His eternal peace! Rick Stutheit
Elder
08/28/10