SERMON

By: Gail Fricker

“Giving Gratefully: Time, Talent, Treasures” May 19, 2019

2 Corinthians 9:5-11
I thought that since the weather is changing, and many of us are anxious to be out on the land – then I would
begin today with a farming story.
There was once a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where
it won first prize. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and asked him what his strategy was for
growing award-winning corn.
The farmer replied that it was quite simple – that every year he simply shared his seed corn with his
neighbours.
“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours, when each year they are entering
corn in competition with yours?” the reporter asked.
“Why” said the farmer, “don’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn, and swirls it from
field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn.
If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn.”

The story is a lesson for each of us: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbours grow good corn.
If we are to grow as a community of faith, we must generously share what we have. We reap what we give.

Paul gives this same lesson to his readers in Corinth. He tells them to remember that: “Whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (v6)
Paul is using a popular saying of the time to remind the Corinthians to give generously. It is one that he uses
again in Galatians where he writes: "A man reaps what he sows". And it has a strong parallel to the teaching
of Jesus:
"Give, and it will be given to you. . . . With the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Lk 6:38).

The growth of the early church depended on the generous giving of believers. As the disciples and apostles
went from town to town, they relied on the generous giving of others: not just financial giving, but the sharing
of a roof over their head, a meal on their table, maybe clean and fresh clothes, perhaps a place to wash. And
if the people had not given these things generously, then Paul and the other apostles would not have been
able to do their work, and the community of faith would not have grown.

But Paul also reminds the Corinthians, on how they should give. He writes:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (v 7)

“God loves a cheerful giver” – it sounds like a phrase that you might read in hallmark card – or on one of the
many requests you might get in the mail for charitable donations.
But what does it mean? What is Paul trying to tell the Corinthians about giving?

In this short verse, Paul offers four simple guidelines for giving. Guidelines that were relevant for the
Corinthians, and that are relevant for us today:

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Firstly: giving is to be an individual matter that is settled in the privacy of one's own heart. The word ‘Each’ is
placed first in the verse for emphasis. "How much?" we are to each give is a question that each person must
answer for herself or himself. And it is never to be determined by how much "the Joneses" are contributing.
We must each look at what we have to offer and determine for ourselves what we can give. Giving is
individual.

Secondly: giving requires resolve. The text reads ‘what you have decided.’ It means that the giver has had "to
choose deliberately." It is a well-known fact that telethons play on people's emotions to solicit contributions,
but they often end up with donors who pledge impulsively but not deliberately – and so they often do not
follow through on their pledges. Paul says that giving is to be based on a calculated decision. It is not a matter
to be settled lightly or impulsively. Because only when we “decide” to give, do we then commit to following
through. Giving requires a decision.

Thirdly: giving is to be a private, not a public, decision. It is to be decided in the heart. It’s unfortunate that in
reality some people only give if there is some form of public acclaim or recognition involved. Endowed chairs,
scholarship funds, building projects, all are rarely given anonymously. Usually much pomp and circumstance is
attached to these donations, with the contributor's name(s) prominently displayed, and the donation itself
frequently praised and honored publicly. But Paul reminds us that the real reason to give is because one
cannot help but give – it is in our “hearts.” It is giving with love. This desire to give in this way, is in fact the
same way that God gave; it was because God so loved the world that God gave us Jesus Christ. Giving must be
from the heart.

Fourthly: giving is to be “not reluctant, or under compulsion, but cheerful”. It is a reminder that giving must be
joyful – it must come from a place of celebrating and remembering all that we have been given, and cheerfully
wanting to give back with gratitude. At times in our society that can be hard: we are accustomed to want
more, bigger, better, newer -and sometimes we forget to maintain an attitude of gratitude for what we have.
We forget to simply be thankful.

There is a story that I read that reminds us of this:

It tells of how a blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, “I
am blind, please help.”
There were only a few coins in the hat – spare change from folks as they hurried past. One day a man was
walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned
it around, and wrote some words. Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone who walked
by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up.
A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.
That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The boy recognized the
sound of his footsteps and asked:
“Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote, ‘Today is a beautiful
day, but I cannot see it.’ “
Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign reminded
everyone walking by to be grateful that they could see. It reminded them of gratitude. And then, with
gratitude they were able to cheerfully give.
Giving is cheerful gratitude.

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Lets us reflect on Paul’s wisdom about giving for a moment. How does that relate to us at Knox.
Last week, Tammy asked people to think about what Stewardship meant. In the United Church we often link
Stewardship with financial giving. Our Stewardship Officer at regional level has great programs about planned
giving, legacy giving, and so forth. But really, stewardship is not just about giving financially. Your thoughts on
stewardship last week included:
taking care of others, sharing our time,
giving our support, offering leadership,
volunteering etc etc.
The ideas that you have about Stewardship – are really the same as what Paul was requiring of the
Corinthians. He wanted them to each individually commit to sharing their resources with a loving and cheerful
heart.
And we are required to do that too.
Ask yourselves - what can each of you decisively commit to giving, in a way that comes cheerfully from your
heart?

It may be that you give more TIME.

We have probably all heard the quote Time is your most precious gift. Perhaps that is because you only have a
set amount of time. You can often make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give
someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. That is why the
greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
And yes, we are all busy – but if we want our community of faith at Knox to grow, then we must support it
with our time: we must attend the various outreach events like the rock painting in the arena; support the
various ministries like Jazz Vespers, Messy Church, Lunch N Learn; and we can become part of helping our
church to grow by simply giving our time. We can not go around with an attitude of “I’ll just support the
things that I am involved in.” NO. We are ALL involved in the work of Christ. We are ALL members of this
community of faith. We therefore ALL need to ask ourselves how can we give more of our time. And if you’re
not sure how to do that – you could start by coming along to the June 1st Family Fun Day.

It may be that you could give more of your TALENTS.

Paul required the early believers to share their talents – some baked, some sewed, some were good at
organizing. And when they pooled their talents together, then amazing things happened as the early church
began to grow.
We have all been blessed with various talents - gifts. Maybe you sing in the choir; maybe you help keep this
building clean and heated; maybe you are good at providing hospitality through baking or through
conversations; maybe you are good at applying for grants; or perhaps you are good with teaching. Each of us
need to ask ourselves, how can we give our talents?

It may be that you are called to give more of your TREASURES.

Whether we like it or not, the things that we aim to do at this church – the programs, the music, the ministry,
and even the building itself – all costs money. And I can tell you - No minister likes to talk about money from
the pulpit, but we need to acknowledge that Knox would not exist if we did not give our financial treasures.
At our recent budget review for 2019, perhaps you were surprised, even alarmed, at the projected deficit of
$24,000.00.
And yes, lets get the elephant out in the room, and lets admit that ministerial salaries and benefits accounts
for almost 55% of our projected income for 2019. Now we could discuss about cutting costs, maybe even
going to part time ministry – but I can tell you that’s not the answer. Statistically any church that changes

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from full time to part time ministry, eventually ends up closing or amalgamating. If you talk about part time,
you are talking about dying rather than growing.
Paul knew that things were financially difficult for the Corinthians – but he did not say., “that’s OK, lets just cut
costs.” No – instead he encouraged them still to be “generous on every occasion.” (v 11). And he reminded
them that when they each committed to giving cheerfully from the heart, then:
“God is able to bless them abundantly, so that in all things at all times, (they) have all that (they)
need” (v.8)

If you believe in this promise from God, let me encourage you to reflect on what you can give to the work of
God here at Knox.
Is there a way that you could increase the TIME that you give to support the work of the church?
Is there a way that you could give your TALANTS and join a team that suits your gifts?
Is there a way that you can increase your giving of financial TREASURES?
• Perhaps if you are not on PAR, you could sign up so that the church can be supported monthly, even
when you are away on vacation. It will help us to plan and budget – and it saves you from frantically
finding any cash to put in the envelope each week.

• Perhaps you will consider a donation to help with our projected deficit, so that we can continue to plan
our vibrant programs.

• Perhaps you could increase what you give. Traditionally in many churches the Hebrew tradition of
tithing 10% of your salary still exists. In a recent CBC documentary about mega churches in Southern
US, Second Baptist in Houston has about 24,000 people attending one or another of its programs each
week. These programs include fitness centers, bookstores, information desks, a café, a K-12 school
and free automotive repair service for single mothers. And the annual budget for that church is $53
million dollars! But, when interviewed, the minister said that they reach that annual budget because
people could not become members unless they committed to giving 10% of their income on PAR.
Wow!
Don’t panic – I am not suggesting that. But, if we all gave an extra 10% on what we already give, then
our projected deficit would disappear.

Time, Talents and Treasures. These are all ways that we can give – to the church, to the community, and most
importantly, to God.
These are all ways that each individual, can decide to give, in a way that comes from our hearts with love, and
is done with cheerful gratitude for all that we have been given.

Let us each take some time to reflect on that now.

In your bulletin there is an intentional promise card. I invite you to reflect on all the gifts that God has given
you, and then reflect on how you can share those gifts with God, and with the community faith here at Knox.
I suggest that you take time today, to fill that sheet in and make an intentional, decisive, promise to God. If
you want to bring that promise to the alter table, you are welcome, or keep it to take home and put up on the
fridge as a reminder of your promise to God. No-one is going to check up on you – this is your personal and
individual promise to God.
Quiet music will be playing as you take time to reflect, to fill it in, and to bring it forward if you wish. Take all
you time you need to pray fully and intentionally respond.

(quiet reflection)
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 Intentional Promise To GOD
I recognize that GOD has given me the following gifts:
(list the many gifts that GOD has given you e.g. baking, hospitality, technical skills, singing, accounting,
teaching, organizing, social media etc.)
I promise that I will:
o Use the skills that GOD has given me and help on the following team(s): (see list of teams overleaf)
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
AND:
o Give my time by helping in the following activities at church: (Check off the ones you could do)
o Greeting on a Sunday morning
o Running the AV system (you will be trained)
o Helping in the office (folding bulletins, etc)
o Attend and support special outreach events
AND:
o Support the work and mission of Knox by increasing my financial giving to the church in the following
way(s):
o Go on PAR (so I can give when I am on vacation)
o Increase my weekly giving by 10% (e.g. from $50 per month to $55)
o Make a one-time donation to the church to help offset our 2019 deficit
OPPORTUNITES TO SHARE YOUR TALANTS AT KNOX
Join the choir, or praise band
Join Worship team and help lead prayers, dramas, communion
Teach with Adventures with God team on Sundays
(probably just every 4-6 weeks)
Help Congregational Life team in the kitchen
Help Church In Action team with mission projects
Join Knox Connection team to visit our members in need
Join Finance team and count the money on Sundays
(probably just every 4-6 weeks)
Join the Property Maintenance team to upkeep the building
Join Communications team to keep our website updated
Join Membership team to welcome new members
Join Kindred Spirits for fellowship and support with other women
Join Messy Church team to outreach to young families 5 times a yr
Become part of an outreach team
Become part of a fundraising team
Help with YOUth ACT – snacks, props, stage manage
Help with Kidz Bible Camp in the summer
Help cook with Lunch N’ Learn or assist with the foodbank.
Help cook with Seniors Time Out 4 times each year
Participate in a bible study or devotional with Faith Formation team
(if you want more information on any of the above, or wish to join a team,
please speak to Gail, or call the office on 519 632 7461)
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