Roger's Ramblings,
On May 18th our church will experience Consecration Sunday. The Diaconate recommended this stewardship program to the church at our January Annual Business meeting. The church accepted it, and the moderator appointed the following action team: Dick Briggs-chairperson, Diana Briggs, Pat Culler, Scott Duncan, Sandra King, Lynn Sladek, Willy Winch, and Pastor Roger Jackson.
Consecration Sunday is not another campaign to get more of your money. Instead, it focuses on spiritual stewardship. People will not give as God instructs until the spiritual issues are dealt with. We need to be completely committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that includes our financial resources.
As a church we have seen what God can do through Miracle Sunday, and I am excited to see what God will do through Consecration Sunday. As a result of this program, we can expect the following:
Individual Christians will grow in discipleship. They will learn the grace of giving. Many will become tithers, and others will move closer to the tithe. Some may go beyond the tithe.
We will be encouraged as a church as we see people maturing in their faith.
We will be strengthened by new resources that will empower us to do God's work in our neighborhood, our wider community, and our world.
We will be witnesses in our neighborhood that there is another way, a better way than the consumerism and materialism that so dominates our lives.
I know when the church talks about money, people often get uneasy, squirm in their seats, fall asleep during the message, or don't even show up. But spiritual stewardship, tithing, is not about money. Tithing is about discipleship; it's about where you are in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Tithing can and will hinder your relationship with Jesus because God commands us to give to him in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is written in Deuteronomy 14:23, "The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives" (Living Bible). Jesus made the statement, "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be" (Luke 12:34, New Living Translation). Financial stewardship is treasure management that helps us to escape the trap of selfishness by keeping God first in our lives.
John Wesley said if people were more alive for God they would be more generous in their giving. Herb Miller, in his book New Consecration Sunday, says the following:
"Each of us makes one of two choices in life. We either become emotionally attached
to our money, or we become emotionally attached to the God who gives us our money. Although we often hope to do both, in our heart we know that cannot happen. Financial stewardship helps us to overcome the temptation to break the First Commandment and
put the false idol of money first, ahead of the God who revealed his love for us through
Jesus Christ."
I hope Consecration Sunday will help all of us to grow spiritually in our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope we will begin or continue to put God first in our lives and the treasures we hold in our heart are not of materialistic value but of spiritual value. These are exciting times for Elliott, and I hope you will join us as we journey together towards Consecration Sunday—May 18th.
In Him,
Pastor Roger Jackson