Hey Centennial,
Jesus talked about money a lot.
He said things like, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” and “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Those are some startling statements!
And it isn’t just Jesus himself, the authors of the New Testament followed his lead.
Paul taught his disciple, Timothy,
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
In the book of Acts, Ananias and Saphira lied about their giving to the church and died for their deception.
Paul taught the church in Corinth this habit of saving and giving:
“On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.”
And the author of Hebrews said,
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Why did Jesus talk so much about money?
Moreover, this emphasis on money is one of the criticisms people make about the church. People think the church is just out to get their money, the church is greedy, or it mishandles and wastes money. These financial accusations (which, to be clear, are completely unwarranted in some situations and accurate in others) lead plenty of people to think, “that’s why I will never go to church.” What’s really going on?
How should we think about our financial assets and what should we do (individually and as a church) to handle them faithfully?
If we get our thinking straight on these questions, we just might have another strong answer to the question guiding our summer sermon series, “Why would anybody come to our church?”
If you ever find yourself stressed out about finances, feeling like there is always more month than money, or simply wanting to strengthen or heal your relationship with money, this is a great Sunday to make sure you come and worship with Centennial Covenant Church. If you have ever heard people accuse the church of just trying to get their money, I hope this Sunday will paint a more biblically accurate – and personally important! – picture.
Worship gathering begins at 10:00am!
Karl Helvig
Lead Pastor
CENTENNIAL COVENANT CHURCH
P.S. As always, you might consider asking a friend or neighbor to, “Come sit with me.” This Sunday’s sermon could certainly make for some exciting lunch conversation after worship!
P.P.S. REMINDER: Congregational meeting immediately following worship next Sunday, July 16th. We will be voting on our Youth Pastor candidate, Casey Hodges. Everyone is welcome to come to the meeting. Members, we need you there to cast your votes.