Sermon November 22 “Stewardship: The Irony of Giving” Part 3 of 3

Two familiar passages fueled the third sermon in this series on stewardship. This was the final look at the irony of giving that showed that stewardship is not about money. The two passages we looked at were Micah 6:6-8 and Matthew 23:23, 24.

These passages are pretty plain in their meaning. Look at them:

Micah 6…
With what shall I come before the LORD

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 23…

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."

The lesson? A tithe of money without a life that pursues justice and mercy on behalf of the forsaken is not honoring to God. The tithe is a fundamental part of our lives lived faithfully before God. But tithing without a life of mercy equates to straining out a non kosher gnat while eating a plate of non kosher camel… medium rare. Seek justice. Live a life of mercy. Be faithful. Walk humbly with God. Oh, and don’t neglect your tithe either.

Pastor Scott

click on the link and then the semon for Nov. 22 to listen