March 25, 2004
sermon notes
Some people have been posting their sermon notes as they are in process. If you are interested in the random stuff going on...well. Go ahead and read.
Facing our Fears: Financial Insecurity
Exodus 16:13-21
13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ?What is it??* For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ?It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16This is what the LORD has commanded: ?Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer to a person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.? ? 17The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed. 19And Moses said to them, ?Let no one leave any of it over until morning.? 20But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with them. 21Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
John 6:32-35
32Then Jesus said to them, ?Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is that which* comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.? 34They said to him, ?Sir, give us this bread always.?
35 Jesus said to them, ?I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Looking up the word ?poor? in the Bible we find 179 entries
Throughout this sermon series we have been looking at our fears and what responses Christianity may offer?How we as Christians respond to these fears, these very real and pervasive fears. We know that as Christians we are called to respond to fear in ways that may not seem ?normal.? Sometimes we are asked to respond to fear in a way that is almost counter intuitive. This morning I want to talk to you about money?about the fear of financial insecurity.
Competition?what is this about? Why do we compete? Is it because we trust in capitalism? Is it because we believe that is a healthy economic practice? Do we compete because we do not know what else to do?
Do not store up?simplicity?
The Israelites were storing things up?are we asking for more than we need?
Do we take more than we need?
Is God what we need?
Wednesday night Bible study group has some thoughts to offer on wealth and poverty in our conversations about Matthew?s gospel. The most important thing is this: Money can be a distraction from what we should be mindful of and that is God. Jesus is what we need.
This is a hard notion because we cannot escape the realities of the world. We need to eat?but this is where our own identity as Christians comes in.
There is also the sense of the spiritual gift of poverty. Some are called to holy poverty. Some are called to share their wealth. But is there a shared call, a shared gift through the bread of life, Jesus?
Christianity is about the saving of souls and the building of a community of justice -- nothing more and nothing less. You can?t have the one without the other. A person whose soul is ?saved,? cannot help but work for justice. A person who truly seeks justice must seek first the healing of his own soul. God puts it all together.
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On such matters the future of a civilization rests. On such matters the integrity of a nation is judged. In such matters spirituality is something other than pretense, something closer to the courage of Christ?s Kingdom.
-Rev Ben Campbell
The same God who led the Israelites, the Great I am, is the God who says ?I am the Bread of Life.?
I am.
I am.
I am poor.
I am rich.
I am yours. Take. Eat.
I am wounded; I am healed.
I am meek. I am gentle. I am jealous. I am wounded. I am healed...
I am all in all.
I am your God, who led you out of Egypt, who died upon the cross, who lies in city streets...
Yes.