We are in our last weeks of a new series on “Becoming Like Family”.  This is important as our online community begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together as one church community.  We won’t be bound together by a building, or institution, but rather by five commitments.  We’ve talked about commitment to common learning goals, connectedness as a community of small and large groups, connectedness to God in worship, grace in our lifestyles, and finally this week we end our series with a commitment to generosity in our resources.

Last week the Governor General kicked off a new initiative in canada: My Giving Moment at http://mygivingmoment.ca/.  You can watch a video introduction here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Tn22k6jwE

Canadians clearly have an openness and willingness to give to others.  According to a survey published in November 2012 the number of Canadians who made a charitable donation increased by 10% in 2012, while the total amount of donations increased by 14% when compared to 2011.

But when Christians talks about giving, sometimes it feels different.  We might expect Christian teaching on giving to be self-serving, like we only talk about generosity when it means putting money on a plate to support a particular institute or building, or in the worst examples, buying a pastor a luxury car or mansion in the woods.

Imagine you are channel surfing, and you see a televangelist asking people to make a pledge – do you assume they’re genuine, or do you get concerned?  Billy Graham, who just celebrated a birthday, is widely recognized as one internationally known preacher whose reputation is intact, but it’s so unfortunate that he’s seen as the exception rather than the norm.

A friend of mine attended church for first time, to support a friend’s baptism, and I remember the look of horror on his face when the members of the church started passing a brass collection plate around.  This man of another religion felt compelled to give to support something he didn’t believe or understand simply because a plate was going to be passed under his nose and he didn’t want to be embarrassed appearing cheap.

For all these reasons and more, the notion of churches and christian ministries talking about money can be a touchy thing.  Some might suggest we’d be better to leave it alone, and teach about lighter stuff.

But if someone told you that the Bible was a great way to learn about Jesus, and then handed you a Bible with a bunch of sections blacked out, you’d be suspicious, wouldn’t you?  You’d wonder what they were holding back, and rightfully so.  You’d call WikiLeaks and see if they know what’s been blacked out!

It would be dishonest of me to pretend that Jesus didn’t have an awful lot to say about money and how we live with it.  It would be like blacking out 15% of Jesus’ words in the Bible!

I think Jesus said so much about money and possessions because he knew that the place of money in our lives was a spiritual issue far more than it was simply an economic issue.  He knew money had a lot to do with our feelings of self-worth, identity and security in life.  These are the exact things we are meant to derive from God, and that are meant to be developed in and through our generosity.

Question: Have you seen someone who worships money?  How could you tell?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - May 7, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer Story

Today we’ll try to explore the transformation in the disciples who saw Jesus risen, then ascending, and were given a mission. They were told to wait for the Holy Spirit before they set out on that mission, though. United: Look at the list of names in yesterday’s reading. Some biological brothers are separated in the list, perhaps to indicate they are all part of one big brotherhood now. Peter is listed, who denied even knowing Jesus. The other disciples are there, even though they deserted Jesus as well. Their pioneer story – Jesus being raised from the dead – brought them back together. In other surprises, Judas is missing – he broke his relationship with Jesus, committed suicide, and hence his community link. But also, Jesus’ own brothers and mother are mentioned – the same brothers who doubted him and thought he was crazy during his ministry on earth. These people are all together now, in some kind of upper room – perhaps the upper room from the night before Jesus died, but we don’t know. Either way, they stay there together and are “with one accord” – they have one purpose. Prayer: They were devoting themselves to prayer. There’s an energy in how this is described. They’re actively preparing for something, something much larger than themselves, and they can’t do it alone. So they’re nurturing their relationship with God the father, who’ll be the source of their strength and courage. And that project is God’s. On Mission: As they stare up at the sky where Jesus left, the angels redirect them. Your job is to pay attention to the Earth, not the sky. Get out there, you have a story to tell. Common Story: All of this change comes from their common experience. Jesus, the pioneer’s teaching would be in their minds, and their experience of his ascension. For example, his brother James. James is specifically named as having had an encounter with the risen Jesus. Why else would he, as one of Jesus’ concerned brothers, realize his brother wasn’t throwing his life away but sacrificing it for James and every other human being? Jesus’ ascension into the clouds was not showing us heaven is “up there” in a physical sense in the clouds – he’s gone to be with his father in heaven, the dimension of life where the kingdom of heaven is already present in its fullness, simply because of God’s presence being there. Clouds aren’t a bad way to show that he’s gone from the disciples direct presence, they had no way to get up there! Someday the whole kingdom will “descend” and transform this world as well, as Jesus “descends”. Imagine the disciples’ anticipation. Telling the stories amongst themselves, realizing how it all fits together, and anticipating the next stage – the Holy Spirit of God is coming…to us! Question: Consider your group. Do you focus more heavily on unity, on prayer, on mission, or on the story? If you’ve not started a group yet, who can you start sharing these challenges with, in the pattern set by these pioneers?

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From Series: "Pioneer Story"

We read through the Book of Acts as a Pioneer Story for the church.

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