Stewards of the Sacred

2 Corinthians 8:10-15

Last week, we wrestled with Paul’s central conviction in 2 Corinthians 8, that generosity is never driven by guilt, pressure, or manipulation, but by grace. We saw how deeply this truth ran through Paul’s own life. From the earliest days of his ministry to the very chains that eventually bound him, Paul carried this unwavering belief that the gospel must take visible form in the way God’s people care for one another.

And we also saw why this matters so much to Paul.

Because grace, real, saving, Christ-centered grace. doesn’t just forgive us; it reshapes us.

It loosens our grip. It reorders our loves. It transforms generosity from losing something into participating in the very heart of Christ.

That’s why the Macedonians could give out of “extreme poverty.” That’s why Zacchaeus could stand before Jesus and joyfully surrender what once defined him. And that’s why, for Paul, the greatest danger wasn’t lack of resources, it was hearts that had never been touched by grace.

Now, today, Paul is going to build on that foundation. He shifts from showing us what grace looks like to calling the Corinthians to follow through on what grace had already begun in them.

And he does it with these words:

2 Corinthians 8:10–11 ESV

And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

Do you hear Paul’s heart? He isn’t rebuking them, he’s reminding them.

A year ago, something beautiful had started. Grace had stirred their hearts.

They wanted to participate. They desired to be part of this work.

But a desire that begins the journey means very little if it stalls, or never becomes action.

So today, Paul invites us into the next step of gospel stewardship:

moving from intention to completion,

from desire to obedience,

from readiness to follow-through.

If last week was about why we give, this week is about actually doing what grace has begun.

This weekend we had an overnight elder’s retreat and during that time, we prayerfully reflected on all God’s done, and sought His wisdom as to what is still come.

It reminded me of the summer of 2024, when we had a similar retreat with all the leaders from a newly merged church. At that retreat, we prayerfully discerned that the Lord had given us a shared conviction. Around the table was a diverse group of people who saw many thing differently, but we were united by the gospel, and by the shared conviction that we were to be a multiplying church.

We were at a crossroads as to how to move forward, and we were united in the conviction that: we would measure growth through the expansion of the kingdom, not simply Sunday attendance numbers.

And we came back and shared that vision, and your affirmed it last year.

This morning, as God’s words spoken through Paul are intended to encourage a specific local church, to finish what they started, I want to take some time to remind you what God has begun in us:

We desire to create a Movement of Making Disciples, Mobilizing Missionaries, and Multiplying Churches.

We desire to create a Movement

People often stumble over the word movement because it sounds too big, too bold, maybe even presumptuous. But a movement isn’t defined by its size or spectacle. A movement is defined by its direction. It’s a work where success is measured not by what happens inside the walls of an institution, but by what happens beyond them.

Think of it this way: If your goal is simply to plant a tree, then you measure success by the health of that one tree, its growth, its shade, its fruit. But if your desire is to plant an orchard, everything changes. Success is no longer defined by the vitality of a single tree; it’s defined by the expansion and fruitfulness of the whole field. An orchard is not a single achievement, it’s a multiplying, expanding, reproducing work.

An orchard is a movement.

And here’s the defining reality of a movement:

Movements are driven by what the mission is, and that what becomes more important than the who or the how. Meaning, who gets the credit or how it happens.

The mission takes precedence over individual preferences, personalities, and procedures.

Institutions, on the other hand, are committed to inherited practices, established procedures, and preserving the recognition of the right person or peoples.

Institutions tend to ask, “Who’s in charge?” and “How have we always done it?”

Movements ask, “What will it take for the mission to advance?”

And that simple shift, from preserving the institution to pursuing the mission, is what turns a tree into an orchard, and a church into a movement.

of Making Disciples, 

Disciples of Jesus are not produced by accident. They don’t emerge at random. Discipleship is a holy, intentional work, a process the Lord Himself invites us into. Jesus commands us to make disciples: to invest in the lives of others, to help them grow in their knowledge of God, and to walk with them as they learn to live faithfully in a world that constantly pulls them in other directions.

But make no mistake: discipleship can’t be mass-produced. It can’t be reduced to a program big enough to “catch” everyone. Discipleship is always an invitation, personal, relational, intentional. It’s the slow, steady work of walking with other believers, sharing life together, sharpening one another through the Word of God. But like any invitation… it must be accepted.

Throughout church history, and even in the days of Jesus, there were always people who were drawn to His teaching but determined to stay on the margins. They wanted the benefit of His message without the commitment of following Him closely. They were content to listen from a distance, but reluctant to walk the path of discipleship.

But Jesus never built His kingdom on crowds at the fringe. He built it on committed disciples who walked with Him and with one another.

And today, that same path of discipleship is meant to be walked within the life of a local church. We grow best when we grow together.

That’s why at Rooted we urge you, not for our benefit, but for yours, to join a Family Group. It’s one of the most practical ways to move from simply attending church to actually being formed as a disciple of Jesus.

Family Groups aren’t perfect. They’re made of real people with real joys and real messiness and we’re constantly reworking them to better accommodate our body as it changes. But the reality of Family Groups at any stage, is that they become what you invest in them. A Family Group is dependent on the group, it become stagnant when the group agrees to become stagnant, and it thrives when even a few people commit to being all in.

Inside a Family Group, you can find a place to be known and to know others. And through our DNA Groups that run within those groups, you’ll find a smaller circle of brothers or sisters who can walk with you through the challenges of life, who will open the Word with you, speak truth to your deepest struggles, and offer both accountability and grace.

This is how disciples are formed, intentionally, relationally, and together, but you have to embrace the invitation.

Over the past ten years, one of my biggest struggles as a Pastor has been when people leave the church uttering the phrase “I just didn’t feel connected.” And as they depart, I ask them “were you in a Family Group” and the answer is almost always no. If you don’t feel connected to this church, or ANY church, you have to start by looking in the mirror and asking, “am I honestly pursuing connection…or do I simply attend on Sunday and dart out the door the second the service is over?”

Discipleship is an invitation to growth, and not simply for your own benefit, but for the good of the mission. For Making Disciples leads to:

Mobilizing Missionaries 

We believe, wholeheartedly, that God has called every follower of Jesus to live as a missionary wherever He sends them. For some, that calling may lead to China, or some place far away, this is what we commonly think of when we hear the term “missionary.” But for others, perhaps for most of us, it looks like walking into our office building with gospel intentionality, showing up to the school where you teach with a shepherd’s heart, or simply being the presence of Christ on the block where you live.

Wherever God places you, He places you with purpose.

A disciple who grows in grace naturally becomes a missionary. It’s the spiritual transformation Jesus intends for every believer. Like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly, the change is real, it’s visible, and it’s unmistakable. A disciple is not meant to remain in the cocoon of personal spiritual growth forever, at some point, that growth takes flight and becomes mission.

Last week we talked about the radical generosity that grace produces. That same grace fuels mission. Generosity isn’t just about finances. it’s about offering your life for the sake of the gospel. It’s about opening your home, your schedule, your table, your resources, and even your comfort so that others might encounter the hope of Christ.

Grace forms us inwardly and then sends us outwardly.

The New Testament never separates those two things. Spiritual maturity and missional living are not two different callings.

So when we talk about “mobilizing missionaries,” we’re not talking about signing up for a trip or adding something else to your calendar. We’re talking about embracing the identity God has already given you. We’re talking about living sent, trusting that God has strategically placed you in your neighborhood, your workplace, your classroom, your friendships, and your city for the sake of the gospel.

At Rooted, our aim is not simply to gather disciples but to send them. To equip you, encourage you, and embolden you to live as a missionary wherever the Lord has planted you.

That is how a church becomes a movement. That is how disciples become missionaries. That is how the gospel advances, one obedient, grace-shaped life at a time.

When we started Rooted, we did something that was considered strange in modern church life. The last Sunday of every month, we called Shalom Sunday, and on that Sunday, the church building was empty and the people of God went out together to seek the Shalom of the city. Whether through throwing a block party, or celebrating baptisms in the creek, or serving with a local organization, we sought to go out and be the church beyond the walls of a building. The reason we did this specifically on a Sunday morning, is because it felt imperative to demonstrate to our people that the church was not a building or a service time…but the people of God being His hands and feet.

Over the years we’ve grown, we have a more diverse demographic, and so we reigned in Shalom Sundays for a season. But I am giving you fair warning, in 2026 we feel as an elder team that it’s time to bring back some of that, and to begin extending our view of the church beyond this time slot and this space. I am not saying it’ll be like it was, but we are going to stretch this year in terms of getting the church out of the building and into the community, and the reason for this, is again, you cannot separate spiritual growth from mission.

Because spiritual growth, on mission, is what leads to:

Multiplying Churches.

Every day churches across our country close their doors, because the reality is, every local church has a start date and end date (recently met with nearly 220 year old church discussing dissolution).

The good news is, that while local expressions of the church end, God have us a promise for the big “C” church in:

Matthew 16:18 ESV

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Our individual lives come to an end, but our offspring carry on for generations. In the same way…

Institutions fade, movements carry on.

One day, Rooted Church will host it’s last Sunday gathering, and I pray that each of us are long dead and gone by the time that day comes, but make no mistake, barring Christ’s return, there will be a small group of people that will one day have to make the hard decision to end this local church…within church history, this seems inevitable.

My prayer is not that that day won’t come. But that when it does, the grief of that moment, ending a church, will pale in light of God’s glory revealed in the many congregations she planted… and the churches those congregations planted… and the communities transformed, the missionaries sent, the disciples made, and the gospel multiplied across generations because God chose to use us.

Friends, to truly exist as a church with a kingdom focus, is to serve a mission that extends beyond us:

We are not sprinting toward a finish line we expect to cross in our lifetime. We are planting seeds we may never get to see fully bloom. We are sacrificing for a harvest that in some ways, another generation will reap.

But one day, in glory, we will all stand together, alongside those who came before us, and those who come after us, and we’ll see it.

We’ll stand in the presence of Christ alongside a multitude of believers who came to faith through the ripple effects of our obedience. And in that moment, every sacrifice will make perfect sense.

Rooted, we are part of a story that is bigger than us, bigger than our lifetime, bigger than this local church. We are investing in a movement that will outlive us.

Radical Generosity, birthed from gospel transformation, is not about growth that benefits us...but it’s about this (explain slide):

And so, I appeal to you this morning with the word’s of Paul:

a year ago you started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it

Your kingdom investment did not result in decline.

Yes, there are less people in the seats here than there were before sending Radiant, but God has more than doubled our loaves and it’s only the beginning.

And so, as a church that has just multiplied, we must overcome the false belief that we are depleted, that we have nothing left to give, for Paul instructs the church in:

2 Corinthians 8:12 ESV

For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

Brothers and Sisters, the implications of Paul’s words here should stop us in our tracks.

God does not ask for that which we don’t have, He asks for what we do have…and it’s more than enough.

Here is a little secret for you, God does not need your money, He doesn’t need your time, and He doesn’t need your gifts.

In and of Himself, He is more than sufficient to accomplish His purposes…He does not need you.

But in grace…He invites you into discipleship.

Giving to God, is not intended to be a reluctant obligation, but an overflow of grace at work.

There is a story long told about an event that took place in a poor Scottish church centuries ago.

The plate was passed in the church service, and people put their pennies in the plate, as that was all they had. But the plate came to one man who had much more, and he intended to put a penny in like everyone else, but by mistake he placed a gold coin in plate. Realizing his mistake, he approached the Pastor after the service ended and asked to have it back, to which the Pastor declined, saying “what’s given is given.”

Collecting himself, the man said “oh well, I suppose it will be counted that I gave a fortune in the kingdom of heaven.” And Pastor replied….no sir, it will be counted as a penny.

The point of that tale, is that God does not keep spreadsheets counting who gave what, His books are filled, for He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

What God wants in your gift is you.

When you give your time, you declare that God’s works it most important purpose in your life.

When you give your talent, you declare that you belong to God, and your gifts exist for His glory.

And when you give your treasure, you declare that you depend on God to provide, and your trust Him completely.

As a Church, we have been given an invitation to partake in something extraordinary together. Each of us, have missions we fulfill in our individual lives, and those are eternal in their significance, but it is our shared mission that I speak of this morning. There is a unique testimony, and power, that sheds light like no other, that is birthed of the church working together, as a diverse people unified by the gospel, stewarding together what God has given because of what He has done.

This is why Paul’s words are so weighty, this is why his mission to gather this collection is so important, because there is great significance to the generosity that flows from a united church.

I’m gonna be straight with you this morning, we’ve been somewhat delayed in rolling out the final 2026 budget, because we wanted to first observe a few months of giving trends “post-radiant” before we put forth a final proposal. And in hindsight, there was wisdom in delaying. We anticipated giving would be down as part of sending out people from our body, and the initial budget we put before you in August reflected that, we stripped it way down to account for what would be lost in the givers we sent out.

But, what we’ve realized, is that we’ve lost more than just those we sent, we’ve lost some that still remain…

This weekend we reviewed the last four months of giving since planting Radiant, and friends…the numbers aren’t great. And the reason they aren’t great isn’t because of who we sent, but because many within our own body have withheld their gifts.

Now, by nature, my initial reaction to that is just to trim the budget further. Reduce staffing and make further changes to slash the budget…and perhaps some of those things will come. But, I am convicted, along with the other Pastors, that before those steps are made…we first need to invite you to participate, to fulfill the commitment you have made to this work.

I acknowledge, that perhaps most of you, were not even aware of the need…and that’s on me, until just the past couple of months I didn’t realize either, but in 2026, we are going to be updating you regularly regarding the status of our church budget. At the conclusion of this series, we will send an updated budget to all members, and at least monthly, we’ll provide an update as to where we stand in the Memo.

But today, before drastic steps are taken (because we still have time to make them)…I am simply appealing to you, to finish what you started!

I am praying, that you will respond to this challenge with the heart of the Macedonians, who begged to take part in the mission, not because of they had abundance, but because they trusted God with what they had.

For in the final verses of today’s text, Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 8:13–15 ESV

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

Friends, what I am asking of you today, I do not ask for the good of a few…but for the good of the many, and the glory of God.

Our budget that our members saw in August, exists in the whole, to bless the community and the church.

Amongst our biggest expenses are:

Pastors, who do the work of the church each day as we commit to prayer and the ministry of the word. And also, our Pastoral staff makes the operations of the church, including the Learning Center, possible in a way that aligns with our mission to make disciples.

We have a building, that serves to bless the church, providing a safe, warm place to come and study the word with adequate space to grow and to bless our children of all ages, both through our Your and Children’s ministry spaces, as well as the Learning Center.

A Large percentage of our budget goes to missions, which I talked about last week, funding kingdom projects throughout the world.

And last year, a good percentage of our budget went to benevolence, and the heart behind that is found in this text, in that your:

your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need

This is what is at stake. If we as a church, do not fully commit to all members participating in giving their time, talent, and treasure on a regular basis…we will not be able to continue the ministries we have each week (because we need more volunteers) and we will not be able to fund the ministries of this church as they’re currently budgeted…not even close.

The good news is, that the solution is not placing further burdens upon those currently serving and giving, but calling those who are not to join in.

I’ve done the math…if all of our members who are not currently serving, signed up to serve somewhere, we would have plenty of volunteers.

And, if every member who is not currently giving, committed to regular giving in 2026, we would exceed our budget.

This is a unique sermon series, if you’re visiting in January, you’re walking into a bit of a Family Meeting, and we’re glad you’re here, and I want to tell you know this sermon series is unique, in that we are taking this month to unite the church toward practical, sacrificial, and sanctifying participation at the start of a new year. (and if a visitor…not a place to be unknown, but known and engaged)

It is not my intent to cast a heavy burden on you, are church calendar reflects an awareness of the heavy burdens you carry…but, for your good, and God’s glory, I ask you for “readiness.”

2 Corinthians 8:12 ESV

For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

Closing:

As we close this morning, I want to be clear on something. This message, is not merely about money, it’s about our lives.

The ultimate motivation of Paul’s message, was to glorify God through building up and strengthening the church.

By the Corinthians investing in the good of other brothers and sisters, they were propping them up to do the work of Christ.

And the work of Christ, the great commission, is the final appeal I make to every one of you this morning.

Perhaps you’ve heard this message and thought “well I give each month, and I serve on ministry teams” and for that, I think you, and I hope others will follow you’re lead.

But I will appeal to you as well, are you finishing what you’ve started, in living your life to point the lost to Jesus?

Neil Cole, in his book Church as Movement, gives us a simple but powerful picture of the local church on mission:

A locomotive only works when three things come together:

The locomotive itself

Tracks to run on

Energy to move it forward

Remove any one of those elements, and you no longer have a functioning train.

In the same way, any multiplication movement in the church requires three essential components:

The message of the gospel — the unstoppable power of God for salvation. This is the locomotive.

Connective relationships with real, hurting people — people who need the hope of Christ. These relationships are the tracks the gospel runs along.

Lives transformed by grace — men and women so changed by Jesus that they cannot help but move outward. This is the energy that pushes the mission forward.

When the church grows stagnant and ineffective in mission, it’s almost always because we’re missing one or more of these.

We may believe the gospel is salvation by grace through faith alone, but we begin to live as though everything depends on our effort, our plans, our strategies, our strength.

And when we do that, we end up with something less than a train.

Or we settle for being merely moral, “nice,” culturally Christian people, good citizens but not gospel-carriers. And without gospel-transformed lives, there is no energy to propel the movement forward.

Apathy is not fuel. Comfort is not combustion. Niceness does not ignite a mission.

And then there’s the middle element, the tracks. This is where so many churches stall out.

We have deep relationships with fellow believers, and praise God for that, but very few meaningful, sacrificial, intentional relationships with people far from Christ.

Without those tracks, the movement cannot advance. A train filled with steam but with no rails beneath it is impressive… but it’s going nowhere.

So this morning, I want to close by asking you to join me in a simple prayer: Lord, lay the tracks for the gospel to run forward, here, now, through us.

My hope is not that Rooted Church would be known for the best music, the biggest youth group, the most dynamic preaching, or the fullest room.

Those things have their place, but they cannot define us.

I pray we would be known the way Jesus was known: as friends of sinners.

People who move toward the hurting, the overlooked, the skeptical, the wandering. People who carry the peace of Christ into the places where peace is missing. People who seek the shalom of our neighbors, our coworkers, our families, our city. People through whom the kingdom becomes visible.

May God awaken that desire in us. May He give us the rails. May He give us the fire. May He drive this movement forward by His power alone.

Let us pray to that end.