Sermon Tone Analysis

Dearly loved people of God,

Fires in BC

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus sits on the hillside above the Sea of Galilee teaching a large crowd of his followers about his heavenly Father’s care for them.

He points to the birds of the air.

Without combines or barns, wild birds get enough to eat.

Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Irma

And flowers, without fashion boutiques, earrings, or tattoos, somehow they look really beautiful.

At times they take your breath away.

Pointing to the creation and Creator like this, Jesus gives the assurance

Flooding in Windsor

Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Earthquake in Mexico city

terrorism in Edmonton

(NIV)

Mass shooting in Las Vegas

And on a Sunday morning, dressed comfortably with a good breakfast in our belly and the prospect of a turkey dinner sometime this weekend, we can nod wisely and agree that God provides generously.

But you know, and I know, that life isn’t always comfortable.

Not all of us have everything we want at our fingertips.

And that’s part of the challenge.

A lot of people have lost a whole lot of stuff.

some people lost everything and have no insurance to replace it.

Sometimes as we turn away from the news, we shudder a little, saying, “Wow, I’m glad that didn’t happen to me!

I don’t know what I’d do.”

How do you explain Jesus’ reassurances to you neighbor if they’ve been working at Siemens for the past number of years making wind turbines on Hwy 3? Now because of low demand, if they haven’t gotten their pink layoff notice yet, they expect it by year’s end?

It’s true of course.

You don’t know what you’d do.

Or the girl on your curling team who works at Cami: the union members are on strike right now, worrying that GM will move Equinox production and her job down to Mexico.

Then there’s the story of the couple in Alberta who won $60 000 000 in the lottery.

Whew, that’s a lot of money.

It gets your mind going, doesn’t it?

What would you do with $60 million?

Isn’t that where the rubber hits the road?

What assurances can you give?

Don’t look now, but we’ve gone from considering losing everything to having more money than you know what to do with in a few minutes.

With the levels of insurance we buy and the social safety net we enjoy, it’s rare for people around here to lose everything, but it happens.

Does it help to say, “When God closes a door, he opens a window”?

Even if it’s true, doesn’t it sound a little flippant?

Now consider Jesus’ instructions to the people who followed him to a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

And yet Jesus tells his followers not to worry.

Your heavenly Father knows what you need.

In my experience that’s easier said than done.

We are all looking for some kind of security in the world.

Mt 6:

We think that it would be good to have a good solid nest-egg to fall back on.

We’re tempted to think that having a lot of money and investments will make us feel secure.

If I would just win the lottery, all my worries would be over, right?

Jesus mentions that earthly investments are relatively insecure.

We could add to Jesus’ list of risks: inflation, natural disaster, war.

So maybe you heard in the news of the couple in Alberta who won $60 million in the lottery.

Did that spark your imagination?

Tell me, I’m not the only one who started daydreaming of what I could do with that kind of money!

Never mind $60 million; “If I had a million dollars . .

.”

In addition, Jesus challenges the consumer mentality of our culture.

Yet it isn’t just Jesus who tells us that money isn’t the answer to happiness and security.

Go ahead and Google it like I did.

Many people who win big money in the lottery end up bankrupt or divorced or both.

Statistics say, the larger the win, the more likely people will end up bankrupt within 5 years.

And happiness seems unlikely: there’s a large correlation between big lottery wins and depression, addiction, and suicide.

Yet somehow, those details don’t show up in lottery advertisements.

: 31

Jesus speaks pretty bluntly about the insecurity of earthly wealth.

What does he propose as a solution?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

(NIV)

mt 6: 2and

Jesus points to his heavenly Father’s providence.

You’ve probably marvelled at birds, haven’t you.

Jesus points to them and says,

From watching the news in the past few months, we could add the dangers of floods, fires, and earthquakes.

Earthly treasures might be nice, but they don’t offer security.

So Jesus offers his followers an alternative:

mt

And most people admire flowers.

Yet we also get caught up in the need to have good clothes, fashionable clothes.

Jesus pokes at those appetites as well.

mt 6.28-30

The answer to worrying about food and clothing is trust.

Jesus’ speaks of God’s providence for birds, plants, and his image-bearers, the stewards of his creation.

God takes care of his people.

Some people receive the bare minimum for survival.

Some receive enormous gifts of wisdom and knowledge, property and responsibility.

All of it comes from God as a gift.

It isn’t possession lots or little that determines where your heart is.

It’s the place of that earthly treasure in your heart and hopes and sense of security.

***

and

and

20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

What is Jesus’ instruction for storing up treasures in heaven?

(NIV)

mt 6.

What kind of treasure can you store up in heaven?

How would you do that?

Some of you have heard this phrase many times over the years.

There’s the song we sing: seek ye first . . .

Jesus supplies the answer later on in vs 33.

What is the Kingdom of God?

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This doesn’t just mean the place the God rules, it speaks of God’s reign, his ownership being recognized.

The Kingdom of God can expand over the globe as people profess faith in God, but it also needs to expand in our minds, over our possessions, and in our imaginations.

I’ve heard a financial adviser joke that the last part of a person to be converted is their wallet.