Thankful Giving Message on Acts 2:42-27
The expression of thanks of our dependence upon God and gratitude to Him in our giving
Introduction
Unredeemed Treasures
Unredeemed Treasures
Some years ago, a ninety-four-year-old widow died in her home in Chicago. She was known as a collector of antiques. The administrator of her estate found an astonishing collection to things. There was a fifty-year-old collection of chinaware, paintings, and unopened trunks. It was reported that altogether there were twenty rooms packed with rare and expensive furnishings. A fortune in diamonds was found in the false bottom of an old trunk. A desk revealed five thousand dollars in cash, as well as many uncashed checks and money orders. Some of the checks were so old they were worthless, and many of the money orders were sent to Washington for redemption. What would you have done with such a vast fortune? Do you think the poor, rich woman knew what life was all about?
Like the eccentric lady in Chicago, we, too, are connoisseurs of what we term valuables, yet fail to use them properly, leaving the gifts and promises of God unclaimed.
Observation
Background
Expressions of Dependence upon to God
Expressions of Gratitude to God
Expressions of Gratitude to God
“Thanksgetting” - Ananias and Sapphira
“Thanksgetting to Thanksgive”
“Thanksgetting to Thanksgive”
Telling people to be thankful is a bit like requesting a kiss. If you have to ask for it, it usually isn’t worth getting. Gratitude—and affection—lose something unless they’re freely given.
But thanks to a bit of creativity and whimsy, Pastor Dean Ryder of First Baptist Church in Newfane, New York, was able to encourage people to be thankful—freely, voluntarily, and spontaneously.
The method was a reverse offering. One Sunday the offering plates were loaded with envelopes, and as the ushers passed them, everyone was told to take one. Each envelope contained a dollar bill and an index card. The instructions:
1. Decide on an individual, not part of your family, for whom you are especially thankful.
2. Express your thankfulness to God for this person.
3. Do something for this individual with the dollar and let him or her know of your thankfulness.
4. Report on what you did, using the index card in the envelope.
“We passed out $80 that morning,” says Ryder. “And we collected the cards over the next few weeks. More than 85 percent of those taking an envelope turned in the card telling what they had done. I compiled the responses and read them the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving. It was a real celebration of joy.”
One lady, a wood carver, spent the dollar on a block of wood and crafted a miniature dog as a gift.
Someone else made a fruit basket and delivered it, while others gave plants, cards, or carnations.
“Someone gave one woman four pieces of candy with the instructions to share three of them with people she was thankful for,” says Ryder. “And personally I received a crock of cookies, two cards, and a sack of peanuts. I was a little embarrassed, because I hadn’t done this project with the intention of being on the receiving end. But I guess we must learn to be good receivers as well as good givers.”
Examples
Telling people to be thankful is a bit like requesting a kiss. If you have to ask for it, it usually isn’t worth getting. Gratitude—and affection—lose something unless they’re freely given.
But thanks to a bit of creativity and whimsy, Pastor Dean Ryder of First Baptist Church in Newfane, New York, was able to encourage people to be thankful—freely, voluntarily, and spontaneously.
The method was a reverse offering. One Sunday the offering plates were loaded with envelopes, and as the ushers passed them, everyone was told to take one. Each envelope contained a dollar bill and an index card. The instructions:
1. Decide on an individual, not part of your family, for whom you are especially thankful.
2. Express your thankfulness to God for this person.
3. Do something for this individual with the dollar and let him or her know of your thankfulness.
4. Report on what you did, using the index card in the envelope.
“We passed out $80 that morning,” says Ryder. “And we collected the cards over the next few weeks. More than 85 percent of those taking an envelope turned in the card telling what they had done. I compiled the responses and read them the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving. It was a real celebration of joy.”
One lady, a wood carver, spent the dollar on a block of wood and crafted a miniature dog as a gift.
Someone else made a fruit basket and delivered it, while others gave plants, cards, or carnations.
“Someone gave one woman four pieces of candy with the instructions to share three of them with people she was thankful for,” says Ryder. “And personally I received a crock of cookies, two cards, and a sack of peanuts. I was a little embarrassed, because I hadn’t done this project with the intention of being on the receiving end. But I guess we must learn to be good receivers as well as good givers.”
Giving Money
Christian giving is always a response. The motivation for our giving is that we have received. This doesn’t mean we try to pay God back, for that is an impossibility. It does mean that our giving begins in gratitude
Freely, Freely Hymn (2 minutes)
Freely, Freely Hymn
Conclusion
The church, the new community Christ formed, is here today. We are the church. And God, the Spirit, is able to take our 11s, and our 120s and our 3,000s and, as we joyfully focus our shared life on Jesus, to orchestrate our lives to His wondrous “one accord.”