Take out your wallets, checkbooks, credit cards. Look at what's in there.

How do you feel about it?

If you got paid on Friday like I did - might feel like a lot.

What are the kinds of things you've paid for lately?

Utility bills

Prescriptions

Mortgage

Groceries - Dinners out

Entertainment

Do we tell God "thank you" for these things on a regular basis?

Some people don't have control of heat and air at their fingertips,

Some people can't get or can't afford medicine,

Some people have to scrape and settle to get a roof over their heads,

Some people go hungry,

Some have never seen a movie or played a round of golf.

That's why I like to hear Cade pray before our meals -

He says "thank you" for every thing on the table,

His apple juice, his Cheerios, the newspaper, his toy, whatever it is, and he closes it up with a great big hearty "AMEN."

We could do well learning to thank God in the little details.

Paul spent a good portion of his letters talking about what it means to be grateful and to be generous. He didn't hesitate to press his congregations to rise to whatever challenges they might meet - whether they be challenges of faithfulness, love or money.

Here in Corinth he's challenging the wealthier of his constituents to be generous like their poorer cousins in Macedonia. The Macedonian churches were in "extreme poverty, under a severe ordeal of affliction" he says, "But they gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry of the saints."

Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to do the same - to be motivated by their own eagerness to support the living expansion of the Christian church. And in so doing, he tells them, "The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had too little did not have too little."

I can understand this - but sometimes it takes a living example of generosity to see:

Too much - My generous grandparents, saved uncomfortably so that later my sister and I could have more opportunities open to us.

Too little - Two children in poverty were told about Santa Claus and then asked what they would like to have for Christmas - the little boy said, "An orange - for my sister."

Fervor of "Presbyterianism" in Africa, Korea, other "Third World" nations

Paul demands this kind of generosity from those who have a little more "not to be a relief to others and put pressure on you," but so that they could strike a "fair balance" between their present abundance and the Macedonians' need. He thinks that it's fair to ask those who have much to be thankful for to share it with those who unfortunately do not. He also believed that it is a spiritual gift to be generous. He had already seen that gift come out in places that he might not have expected. Paul grew up with "things" - but he realized that to be a grateful Christian, he neither had to have "things" nor did he have to be intentionally "poor" to get what it was all about. "The one who had too much did not have too much, and the one who had too little did not have too little."

Therefore, I think churches should be asking for money - often. Certainly that's one of the reasons why we do it EVERY SUNDAY. It prepares people for experiencing the gift of gratefulness in their own lives. We need to have reasons to say "thank you" and ways to return our thanks. But I also think that we need to have a fully developed reason for what this "offering" is, because too often the church ends up like any other organization in the waiting line for hand-outs or begging on the street corner just to keep things going the way they always have been.

Our offering can be best understood in light of this passage from Paul's letter. The offering of the churches in Macedonia and the offering of the churches in Corinth might not have ended up being the same gift - the quantity is not what's important. Paul was testing the spirits of each of these groups. He was looking for earnestness and genuineness in their love. He urged those excelled in everything, faith, speech, knowledge, and love to do one more thing - to also excel in generosity toward others. Our offering should match the gratitude in our hearts, and it should also match our willingness to tip the scales toward a fair balance - that those who have more are more able to support those who have less.

Therefore the intention of our church can also be lined up with this letter to determine if we are then using the gifts bestowed upon us to do the work that God intends. The letter is certainly not clear in explaining programs or outlining the best means of staff structure or church polity. However, it does call for careful consideration of two things when monies are shared -

1) We must respect that people are privileged to share in this ministry of the saints - church work and decision-making should also reflect that we are a shared ministry of the saints. Sure we support the work of those called to mission or evangelism, those who would give their gifts in exchange for the pay that puts roofs over their heads and food on their tables. But the life of the church is everyone's responsibility - to give and to determine how the use of those gifts furthers the ministry of Jesus Christ.

And 2) The gifts of the church are given so that we can help one another. Paul in his wildest dreams or in his most cursed nightmares probably could have never imagined the institution that the Christian church has become. We are not here to be a club unto ourselves. We are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and now, pay water bills and build houses. We must never find ourselves in that position where we have too much to feel thankful for that we end up losing our compassion in caring for others. When those who are facing extreme poverty have something to give, those who have incredible wealth must be the ones taking the initiative to strike the fair balance.

So today, be grateful in whatever way and with whatever means you are called to be grateful. Today is not a plea for the budget, or a plea for the organ renovation, or even a plea to help out during the Pentecost offering. It is a plea to your spirit. Find the spiritual joy in being grateful givers. I really don't care if it benefits the church directly or not. What I do care about is that it benefits each of YOU directly. Think about what you saw in your wallets and checkbooks. Has God been generous with you? How can you be generous with God and find that joy in abundance you didn't even know you had? Amen.

TO THE PREACHERS ON THIS LIST - During the Offering, I'll be asking each person as they put in their envelope or touch the plate to say a specific "thank you" prayer - like Cade's at breakfast - so they say something particular - "Thank you for last night's special dinner." "Thank you for money to pay the mortgage this month." Something like that so it will be a noisy prayer this time.