SERMON EXERT OCTOBER 28, 2012

SERMON EXERT OCTOBER 28, 2012 YOU WERE MADE FOR CHEERFUL GIVING Bicentennial Halloween Party Day By the Rev. John Donnelly According to Rick Warren, one vital aspect of ‘serving God’ is our financial giving to God. Rick Warren says, “Materialism is the third barrier that keeps us from being available to serve. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13). They key word here is “cannot”? He didn’t say, “You should not serve both God and money.” He said, “You cannot serve both God and money.” You’ve got to decide whether you want to be rich or you want to be blessed.” Now, what is he saying? Is he saying that rich people are bad? No. Rather he is cautioning us to beware of the temptation, which is often unconscious , of giving money more undue importance in our lives, than God. Now, this is often unconscious, which is why God’s stresses, “You shall have no other Gods but me, you shall NOT value material things, more than you value me.” Most Christians are confused about financial giving to God, not because they are greedy, but because they do not know the Bible. Read that last line at the bottom of the page with me: “If there is a willing mind, give according to what you do have, and not according to what you do not have.” Paul says this in another way, too, which is a guiding principle of our Annual Pledge ministry. Paul says, and please repeats after me, “Everyone should do what/He has purposed in his heart/not grudgingly/not under compulsion/ for God loves/ a cheerful giver. What does God love? A cheerful giver. I want to tell you about some cheerful givers I know. They are spiritual ancestors of you and me, saints from the history of Christ Church, who later today will be featured in our haunted church tour: The first man was a local, named Cyrus Perry. Can anyone tell us about him? In 1812, the organizing committee for CCQF held a CONTEST. The first person to bring in a beam for the construction of the church would win 5 gallons of Jamaican rum. Cyrus Perry won the contest, but apparently never collected his prize. So, there has been a great mystery for the last 200 years, and that mystery is why didn’t Cyrus Perry claim his prize of the Jamaican rum? There is no record that he received it, and there has been suspicion as to whether or not he was cheated out of his prize. Well, I did some research: It turns out that Cyrus Perry was not only the contest winner, but he was also one of the 40 first members of CCQF. His name is listed with all the other founder s that made pledges , or subscriptions as they were called, to provide the money and materials to build this church. So, here’s my theory: Cyrus Parry didn’t secure the lumber to win a contest. He donated his lumber as a gift to God, as his contribution . He shared the faith and the vision of this church, and was grateful to offer to Gad whatever he could. So, he never claimed his prize, because he was grateful for the prize that he had already received by being forgiven and loved by Jesus Christ. If he had claimed his prize, then there would have been a record of it, like there are records about everything else. So, because of Cyrus Perry and the other cheerful givers , we have inherited this church so that we can show God that we love him through worship. Our second cheerful giver is The Rev. William Soule, served CCQF from 1948-1959. As some of us heard last week in Marilyn’s history presentation, Dr. Soule was responsible for securing our organ back in 1951—the very organ that Rob Simon so wonderfully plays for us today. This organ, originally built in the 1800s, and was donated by a local Lutheran Church, which was purchasing a newer instrument. But back then, the “new-to- us-organ” cost a fair amount of money to disassemble, clean, repair, refurbish,& transport to Quaker farms. Also, carpenters had to remodel the organ loft and literally trim the organ, in order for it to be installed. In 1951, this was an unbudgeted expense. But, Dr. Soule and the rest of Christ Church made monetary pledges to cover these expenses, which were paid off in the year. Because of those Cheerful givers, you and I are blessed with the organ that we have all inherited. Finally, my last Cheerful Giver is the late/long time parishioner, Mabel Lum. During her talk, Marilyn informed us that Miss Lum was the chief advocate and fund raiser for the construction of our current Parish Hall. She worked for years building support, securing donations, and ultimately bequeathing the funds necessary to construct our building. For the past 50 years, that building has provided space for hundreds and hundreds of our own parishioners for Sunday School, parties and dinners, Youth Groups gatherings, Scouting programs, and for our own pre-school. Also, CCQF has been very generous in sharing this space with countless community groups. Because of Mabel Lum and the other cheerful givers who supported her work, we are blessed with the building which we have honored to inherit. Cyrus Perry, William Soule , Mabel Lum and all the cheerful givers of our past made generous donations to build a physical church, and we are grateful to them. You and I , we are called not being called to build a physical building. Rather, you and I are being called to up build what the Bible calls a spiritual building, a building where together we can express our love of God through worship, where we can love and serve one another, and spiritually grow as disciples of Christ. Over the next several weeks, your Vestry would like for you to reflect upon the many gifts that we have received, so that in 2013 we all can be what Rick Warren calls “Kingdom builders.” For the past 200 years, cheerful givers have done their part, giving us what we have today. As you pray about making your pledge in 2013, I pray that the gratitude and love of Christ would guide you, too.