Sermon by George B. Wirth
First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
November 14, 1999

Now I think Paul was taking a big risk, comparing one church to another. Most congregations don’t like it, especially when it gets competitive about the numbers. You know what I mean - "How many members do you have? How large is the size of your staff? How big is your budget? How much are you giving to benevolence and missions?" We all know how the game is played, a kind of ecclesiastical one-upmanship somewhat akin to the game "King of the Mountain" we played when we were children. To tell you the truth, I’ve grown weary and wary of that numbers game.

But Paul used the comparisons of those two churches to his advantage, and my guess is the strategy worked. I think the Corinthians were probably inspired by the sacrificial giving of the Macedonians and rose to the occasion. However, that ploy is not necessary with you, because you are already a generous congregation and your track record in capital campaigns and annual giving over this past decade has been and continues to be a great inspiration to me!

So instead of the comparisons of these two churches recorded in the 8^th chapter of this letter, I commend to you the encouragement Paul offered to the Corinthians in chapter 9:

(II Corinthians 9:6-14 - selected verses)

You see, it is not a matter of comparison or competition, but rather a sense of commitment we are talking about on this Commitment Sunday. And for all of us as Christians, that is what it means to be "Faithful Stewards of God’s Grace."

I’ve heard it said, and you have too, that "God helps those who help themselves." It’s a catchy phrase that sounds practical enough, but those words are not found in the Bible. They come from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac and frankly, that statement is contrary to the gospel.

To be sure, we in this church want to help the unemployed find work, and we want to assist those who are stuck in the welfare system to become productive and self-supporting citizens. But there are literally millions of people in this country and billions more around the world, including children born into the devastating cycle of poverty, who thus far have not been able to help themselves.

And they are the ones whom the Lord has called all of us to reach out and touch with care and compassion. Jesus told us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked and to minister to those who are sick and suffering (Matthew 25). That is exactly what we are committed to doing in this church through our community ministries across the city of Atlanta and our mission outreach to various parts of this country and to people in Kenya and Brazil, in Haiti and Honduras and other places on this planet.

A significant percentage of what you pledge to our annual giving campaign will be used to help relieve the poverty and the pain of those who cannot help themselves right now. So give generously, Christian friends, from all that you have received. For just as the Macedonians and the Corinthians committed their contributions to the poor, the widows and the orphans, so do we commit our resources for the sake of others who are in need.

Of course, there are no guarantees of good health or great wealth to those who give to and through the church. But God has promised to bless us when we commit ourselves and our gifts as faithful stewards of His grace.

Last month, Time magazine printed a remarkable eulogy for a 91-year-old African-American woman named Oseola McCarty. Perhaps you remember her story. She quit school in the sixth grade to go to work, never married, never had children of her own - but she took care of her extended family by doing laundry for folks in the community and for students at the University of Southern Mississippi in her hometown of Hattiesburg.

She was a faithful Christian, five feet tall and less than 100 pounds, who kept her ragged Bible bound together by Scotch tape so that, as she put it, "Corinthians wouldn’t fall out." And she was frugal - Oseola McCarty saved almost every dollar she made, and over the decades, the amount grew to more than $150,000.

Then, back in 1995, Miss McCarty decided to give all of her life savings to establish scholarships for black students at the university. A reporter from The New York Times went down there to interview her, and this is what she said: "I know it won’t be too many years before I pass on, and I just figured the money would do those children a lot more good than it would me."

Well, business leaders in Hattiesburg rallied together to match her gift and the Oseola McCarty Scholarship Program began with more than $300,000. The first recipient, an 18-year-old honors student named Stephanie Bullock, from Hattiesburg, met Miss McCarty and subsequently, they became the best of friends.

Four years later, just last month, Oseola McCarty died. And this, in part, is the eulogy Stephanie Bullock wrote for Time magazine:

There is a photograph, inset in the eulogy, of Oseola McCarty and Stephanie Bullock, who is now a graduate student in business. And the smiles on their faces indicate clearly that not only was this young student the beneficiary of a great gift, so was the giver!

You see, not only do we give for the sake of others, we give for our own sake as well. And as we do that today, God has promised to bless us.

Have you ever wondered, as we talk together about stewardship and tithing in this church, why the Bible encourages us to give a portion, a tenth, of what we have received back to God? I don’t want to confuse you, but the truth is, God doesn’t need our money. The 24^th Psalm reminds us that "the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and the whole world and those who dwell therein." Which means, as far as I can tell, that everything, everything, already belongs to Him. So why does the Lord need anything in return from us?

Could it be that the Apostle Paul was trying to tell us that what God really wants and needs from us is a sign, an expression of our gratitude for all that we have so freely been given and received?

The day we were born, He breathed life into our bodies and souls. Throughout our journey on this earth, He has never forsaken us or left us alone. He has blessed us with families and friends, with financial resources and the gift of faith that has healed us and made us whole. And because of the great love and sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of His Son our Savior Jesus, we can know that when we die, and cross over to the other side, we will be welcomed home!

God has given us everything we need and far more than we ever deserved. So as faithful stewards of His grace, give for the sake of others, give for your own sake and "For God’s Sake," give back to Him a portion of what you have received.

The old hymn says it so well:

As we bring our pledge cards forward now and place them on the Communion Table, may this act of worship and praise be a sign of our commitment to the Lord in response to His great love and amazing grace!

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen