We are all acutely aware of the financial hardships and challenges of this current economy.  Unemployment and the difficulty in finding jobs is a harsh reality for several in our church. Many in our church have had their pay frozen or reduced.  401Ks have tanked. 

The impact of all this on giving to our church is not surprising - contributions are lagging behind budget and expenses.  The same is true for our larger church family; giving from Covenant churches to the Central Conference and the Evangelical Covenant Church is also down.

It’s easy and natural to cite the very real economic woes we are experiencing as the primary or exclusive reason for our flagging financial stewardship.  And we do need to recognize how that has negatively impacted some tremendously and everyone to some degree.  However, we run the very real risk of missing an opportunity to deepen our faith in Christ when, even in these tough economic times, we fail to give sacrificially and generously to the church!
 
This is where the wisdom of God’s Word truly guides us.  In 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Paul speaks about the example of financial stewardship lived out in the lives of the Christians in the Macedonian churches.  Paul states (2 Cor. 8:2-3) that these believers “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.  Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.”  Paul describes a group of believers who were practically destitute, some who undoubtedly had lost their jobs due to their new-found faith. 

Warren Wiersbe puts it very succinctly:  “…great affliction and deep poverty plus grace = abundant joy and abounding liberality!”  The example of the Macedonian Christians (and elsewhere in the Bible – see Exodus 35:5-6, 1 Chronicles 29:6-9, Luke 21:2-4) teaches us that when we give sacrificially as an act of faith and a testimony to the sustaining and supplying grace of God that we have known (see Matthew 6:25–33), we experience a life changing and life freeing joy and generosity.

Later in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul writes:  “Remember this:  Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each one should give what they have decided in their hearts to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God Love a cheerful giver.”  And then Paul concludes with this promise:  “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

So I urge you to prayerfully seek God for what you are to contribute to both our Giving Thanks offering on November 15th and to the ongoing financial needs of Edgebrook Covenant Church.  Give generously.  Give sacrificially.  Give cheerfully.  And then see how God blesses both you and his Kingdom work!
We will celebrate God’s faithfulness through our financial stewardship on Giving Thanks Sunday, November 15th.  Donn Engebretson, who grew up at Edgebrook Covenant Church and is now the executive vice president of our denomination, will share a greeting and word of thanks from the Evangelical Covenant Church during worship.  Immediately following worship we will have our quarterly congregational meeting to discuss and approve our 2010 budget. 

Following that, we will feast and fellowship at our Giving Thanks potluck in Fellowship Hall!  Just bring your dish with you to worship.  Someone will take it from the narthex downstairs to the kitchen where it will be kept and ready to be served following our business meeting.

One of the hallmarks of our faith in Jesus Christ is that even in the darkest of times, we declare that we are children of the light, that our God is sovereign, and that He will supply our needs as He has promised to do. And so we will again when we gather to feast, to fellowship and to celebrate at Giving Thanks on Sunday, November 15th.  There we will know anew and afresh the reality of what Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38:  “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.”