19th Sunday after Pentecost – C (Proper 25)                       LSB #’s 906, 572:1-3; 572:4-6 tune 451
Text – Genesis 4:4b-5
 
And the Lord had regard for Abel & his offering, but for Cain & his offering he had no regard.  So Cain was very angry, & his face fell.   
 
WHY ARE PEOPLE SO ANGRY?
 
 
If you spend any time at all  listening to news media,  on national & world events,  it quickly becomes clear – there is a lot of anger & hatred going around.   More disturbing, to those who truly follow Jesus,  is the number of people promoting or celebrating  the anger & the hatred.   If you wonder  where all that comes from,  the OT reading  reveals the answer. 
Many people today  excuse their anger  & blame it  on Donald J. Trump.  However, Cain did not have that problem or that excuse.  The events of Genesis 4 happened thousands of years before president Trump was born.  Those events occurred long before the words Nazi,  fascist  or dictator  entered the English vocabulary. 
To understand why Cain killed Abel,  you have to believe that God is perfectly good & 100% accurate  in reading the human heart.  Simply hearing the sermon text can leave you with the impression that God is not fair.   Why does He have regard  for the offering of Abel  but not for the offering of Cain?   All of us have been unfairly judged  so we know  what it feels like. 
“And the Lord had regard for Abel & his offering,  but for Cain & his offering he had no regard.  So, Cain was very angry,  & his face fell.”  Cain’s problem  is that his heart was not right with God,  & Cain’s Creator  knew it.  That’s why  the Lord had no regard for Cain’s offering.  It was not given out of faith in God.  A spirit of love & thankfulness was missing. 
The Lord is not unfair  because He never  evaluates anyone arbitrarily  as we often do.  God’s reading of Cain’s heart & offering was dead on,  yet,  what really upset Cain  is that his little brother’s offering  was given out of love & gratitude for the blessings from his heavenly Father.  Abel’s offering  made Cain look bad.  At least,  that’s how Cain saw it.  Abel’s heart was right with God,  & Cain hated him for it.  The reason Cain’s offering was not regarded is that his heart was opposed to God,  & that’s also the reason Cain became so angry.  His heart was opposed to God,  & the actions of an unrepentant heart  always compound themselves. 
Cain wanted to be his own man – independent of his Creator & Lord.   Since God is good & is love, He tried to counsel Cain regarding the danger he was putting himself in: “Why are you angry, & why has your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well,  sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, & you must rule over it.”  (4:6-7 ESV) 
Sadly,  in defiance of his Creator,   Cain embraces the sin  that is crouching for him!   In NT terms, Peter would counsel, “Be sober-minded;  be watchful.   Your adversary the devil  prowls around like a roaring lion,   seeking someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8 ESV)  In his defiance, Cain thought that he was devouring Abel,  all the while,  Satan was devouring him. 
Cain allowed the anger & the hatred to fill him, &: “…Cain rose up against his brother Abel  & killed him.”  (Genesis 4:8 ESV)   The power of darkness was unleashed.   Adam & Eve saw the fulfillment of their Creator’s warning: “…but of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil  you shall not eat,  for in the day that you eat of it  you shall surely die.”  (Genesis 2:17 ESV) 
That is why people are so angry today.  It has nothing at all  to do with Donald J. Trump.  It has nothing to do at all  with politics,  the constitution,  or freedom of speech.  It has nothing to do with deportations,  hate speech,  or climate change.   Cain murdered Abel,  because Abel loved the Lord.   Charlie Kirk was assassinated  because  he loved the Lord. 
Is Satan seeking to devour you?   Or,   are you already  on his team?   What our Creator said is all too true: “…sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you,  & you must  rule over it.”  (Genesis 4:7b-c ESV)   People today are angry.  Many have allowed themselves to be filled with hate,  & it has everything to do  with Jesus Christ.  He explained it like this: “If the world hates you,  know that it has hated me  before it hated you.”  (John 15:18 ESV)   If you love the Lord, Satan will be coming after you,  & he is playing for keeps.  But also know this, the Holy Spirit will also be reaching out to you, as He did to Cain:
“Why are you angry, & why has your face fallen?  If you do well, will you not be accepted?”  (Genesis 4:6-7a ESV)  With those words, God was calling Cain  to come back to his true Lord & Creator.  Cain didn’t even have to come up with the strength to repent on his own.  God’s Spirit provides that for us.  His Spirit is the strength that turns us back. 
Sadly, Cain’s heart was opposed to God’s Spirit.  St. Paul warned against that in his letter to the church at Ephesus: “Be angry  & do not sin;  do not let the sun go down on your anger,  & give no opportunity to the devil.”  (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV)   Cain preferred to wallow in his anger.  And in that self-righteous attitude,  Satan found the perfect soil to plant death  & destruction. 
Cain embraced the sin that was crouching for him – a frightening thought for us to consider.  The same cycle has occurred throughout world history & throughout our own history.  Day in  & day out  you & I embrace the sin that crouches at our door,  waiting to devour us like the roaring lion that it is,  that we so often refuse to acknowledge or reject. 
For that,  & out of the purest love for His creation, Yahweh sent the Son to embrace our sins & to crush them to death on the cross.  Like he was for Cain,  Satan was also crouching at the door for Jesus: “…after fasting 40 days & 40 nights, He was hungry.  And the tempter came & said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God,  command these stones to become loaves of bread.’[1] 
   Jesus did not allow hunger or anger to guide His actions.  Instead, He turned to & leaned completely upon  the Word of God to provide for Him.  Instead of allowing sin to guide His actions, out of love, Jesus died for us,  rather than making us die  as Cain made his brother Abel die.  In the “cancel culture” of our day,  people increasingly  are calling for the death of those  who offend them, even of entire nations, as in the slogan “Death to America.”  In so doing they are working for Satan as he seeks to devour all of God’s creation. 
Those who are seeking to cancel Christianity are being used to actively recruit others for Satan’s team.  Every time any of us sins,  we are working for the devil’s team,  even if we’re not aware of it.  All of us have sinned against God,  yet He sends His Son to die because of our sin, so that we might be holy & blameless in sight of our heavenly Father. 
Our nation is the wealthiest nation on earth & probably one of the least thankful to God.  For anyone who is angry & wallowing in it, calling for the canceling of those who offend them, Jesus gave us the parable in Luke 18:
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, & treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee & the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”’”    
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 
May all of us take those words to heart.  Christ has come to save sinners.  May we freely admit our sins & trust in Jesus to cover them all.  Amen. 
 
The peace of God that surpasses all human understanding will guard your hearts & your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen. 
 


[1] Matthew 4:2-3 ESV

​Stewardship 3                                                                                                LSB #’s 783, 851, 893
Text – Luke 12:21
 
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself & is not rich toward God.
 
RICH TOWARD GOD
 
 
In the Gospel reading, a man asks Jesus to command his brother to divide the family inheritance with him.  Jesus ignores the argument & instead uses this situation to teach a vital lesson about greed: “Take care & be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  (Luke 12:15 ESV) 
Rather than being sucked into an argument, Jesus tells the story of a very successful farmer.  His fields produce abundant crops; he knows how to strike the most lucrative deals with buyers.  He loves & is energized by his work.  Everything he does seems to turn to gold! 
I don’t know what opportunities he had to develop his spiritual life, but apparently, he considered doing bigger & bigger deals to be a more valuable use of his time & energy than seeking God!   Would you say, “It’s an easy pattern to fall into”? 
The farmer’s fields continue to produce spectacularly!  His operation grows beyond his wildest dreams.  Eventually, he has to tear down his barns & build bigger ones to hold all his grain & goods!  Bursting with satisfaction, he exclaims, “I’ve got tons of money in the bank; my future is secure!  Now, I will eat, drink & be merry!”        And then God said, “You fool!” 
This is shocking!   At his funeral, everyone said, “He was a shrewd businessman, a wise investor, a genius!”  God called him a fool because he denied his Creator.  Psalm 14:1 tells us, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”  A fool believes that it’s all up to him.  A fool believes he has created who he is.  His happiness & security depend upon what he has acquired. 
By the world’s standards, this man in Luke 12 was rich, but poor by God’s standards.  The Word of God tells us that we are rich when we trust in Him for our eternal salvation.  We are rich when we believe that Yahweh has created us, redeemed us, & makes us holy.  The rich fool in Luke 12 invested his time & energy in storing up mountains of wealth, but had invested nothing in what mattered most, so he stood before God naked & empty-handed. 
He was rich in the eyes of the world, but a fool in the eyes of God.   What all human beings need to learn is this: be RICH TOWARD GOD!   What does that mean?  It simply means to invest our lives in a relationship with the Lord, Savior & Creator! 
We invest much time & money in education, work, friends, families, pleasures.  We may be rich in those things, but are we rich toward God?   Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matthew 6:20 ESV)   A disciple, one who is learning to be more like Jesus, learns to invest his life in loving God & in meeting the needs of others. 
An important way for us to be RICH TOWARD GOD is through faithful giving.  To be RICH TOWARD GOD in our giving, we should consider: “What is God asking me to give?”  Giving one tenth was the law in the OT.  However, because of the freedom Jesus won for us through His life & death, we are no longer bound to Ceremonial Laws. 
As New Covenant Christians, what is an appropriate percentage of our income to give?  What amount will show gratitude to God for Who He is & what He has done for us through His Son?  We are not commanded to tithe, but as Jesus encouraged the Pharisees, in Matthew 23, to continue their tithing, we are encouraged to use the tithe as a guide for our giving. 
It is important to remember that the amount or percentage we give is less important than our attitude & motive for giving.  God is honored even if we give less than the tithe if we give cheerfully & faithfully.  Through the working of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in our giving so that we not only become tithers, but go beyond it. 
There are principles & truths in Scripture that help us to be RICH TOWARD GOD. 
1.         We are rich toward God when we give to Him first. 
At Exodus 23:19, Moses tells the people, “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord.”  (ESV)    In a non-agricultural society, rather than bringing crops, we give the firstfruits of our income.  We honor our commitment to God before buying the things we desire.  Our great God Who gave His best does not value leftovers. 
Our greediness can cause us to spend everything & be rich in possessions, & not have any left over to give.  Rather, first budget the money to give to God’s Kingdom.   How much should be budgeted?  To that question, as shared earlier, we understand that the tithe acts for us as a Biblical guide or benchmark. 
Though tithing is not commanded in the NT, many Christians see tithing as a healthy goal.  In 1 Corinthians 16:2 the Apostle Paul wrote: “On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside & store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”  (ESV)   The greater the income you have, the more you are able to give! 
2.         We are rich toward God when we give generously.  
In 2 Corinthians 9:11 we read: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”  (ESV)   You might reason: “I’ve worked up to tithing, & now I can coast!”  Not really!  Ten percent is not the goal.  Giving generously   is the goal! 
In Ephesians 4:28, Paul wrote that the people are to do “honest work with [their] own hands, so that [they] may have something to share with anyone in need.”  (ESV)    The reason God gives you what you have is not simply for a higher standard of living, nor to buy a bigger house & bigger cars, but to give generously! 
God does not prosper your business only so you can buy newer furniture, but so you can
have a greater impact on spreading the Gospel!   When we get a raise, we often think, “Now I can afford that 65” TV.”   We ought to think, now I can give more!  Having a $100,000 salary does not have to be accompanied by a $100,000 lifestyle. 
We need to think as disciples & ask, “How do I honor God by my lifestyle & giving?  How can I be rich toward God?  What is a generous percentage of my income?”  If you live in poverty, 3% may be generous.  If you’re wealthy, 30% may not be generous.  If mortgage, or other payments, are so high we can’t afford to give generously, we may need to downsize! 
Now, the Bible is not teaching us not to invest or prepare for emergencies & retirement.   We are to plan wisely for the future.  Nor is the Bible teaching that we cannot have luxuries.  In order to be generous & willing to share, we need to keep a balance.  It’s not either or.  We are to enjoy the pleasures of life as gifts from God   & we are to be generous in giving. 
3.         We are rich toward God when we give cheerfully.    
When the Apostle tells us, “…for God loves a cheerful giver,” (2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV) the Greek word is hilaros.   God loves a hilarious giver!  The church should never make people feel guilty about giving.  We give under God’s grace & grace never threatens or condemns.  The principles of giving generously & cheerfully are beautifully illustrated in this story:
Two brothers shared a field & a mill.  Each night they evenly divided the grain they had ground during the day.  One brother lived alone; the other had a wife & large family.  The single brother began to think, “It isn’t really fair that we divide the grain evenly.  I only have myself to care for.  My brother has children to feed.” 
Each night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary to see that he was never without.  The married brother said to himself one day, “It isn’t really fair that we divide the grain evenly.  I have children to provide for me in my old age, but my brother has none.  What’ll he do when he is old?”   Every night he secretly took some of his grain to his brother’s granary.  As a result, both always found their supply of grain mysteriously replenished each night. 
As we generously give our firstfruits to God with a proper attitude (cheerfully), we become rich toward God.  How much should we give?  Here’s the bottom line: God is pleased when we give from loving & thankful hearts.  He wants us to give generously, faithfully & cheerfully.  The tithe is a benchmark &, if need be, an encouragement for us to grow in giving. 
Few of us give as generously as we should; I know I don’t.   None of us obey God in any area as we should: Bible study, prayer, spiritual gifts, loving others – I don’t do any of that well, yet God still loves me.   Even if you didn’t give a penny, God would not love you any less.  Christ died for all our sins, including our lack of generous giving! 
“…God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8 ESV)  Jesus effected the redemption of all mankind in that act of sacrifice.  Therefore, we now count ourselves “dead to sin & alive to God in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 6:11 ESV) & the Holy Spirit working through Word & Sacrament, continues His work of sanctifying us. 
When we grow as disciples, as we understand more & more what God has done for us in Christ, as we see the infinite love of God shown to us by the death of His Son, as we see that Jesus gave Himself,   we are prompted by the Holy Spirit to respond through sharing the resources that God has given us with those in need. 
We give as a visual expression of the depth of our relationship with God, our maturity as disciples, our understanding of what is important in life.  May the power of the Holy Spirit work in us so we are rich toward God.  Amen. 
 
Lord of glory, You have bought us with Your lifeblood as the price, never grudging for the lost ones that tremendous sacrifice;  & with that have freely given blessings countless as the sand  to the unthankful & the evil with your own unsparing hand.  Grant us hearts, dear Lord,  to give You gladly,  freely of Your own.  With the sunshine of Your goodness  melt our thankless hearts of stone  till our cold & selfish natures,  warmed by You,  at length believe  that more happy & more blessed ’Tis to give than to receive.  Amen.  LSB 851:1-2.  

​Stewardship 1                                                                                                LSB #’s 940, 703, 790
Text – Luke 21:4
 
…they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.
 
A LEAP OF FAITH
 
 
The Bible is a remarkable book.    Where else would you hear about a son who leaves home, wastes his father’s money, returns home broke, & is welcomed by his father with open arms?   Where else do you hear of a Samaritan who stops at the side of the road to tend the wounds of a traveler who’s been beaten & left for dead? 
We hear of a widow who, during a famine, gives her last crust of bread to a hungry prophet named Elijah.  And there’s the time a donkey is given the power to speak. 
When turning to history books, we’re accustomed to reading about great battles, about the conquests of explorers & others who made a name for themselves in shaping the world.   In the Bible, it is the little people who stand out – the ordinary folk who are not famous for anything, except for some act of mercy or love that was lifted up & preserved by God. 
Today, we read about a woman whose name is never mentioned, but it’s told of her that one day Jesus saw her throwing two copper coins into the temple treasury.  Why is such an event recorded in Holy Scripture? 
As Jesus went about the towns & villages of Galilee preaching the Gospel, He looked for those rare persons who exemplified the things about which He was speaking.  Whenever He found such a person, He pointed to that one as a mirror of the Good News. 
As Jesus was resting by the temple gate, weary from His travels, He heard the clink of two small coins being dropped into the offering box by the entrance.  The sound of the coins was distinctly different.  They did not make the loud, heavy sound of the larger coins being thrown into the box.  This sound was hollow, almost muffled, yet Jesus heard & He looked up.  What He saw was a frail woman in old clothing who was obviously not well-to-do.  We do not know if Jesus spoke to her, but He had a keen ability to see into the depths of people’s lives.  This was a woman for whom Jesus was looking. 
“Come over here,” He called to His disciples.  “Come & see this woman.  She has put in more than all the others.  They have given out of their wealth, but she, poor as she is, put in everything, all she had to live on.” 
Why was Jesus so moved by this woman?  What did she do that so captured His heart?  Well, she put the substance of her life into that offering.  It was not the leftovers or what she would not miss.  It was her next meal.  It was her security for tomorrow.  She took a leap of faith, not knowing at all what the next day might bring. 
It is this leap of faith that we will consider this morning – that response which is called forth at rare moments in our lives, leading us to give & share far beyond what we’d ordinarily do.   Can you think of a time in your life when you broke out of your routine to do something unexpected?   How about a time when you found strength you did not know you had? 
There was an Alpine Mountain climber scaling a treacherous peak in Switzerland when his strength gave out.   He quit, exhausted, powerless to lift his ice-axe another notch.  As the wind whipped about him, he was certain he would freeze to death or be torn loose from his support ropes & hurtled to the rocks thousands of feet below. 
Suddenly an object from above flew past him.  As he looked up, he saw a fellow climber who had lost his axe, & with it the power to move.  With strength, he didn’t have the moment before, the exhausted climber dug in with his axe & scrambled up the side of the mountain until he reached the man in trouble.  Together the two climbers worked, sharing the one axe, until they reached a place of safety.  Beside the fire that night, the man who was rescued expressed his thanks, but his rescuer broke in: “Listen,” he said, “If you had not been there calling out for help, I would have died, so I want to thank you for rescuing me.”   One man’s need saved another man’s life by calling forth from him a strength he did not have just moments earlier. 
Isn’t it true that when a need strikes us with real force, when someone is in trouble, or when help is called for, we often find a power that was not there?  We take the leap.  We go beyond what we would ordinarily do, without thinking of all that could go wrong. 
We expend energy for a specific act, but when things quiet down, we go back to the ordinary way of living.  That reminds me of a man who was deeply moved in church one Sunday to pledge an extra hundred dollars to a mission effort that was eloquently portrayed.   
When someone came by a few days later to pick up the check, the man refused to pay it.  He said, “I just got too religious last Sunday for my own interest.”    It is true, isn’t it?  Sometimes we are deeply moved to take a risk, to jump out there, to do something out of the ordinary, but then things return to normal.  Caution sets in, & we hold back. 
The amazing thing about the widow with the two mites is that she did not hold back.  She put the substance of her life into that offering box.  Her leap of faith wasn’t a momentary impulse.  It was an act that had implications for tomorrow & the next day & every day after that. 
That is what Jesus praised – not the surge of temporary piety we all feel from time to time, but the complete self-giving of this woman.  While the Pharisees debated in the streets about what was God’s & what was Caesar’s, this woman had no debate.  All of it was God’s, her whole life, everything.  That was her starting point. 
She did not haggle over what was God’s & what was hers.  Her life belonged to God.  She lived by faith, & it affected everything she did.   Do we look at our lives in that way?  As faithful Christians, it’s likely that we do, at least in general.  We start to struggle when it comes down to specifics.  Think about this common mantra in our culture – my body, my choice.  How does that square up with the understanding that your life, & everyone else’s, belongs to God?  My body, my choice says that God has no say in certain decisions. 
Another area we tend to rope off, from God’s influence, is who decides what happens to the money we have.  My money, my choice, is sort of an unspoken mantra of the world.  One day a pastor & his daughter had a conversation about giving to the church.  He reminded her that she would need to estimate what her giving would be the next year. 
She said, “How come we have to give anything since you work there?”  The father made a response but did not feel it was adequate, so that evening he said to her, “Can you think of times this past week when someone gave you something?” 
She began to name them: he gave her a few dollars to go out with friends, some bubble gum given to her one day after school, being helped with homework, compliments from friends.  Then her father asked about things in the church that she enjoyed.  She mentioned youth group, camp last summer, & choir.  Then she remembered being given scholarships for camp. 
It all added up that she had received quite a lot.  Then her father said, “I don’t think we give to the church just to support a budget.  I think it’s more that we’re trying to say thanks to God for all that He has blessed us with.”  Whether or not this message gets through to children, it is still important for them to know why we give.  
The starting point is that our lives belong to God.  All we have & all we are is God’s gift.  It’s clear that the widow who put her two coins into the temple box believed this.  Do we believe this when it comes to any of the money we have?  There are many Christians who have a faulty view of money.  They believe the church should never talk about money, even though Jesus did.  He called His disciples over to praise this woman because her leap of faith was concretely expressed in the giving of her last penny to the temple.  Jesus celebrated that act, & He lifted up this woman as an example for every generation to consider.  What we do with our money reveals a great deal about where our heart is. 
The OT standard of giving was high.  Each year the Israelites were required to offer back to God 10% of all the crops & produce of their land.  Every three years the full 10% was to be given to the poor.  This was a continual reminder to Israel that they were God’s people because He brought them out of Egypt, out of bondage into a land flowing with milk & honey. 
The 10% was required.  Anything over that was an offering.  The tithe was only the starting point, the obligation.  If we held ourselves to that standard, we would have to say that most of us have never made an offering to God.  Whether or not we hold ourselves to the OT standard, the Bible does challenge us to consider what we do with our money. 
How do we spend it?  What values are expressed by our use of money?  Jesus said, “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  (Matthew 6:21)    A few years ago, a family sat down together to see where their money was going. 
They were dedicated Christians, involved in the life of the church, but they discovered that their giving wasn’t up to par.  Although they gave a set amount to God each week, they found that most weeks they spent more than double that on movies, fast food, & little odds & ends that really added up. 
Almost all families struggle with financial pressures, but we usually find the money to do the things we really want to do.  Where our treasure is, other people can easily see our heart.  Does your giving reflect your trust in Jesus?  There are times when low-percentage giving is a necessity, but in most cases, it reflects a stewardship that is hidden in the dark.  When the widow gave her two mites, Jesus saw where her heart was.  She took a leap of faith in giving far beyond her means.  Did she hurt herself by doing so?  Did she jeopardize her health & security?  Did she go overboard?   That is a question of faith.  She believed that her life belonged to God, & she trusted that if she did what she felt called to do, God would not let her down. 
Some will say that’s a naive kind of faith.  God tells us He will provide – if we take a leap of faith.  Where did that mountain climber’s strength come from when he went to the rescue of another human being?  Where does the strength to meet situations, we never thought we could meet, come from?  How do we know that God is trustworthy, & will provide what we need?  
First of all, He knew we needed to be saved.  When the time was right, He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to live the perfect life among us.  Messiah obediently & lovingly suffered & died on the cross for the atonement of our sins.  Filled with love & gratitude, we go forward following His wisdom & guidance, using His strength. 
As we respond to what God wants from us, His Spirit will show us the way.  Has it ever happened that you came home after an exhausting day, feeling physically & mentally drained, & the telephone rings?  Someone on the other end is in distress.  Can you come?  You don’t want to go, but you sense it is important, so you do. 
You rush back out the door, whispering, “Lord, show me the way.  I have nothing left to give.”  Not only does God show you the way, but you are revitalized.  If we take that leap of faith, go that extra mile, do what God calls you to, He will make the way. 
Maybe for you, giving has always been an obligation.  Try taking a leap of faith instead.  Allow God to give you the experience of responding gladly to all you have received.  Everyone’s situation is different.  Is there some leap of faith you might take?  Could your response be something that causes Jesus to notice as you pass by the offering basket?  Are you spiritually ready to challenge yourself in giving?   We pray you will start giving proportionately or even begin to tithe for the first time.   God is certainly capable of much more than we ever dream, & when we take a leap of faith, your Lord will show you the way.  May God grant you the wisdom to see what He has given to you. 
Dear Lord, You alone are the source of every good gift.  We praise & thank You for Your great power & Your tender, faithful love.  In the name of Jesus, we commit ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts entrusted to us, to share our material gifts as an outward sign of the treasure we hold in Jesus.  Amen. 
 
 
How can I thank You, Lord,  for all Your loving kindness,  that You have patiently  borne with me in my blindness!   When dead in many sins & trespasses I lay, I kindled holy God, Your anger every day.      It is Your work alone that I am now converted; Over Satan’s work in me You have Your power asserted.   Your mercy & Your grace that rise afresh each morn have turned my stony heart into a heart newborn.       Grant that Your Spirit’s help to me be always given lest I should fall again & lose the way to heaven.     Grant that He give me strength in my infirmity; may He renew my heart to serve You willingly.  Amen.  LSB 703:1-2, 4.