Stewardship Sunday October 11-12, 2025
“Blessed To Give” Acts 20:35
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Think back 5 years ago. COVID. Shortages – at least when you went to the grocery store. No bottled water. Limited cereal. Lots of shelves were bare. When Mike Zehnder, our organist, was asked the one thing in life he could not live without, his quick answer was “toilet paper.” Oh ya, there was a shortage of toilet paper in those initial days in March of 2020. So I put this message on our church sign at Windermere and Caley, hoping to attract some new worshippers:
“Gospel in every sermon. Toilet paper in every stall.”
That is the Lutheran method of evangelism!!
What shortages do we have now? How about this? Joy. Happiness. Laughter. These are missing in the life of way too many people. I have a solution, or should I say, God has a solution to this problem. It is a simple solution, but really it is not. It is something we struggle to do, even though we have been instructed to do it most of our life. What is it?
It is the gift of giving. I visited George Heyliger this past Wednesday. George turns 97 this Sunday, October 12. George and his wife, Dot, lived for many years in the foothills west of Denver, in Genesee. Dot passed away quite a few years ago and George has been living in that big house alone since then. Until recently. A few months ago he moved to an assisted living place closer to his daughter.
All his stuff from his big house didn’t fit in his small room at the assisted living place. In a sense it has been tough. But recently the downsizing has given him joy. He started giving away things that had become more than just things. Those things were his memories. He gave away his large dining room table where he and Dot hosted countless parties and family gatherings. He gave away their piano and all the notes played and sung for years. He gave away his car. That was hard, I think he was still holding onto that car with his fingernails until the end. He smiled as he told me who got what and how they were going to use it.
There is joy in giving. There is joy in being generous. Our words from Jesus say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Have you learned this secret yet, or have your arms and hands and fingernails failed to know how to let go of stuff?
The Bible is filled with words of joy about giving. Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
Why was there no toilet paper, bottled water and cereal for a while in 2020? People hoarded. They panicked. They looked inward and not outward. That is the fundamental problem of human nature. Lutheran theologians use a Latin term to speak about what we are up against. The term is Incurvatus in se. In English – A life curved in on oneself, turned in on self. It is a life of self interest and personal gain. It only asks the question, “How will this benefit me?” That is not the way of Christ. That is not the way of a follower of Jesus.
Paul speaks to his congregation in Corinth, “But just as you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (II Corinthians 8:7) Looking beyond self and looking to others is what Paul would later say, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:6-7)
Sometimes we give words to another, and we expect them to follow the words. Words are good. They are true. Words like “It is more blessed to give than to receive” are true, but a life that shows that truth has more power. In Acts 20, where our words are taken, Paul is addressing the pastors that he had put in place when he was the missionary to the Ephesian church. They were his children in the faith and he loved them deeply. For over two years he lived with them, taught them, guided them. His life was a pattern that it is more blessed to give than to receive. He wrote, “You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:34-35)
Whose life was lived to show us that it is more blessed to give than to receive? The life of Jesus. He is more than a model. He is more than an example. His life was given for ours. Our lives have turned in to self far too often; His life never did. Jesus left heaven to come to earth to seek us and find us and restore us and fill us with hope. His hands, crucified, reach out to us. He did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. He lived His life and showed that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Paul says of this way of Jesus, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (II Corinthians 5:21) Jesus took joy in giving. The book of Hebrews says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Take joy in giving. The impact that you will have on others will be immense. On the day of Bob Stamp’s funeral, one week ago, I conveyed a message to Bob’s wife, Carol, about her impact on my wife’s life. My wife, Marilyn, was just a girl about 13, when Carol met her at Trinity Lutheran Church in Denver where they were all members of that congregation. Carol spoke to 13-year-old Marilyn with a word of encouragement about some work that Marilyn had done. 55 years later my wife still remembers the graciousness and kindness that she received from Carol Stamp.
What she gave to that girl still blesses her. Give to others. Give kindness, patience, compliments, love. Pay a bill for someone who can’t do it. Give food to a food bank. Give your time as a volunteer. Give money to a charity. Give an offering to our church or your church. Get involved. Use your time and abilities for the good of others. Don’t turn inward but outward, just as Jesus did for you.
In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats Jesus spoke these words, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:34-40)
You know what this generosity and sacrifice might do to you? It may mean you may have less money in your wallet. It may mean you may have one more obligation for your calendar. It may mean you may have a burden that you now are carrying for another. But you’ll multiply your joy. You’ll have greater happiness. God may even give you a smile and a feeling of accomplishment. The Bible says, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (II Corinthians 5:15)
Jesus had it right, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Amen!!
