Sermon Notes - Nov. 15th, 2009

"Who is the most generous person you know? I love the story about the generosity of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley. His life reflected his beliefs. As he finished his post graduate work, and began to teach, he was spending his salary in "typical" ways. His reason to live differently came in the shape of a cleaning woman who worked in his residence. He saw that she wasn't dressed for the cold. As he reached into his pocket to help her buy warmer clothing, he didn't have money to give. He realized he had spent his money on things that weren't making a difference in the world.

"From that moment on, he began to seriously give away his extra. Only he didn't define 'extra' the way I might. He decided he could easily live on the 30 pounds he was making, in fact, he gave away two. The following year, when his salary doubled, he continued to live on the 28 pounds he had been comfortable with the previous year, and gave away32 pounds. The next year he received a raise to 90 pounds: lived on 28, gave away 62 pounds. He kept this pattern throughout hs life - even when he was making 1,400 pounds through speaking and writing.

"Wesley felt that the Christian should not merely tithe but give away all extra income once the family and creditors were taken care of. He believed that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian's standard of living but the standard of giving.

"2 Corinthians 9:7 says that God loves a cheerful giver. May we be those particularly loved!"

--Pastor Penny Zettler

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