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God's Investment in Us. I Tim. 2.1-4,8,9 Today throughout the whole world people are preparing themselves for world wide communion. Most of the churches in the U.S. will use one of the three passages of Scripture designated for today. One is from the book of Amos in which this shepherd from the hills of Tekoa chides the business community for their inability to keep a proper perspective. They were so taken up with making money and getting ahead that they could hardly wait for the Sabbath to conclude. Their hands itched to return to the nitty-gritty, to where the real action was taking place. Their lack of attention to the Sabbath was creating moral problems in the community Inequities were exploited and Amos says that God would not allow that to go unchecked. In the passage from Luke we find an example of either/or discipleship. No one can serve two masters.... The man in the story is about to lose his job. The auditors demand to examine his books. He knows he is in trouble because he has squandered his employer's money. So he summons those who owe money to the company. Settlements are made with each of the debtors for something less than they actually owed. In this way he is able to come up with some assets. The employer applauds his astute action even thought he was dishonest. Then Jesus says, "If you have not proved trustworthy with they wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real? Money moves the world, but spiritual force changes the world. That is the real wealth. The third Scripture is from a letter written by Paul to his young protege Timothy. He urges him to offer petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people so that we might live quietly and peaceably. Paul is urging a motif for existence symbolized in a final sentence—"that everywhere prayers be said by those in the congregation who shall life up holy hands." All three Scriptures have in them something to do with investment. In the Amos passage is the investment of one's life in an enterprise that has been substituted for one's basic vocation of putting one's business, and talents in the service of God. In the Luke passage the investment in an employee by an employer is spoken of and the misappropriation of funds by one who had been entrusted with much—but with the redemptive feature that the employee was creative enough to collect on bad debts. The third from Paul's letter speaks of an investment that God makes in the world through those who lift up holy hands. All three scriptures relate to the image of hands. In the first a grasping for the shekels as soon as the Sabbath is over; in the second
Object Description
Title of Sermon | God's Investment in Us |
Author | Landwehr, Arthur |
Subject | Investment, Importance of Hands |
Date of sermon | n/a |
Type | Text |
Format | |
Number of Pages | 2 |
Language | English |
Biblical Book | 1 Timothy |
Verses | 2:1-4,8,9 |
Rights | For permission to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise use this image, please contact The Styberg Library by phone (847)866-3909 or email styberg.library@garrett.edu |
Collection | The Arthur Landwehr Sermon Collection (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) |
Identifier | 882 God's Investment in Us.pdf |
Description
Title of Sermon | Page 1 |
Biblical Book | Biblical Book |
Collection | The Arthur Landwehr Sermon Collection (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) |
Transcript | God's Investment in Us. I Tim. 2.1-4,8,9 Today throughout the whole world people are preparing themselves for world wide communion. Most of the churches in the U.S. will use one of the three passages of Scripture designated for today. One is from the book of Amos in which this shepherd from the hills of Tekoa chides the business community for their inability to keep a proper perspective. They were so taken up with making money and getting ahead that they could hardly wait for the Sabbath to conclude. Their hands itched to return to the nitty-gritty, to where the real action was taking place. Their lack of attention to the Sabbath was creating moral problems in the community Inequities were exploited and Amos says that God would not allow that to go unchecked. In the passage from Luke we find an example of either/or discipleship. No one can serve two masters.... The man in the story is about to lose his job. The auditors demand to examine his books. He knows he is in trouble because he has squandered his employer's money. So he summons those who owe money to the company. Settlements are made with each of the debtors for something less than they actually owed. In this way he is able to come up with some assets. The employer applauds his astute action even thought he was dishonest. Then Jesus says, "If you have not proved trustworthy with they wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real? Money moves the world, but spiritual force changes the world. That is the real wealth. The third Scripture is from a letter written by Paul to his young protege Timothy. He urges him to offer petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all people so that we might live quietly and peaceably. Paul is urging a motif for existence symbolized in a final sentence—"that everywhere prayers be said by those in the congregation who shall life up holy hands." All three Scriptures have in them something to do with investment. In the Amos passage is the investment of one's life in an enterprise that has been substituted for one's basic vocation of putting one's business, and talents in the service of God. In the Luke passage the investment in an employee by an employer is spoken of and the misappropriation of funds by one who had been entrusted with much—but with the redemptive feature that the employee was creative enough to collect on bad debts. The third from Paul's letter speaks of an investment that God makes in the world through those who lift up holy hands. All three scriptures relate to the image of hands. In the first a grasping for the shekels as soon as the Sabbath is over; in the second |