I am back and in one piece. My son shot his deer a 2.5 yr old 2 point with one shot. (typical of him) It is hanging in the garage waiting to be made into edible stuff, mostly summer sausage and jerky. Had a great time sitting around the fire telling stories and wondering about the world. Used to call it swappin lies, not sure what it would be now, blogging?????
Sitting there one of the guys said, "now all we need is to get satelite TV without getting a dish." He then got out his GPS and hooked it to his computer and sure enough we found where we were at. It occured to me that the web like the Holy Spirit is around us all the time. The signal and the pulses are flowing around us like we were setting in water. Strange feeling when I thought about that out in the middle of no where.

Anyway this is the next to last week of the stewardship stuff so hope you will review it and respond to it and find ways to implement it into your lives.

At least one person has been affected by the study, Debra has a new blog so congrats are in order and support for her stepping up to talk about Jesus and how her life and yours might be changed. I am not sure if the friends and neighbors part of my blog is showing up so just in case here is the URL to get you to her blog: http://www.faith-debra.blogspot.com
big, big step to do what is new. that is what most Christians fail at, stepping out when called adn letting God be our safety net.
Congratulations you just entered the feared world of the web.
Pastor WaynO

The next study I am hoping to have is one on the changing role of the church or maybe better put "our perception of the church". It is a giant step for many old mainliners to step into the world of missional thinking but we will have to if the kingdom of God is to stay alive and viable in the coming century. Oh, maybe I should refrase that, the "kingdom of God" will stay and it will be viable, what may be lost is some of us. Think about that as you move through the last of the stewardship lessons as I believe they will walk alongside each other. Pastor WaynO

I almost forgot the readings: Bible Study/Discussion Possibilities
1. Luke 6:27-38 (give, and it will be given you)
2. Luke 14:12-14 (when you give a banquet, invite the poor)

V. Money Is a Rewarding Investment
A seasoned businessman sat beside a younger man on a flight from Dallas to Atlanta. A talkative fellow, the businessman was in the mood to tell his life story. As the conversation unfurled, it became clear that he was a man of wealth whose business caused him to travel widely throughout the world. Several of his personal acquaintances held important government positions, and he conferred with them on matters of national and international concern. Toward the end of the flight, the businessman outlined his philosophy of life. "My brother-in-law who lives in Tulsa is a good example of how not to do it. He has never done any good financially, and he is always trying to sponge off his relatives. Finally. I told him off one day. I said, "Do you know why you are still a pauper, even though you have had every opportunity to do well financially? The reason you are still a pauper is because you have never learned how to give. If you don't give, you can't receive.'"
Is that true? Does giving increase receiving? Once again, we hear Jesus answering this question in a radical rather than in a purely "rational" way. The writer of Acts, stressing the importance of helping the weak, reminds his readers of Jesus's words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). The Gospel record of Jesus's life echoes that quote in numerous places:
• "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38).
• "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed..." (Luke 14:13-14).
With these paradoxical teachings, Jesus makes giving to help the less fortunate something more than giving. This kind of giving becomes receiving. Thus, caring about the less fortunate becomes more than just a way of relating to God, as we saw in the last chapter. It becomes a way of caring for our own best interests.
In a cartoon, a clergy man said. "I would like to remind you that what you are about to give is tax deductible, cannot be taken with you, and is considered by some to be the root of all evil." But according to Jesus there is a much more positive reason for giving. John Wesley said that if you have poor giving habits, you are robbing God. Jesus went beyond that. He said that if you have poor giving habits, you rob yourself. A young intern came into a hospital nursing station one evening shaking his head. "There's an old man in the lobby by the vending machines." he said, "and he's putting dollar bills into the money changer. Even, time he gets his quarters, he yells "Jackpot!' and dances around." A few hours later, the nurses, on their way to a coffee break, saw a repairman fixing a vending machine. When they asked why he was working so late, he said, "I have to get this money changer fixed. It's been giving $1.50 in quarters every time someone puts in a dollar bill.""' According to Jesus, this is what happens when we give money to help the less fortunate. We do more than help them; we help ourselves.
Jesus's paradoxical statements about giving pose a question that all of us ask and in some way answer every day of our lives: Will I act as if God will reward me for unselfishly giving money to help other people, or will I act as if God does not care whether I help the less fortunate? In answering that question, each of us tends to both believe and resist believing what Jesus indicated was the truth in this matter. On one hand, we want to feel and behave as if Jesus is right. On the other hand, we are constantly tempted to think and behave as if he is wrong.
Many of us participate enthusiastically in a new cult: the religion of the mall. The illusion that spending for something new can make you into something new is not a new idea; but it has never been this elaborately organized before. Deep down, we know that, just as taking our mind to a worship service once a week puts the rest of life into proper perspective, giving a percentage of our money to help others does the same thing for the rest of our bank account. Yet, how hard it is when we stroll in the mall to resist the powerful gods that call for our adoration there. Deep down, we know that unselfish giving is one of the best ways to live in a world of "things" without being controlled by them. Deep down, we know the value of the spiritual disciplines—prayer, worship, Bible study, stewardship. If we give God the first hour of the day, the first day of the week, and the first tenth of our income, God will bless the rest. But when our eyes contemplate the gods of the mall, how easily we become confused and forget what Jesus so clearly said: "It is more blessed to give then to receive (Acts 20:35)."

Do you agree or disagree with the interpretation of Jesus' teachings given in this chapter: that we are rewarded financially for giving to help the less fortunate? Why, or why not?