April 8 2018 Holy Humor Sunday Acts 4.32-35

April 8 2018 Holy Humor Sunday*Acts 4.32-35 “Unity”  Pastor Jacqueline Hines+++

Today is Holy Humor Sunday and we are starting and ending the message with humor. [ slide # 1 humor… blessing / M. Twain]

Humorous…Prayer p 52 Humor from the Heart

Why didn’t Noah trust the ocean?  He knew there was something fishy about it.

Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark. Noah was standing on the deck.

+++       The book of Acts tells the story of the very first Christian churches. Verse 32 says they were of one heart and soul! [slide # 2 they were of one heart] They had a heart [slide # 3 hearts] for each other and their souls were united as one. It is so nice to share moments when we get along, when we agree, when conversations are as smooth as silk! When there are plenty fun times and laughter that help us make it through the day. That is the way the early church has been described. Not only were they united as one, verse 32 also says they shared their possessions so that everybody had everything they needed. Everything they owned was held in common. [slide # 4 Everything they had….]

One can imagine that there was a concerted effort to see that everyone’s basic needs for food and shelter were met. It had to be a part of their culture, a part of their value system and training. It is a great society that cares for you whenever you are either the least, the last or the lost in a community. It is a Godly society that cares. Rev. Thomas Davis-Chapelle led our Staff-Parish Relations Committee workshop on Conflict Management this week and in it he reminded us that the church is not a democracy, it is a theocracy. [slide # 5 theocracy] In the church, God’s ways rule and human rules are secondary.

The rules and laws were fresh in the minds of the early church. Jesus had lived among them and taught them first hand all they needed to know. God’s people were very inspired to do the right thing. For the most part they delighted in the things of God, blessing one another and taking care of God’s business.

On a good day, every church delights to do God’s will. When we work together to make the good happen, we celebrate. Meeting anyone’s need glorifies God. We celebrate by doing what the church did in verse 33. We give testimonies. [slide # 6 …vs 33 testimony] We give money and anything else we are led to give. [slide # 7 writing a check] Verse 34 [slide # 8 verse 34…] says they sold property and shared the profit with those in need. [slide # 9 cash in hand / house ] The members of the early church also cooperated with godly leadership. They laid the proceeds of their property sales at the Apostle’s feet and the apostles distributed them to whoever had a need. [slide # 10 verse 35 …had a need]

Several of you have breathed a sigh of relief knowing that your duty to the IRS has been fulfilled and you have done your taxes, early. [slide # 11  IRS] As Christian stewards, our resources are under the same scrutiny and demand as our government. Since our ultimate rule is by a theocracy rather than a democracy, [slide # 12 scroll] we pray we will obey God’s rules for tithing, sharing, sacrificing, giving, receiving, and cooperating with the leading of the Holy Spirit. [slide # 13 leading….]

When I was a college student, I only had a few bucks from a work study assignment, but I felt led to share a hundred dollars or so to one of my classmates who, unbeknownst to me had been praying for money for a very special Christmas gift. There have been many such occasions along the way, when I have felt led to give someone money. Several of you have shared similar stories.

While we are wrestling with our own needs and financial issues, we smile, even laugh at our challenges around money. There is a lot of tension around money. Money is at the top of the list of things we worry about. Worries about money can make us angry or they can keep us awake at night. Humor helps to keep us calm. For example, “Money talks, it has been said, but all mine ever says is goodbye.”

This year I am working to reflect more diligently on money but also on stuff that I accumulate. I earnestly want to let go of things I do not need. I want to pay attention to what is most valuable in life. I want to clear the clutter. I want to leave room for God to put into my life things that I really need.

I invite you to come with me on this journey of letting go and letting God, of making room for more of God. [slide # 14 room for more] There are probably things we have that we do not need, or perhaps God is calling us to share with someone who needs it more. Can we believe that if we let them go, we will have more room in our hearts and in our homes for the things for which God sees we have a more urgent need? [slide # 15 pitcher…to be filled]

Perhaps we need more sensitivity, more understanding, more organization, more responsibility, more patience, more awareness, more discipline, more friends, more quiet, more humility, more love, more strength, more power. Whatever we need, God would be pleased to provide it. [slide # 16 …God wants to bless you]  I would bet that as we go deeper in our time of prayer, we would certainly see that we have at least one need that God is trying to bring to our attention and provide for us.

So here are some humorous lines about money – the thing that concerns us most - that can make the journey of letting go and letting God a little easier: [slide # 17 laughter heals]

The first humorous line is- I have one of those unlimited cell phone plans. There is no limit to what they can charge me.

The best things in life are free - plus shipping and handling.

If you think nobody cares whether you are alive or not, try missing a couple payments.

People say money is not the key to happiness, but I always figure if I have enough money I can have a key made.

Why did a certain husband not report his stolen credit card? The thief was spending less money than his wife.

Money isn’t everything but it sure keeps you in touch with your children.

Nothing says you love dogs, like spending more on a dog’s hair cut than you do on your own.

Finally, a bank is a place that will lend you money when you can prove that you don’t need it.

The early church worked together to make sure everyone’s needs were met. Each of us has a need that God wants to meet. This is a day to begin to let go and let God meet that need. [slide # 18 God wants to meet…]

If you are like me, you might wonder just how complicated and out of the ordinary life will get if we invite God into the neediest and most worrisome areas of our lives. [slide # 19 my way/god’s way signs] God’s work can be a bit challenging and even intimidating!! Nevertheless, I invite you on this journey of being a church where we worship and serve a God that is big enough to meet all our needs and to guide us in directions that are more meaningful and magnificent than all the stuff in the world. Amen. [slide # 20  let go…balloons]