Weekly Update// Pastor Chris

Dear Asbury Family, 

  One of my favorite money stories comes from John Ortberg.
In one of his books, Ortberg explains how when his kids were little, he and his wife decided to put them on the envelope system. When the children received an allowance, they would put it in envelopes labeled “Give,” “Save,” “Gifts,” “Spend,” and so on. 

Ortberg thought it was working until one day he had a Band-Aid on his arm, and his daughter, who at that time was about six, asked, “Why?” Ortberg explained he had gotten a medical exam that day to get life insurance. The daughter asked, "What’s that?" He explained, “Well, Daddy loves you so much and loves the family so much, so if anything were to happen to Daddy (not that it would, but in case it ever did), it would provide for $250,000.” Her eyes got really wide. Ortberg says his daughter has a tender heart, and he knew she’d be worried. Then she looked up at him and said, “Apiece?” Ortberg thought I’m not sure the right lesson is getting communicated! 

 We certainly live in a culture that conditions us from an early age (even from the young age of six) to acquire as much money as possible and then keep it for ourselves. However, in our current preaching series, “Earn. Save. Give.,” we’re learning that the purpose of acquiring wealth isn’t to keep it but to give it away. This countercultural view is undergirded by the recognition that what we have really isn’t ours but God’s. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, put it best in his sermon titled “The Good Steward.” 

 [The steward] is not at liberty to use what is lodged in his [or her] hands as he [or she] pleases but as [t]he master pleases … For he [or she] is not the proprietor of any of these things, but barely entrusted with them by another.” 

John Wesley, “The Good Steward” 

The “another” to whom Wesley is referring here is, of course, God, the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17). Put simply, our money belongs to God, and God, who entrusts us with our money, calls (indeed expects) us to use it responsibly and to invest in the things that matter to God.
I hope you will join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30am or 11am (in person or online) as we continue to discover what it means to see and handle money in God’s way. You’ll be glad you did.
Blessings,
Chris