Some grocery stores these days will give you two things when you check out. As always, you receive the receipt. But also, the cash register will generate a coupon for you, based on what you purchased. So, when we purchased some cat food awhile ago, we received the receipt AND a coupon for a free can a cat food at that store. It keeps me coming back.

Well, this week we were getting ready to have a few people over to play cards. And the best part about cards is snacks. And so we're checking out, and on the conveyor belt we have peanuts, and M+Ms, chips, chex mix. You put a bowl of it at each corner of the card table. So we had a lot of junk food that we were buying.

The cashier gave me my receipt. And then she handed me this coupon. It was a coupon to try out Weight Watchers. That stupid cash register, based on our junk food, thought I should try Weight Watchers. I told the cashier that I thought the register had insulted me. She said, "That's not possible." But after she saw the coupon she thought I was right!

Maybe we wasted a bit too much money on Junk Food that week.

Look at the Gospel reading. It is a very strange parable. And the first sentence tells us that a manager was wasting the possessions of the one who owned everything.

It seems pretty clear that the manager has been stealing from the owner by overcharging people and pocketing the difference. When the owner was tipped off about what was happening, he goes to fire the manager.

The crooked manager knows he is in trouble, so he decides to develop some goodwill with the owner's other clients. He makes visits to these clients and reduces the amount they owe the owner. By helping them out, they may be more inclined to help him when he is unemployed.

Every parable has a surprising twist, and in this parable the surprise is that the owner finds out and commends him for being shrewd.

The point that Jesus is making is that if this crook had enough sense to use money wisely to accomplish his purposes, then followers of Jesus Christ should be able to use God's resources wisely in order to accomplish God's purposes. In fact, one verses says, "You can't serve both God and money."

It's been said many times before, that we are the managers or stewards of God's Resources. Over and over we are reminded that every good gift is a gift from God. God has entrusted His resources to us and expects us to act responsibly. God has not just given us life to enjoy. He has given us life and many other things to invest to the lives of those around us. Our God is SO generous with us. He calls us to be good managers of these blessings!

One blessing that we have received is MONEY. I don't preach on this as often as I should, especially when you consider the following:

Jesus talked about Money in 16 of 38 parables

Jesus talked about Stewardship of Money and Possessions in 1 out of 10 verses in the Gospels

The Bible devotes about 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but over 2000 verse on money and possessions -- if it is important to Jesus then it should be important to us.

Another blessing is TIME. Paul says, "Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days" (Ephesians 5:16) The good Lord entrusts us with 24 hours every day and wants us to use them wisely.

Yet another blessing is the World We Live In. While some take this to extremes, Adam was place in Eden to tend the Garden. We have the privilege of using the resources of this world in a responsible way.

What about Our Gifts and Abilities? Do we waste them? 1 Peter 4:10 says, "God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you." Honor God with your skills.

And we have certainly been entrusted with The Gospel Message of Salvation. 2 Corinthians 5 says we are "Christ's Ambassadors." Jesus Christ has completed in full all the work necessary for our salvation, yet it is our privilege to "get the word out." And in America that just isn't happening to the degree that it was .

I attended a seminar on Christianity in America. Very interesting. One statistic was most troubling. In American history, there have always been about 5% of Americans who are truly atheists, they believe in no god at all. There are many Americans who claim faith, but rarely worship, but about 5% who reject Jesus outright.

They discovered in the last 7 years a very alarming trend, within the age group of 20-30 year olds. 30% of Americans in their twenties now reject Jesus and claim no faith. 30%. This is frightening in itself, but these young people will be parents and they will have negative influence on their children. The Gospel needs to reads to be effectively shared to a people of all ages, but we are losing our young people in America.

When we share the Good News of Christ's death for our sins on the cross, his resurrection that brings life and immortality to light, it is to God's glory that we do so. But wouldn't you find it tremendously satisfying and a great reason for praising God if ..

..you learned that specific people came to faith through your generous support of Living Hope and our Radio Broadcast.

.. you learned that your years of Sunday School teaching inspired a youngster to grow up and likewise teach Sunday School.

…if you learned that one of our youth group members decided to enter church work career after you helped sponsor their trip to a youth gathering.

In this confusing parable, Jesus is simply saying that if a crook can be shrewd in using resources, shouldn't Christians be shrewd in how we use our resources for the pure proclamation of the Gospel.

Right after the Civil War, a host of people became teachers simply because teaching was a way to earn a living. It was even a way to take advantage of people.

Booker T. Washington, in his autobiography UP FROM SLAVERY, wrote about one such teacher who went from village to village teaching wherever he could get some pay. In one town, the people asked him if he taught that the world was flat, or that the world was round. That teacher said that he was prepared to teach whatever they wanted him to teach. Round or Flat? He didn't care! For money, he was willing to sacrifice the truth. So who was his master?

Christ is very clear: If we serve that master, we cannot serve Jesus, and He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Our God is so generous: He gave His only-begotten Son into death for us. Jesus paid for our sins. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus rose to life. The free gift of forgiveness of sins is our because of Jesus. Our God is So Generous.

But Scripture says more. It says, "God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men."

Our God has given us all of this, and so much more. He has given us life, time, talent, money, skills, this world's resources. And everywhere we look, there are needs that we can respond to. The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and her agencies are crying out for resources.

Because we are still sinners, a message about using our finances and other blessings in a shrewd and God-pleasing way may seem impossible. There will be those who will email me and say that money and giving shouldn't be mentioned in worship!

On our own, apart from faith, we cannot be good managers of his resources.

But we are not "on our own." We are ransomed by Jesus. We belong to Him forever. We have life, eternal life, which is a greater blessing by far than any gifts in this world. And we didn't earn it. Jesus did. And Jesus were given it, freely, through the death and resurrection of our Savior!

So as forgiven sinners, we can respond to the Word of God and the needs of His church. Not with dread, but with joy -- because Jesus is the source of everything we have.

Our God is so Generous!