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Podcast: Behind the Scenes: Save All You Can, (Matthew 25:1-13) · North Raleigh United Methodist Church Podcast

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Good day, and welcome to North Raleigh United Methodist Church behind the scenes podcast, where we sit down weekly and we talk about this week's scripture and sermon.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kevin Van Hall.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I serve as your moderator, and joining me today is one of the senior pastors here at North Raleigh, Laura Johnson.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, Laura.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Kevin.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Kevin was here last week.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's our standard rotation back and forth between the two of you.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: He preached last week, you're preaching this week.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: He started a new series last week on Wesleyan's, I guess, famous, I guess we could say famous, can we not?
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: speech or sermon about money.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we turned it into, or you turned it into, a three-part series of first of all, we earn all we can, then we save all we can, and then we give all we can.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: So last week Kevin and I talked about earning all you can, and he gave a great sermon in even a little Diddy, little song to go along with it.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't seen it, try to catch the live stream.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: You will not be getting that from me this week.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: No songs?
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: No songs that I'll be performing.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, even the tambourine just takes a little time.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: I can't keep a beat to save my life, Kevin.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I think I've seen you sing a little bit better than that.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So put no singing this week.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Other special effects, maybe some other time.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: But you're gonna continue with this series of Save All You Can.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And in this series, uh last week, we were in the parables in Matthew in chapter 25.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: We had done the parable of the talents last week.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna back up and do the parable just before this week, because it kind of coincides a little bit better.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: This one is the parable of the ten virgins, still in Matthew and 25.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we're kind of equating this to and relating it to money, but it's real Jesus was given these parables more of like end times, was he not?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: End times or um they were they were his his some of his final teachings before he was the next chapter is when he's betrayed and arrested.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so he's he's trying to warn them of like, I'm I'm gonna go away, things are not gonna look good for a while, and here's how you can stay alert and stay prepared and be on your guard.
• 2:25
  unknown: Okay.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Here's how you can carry on.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so because the last one here is the is the famous one that most people are familiar with is the sheep and the goats.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, that'll be next week.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: Kevin gets that one.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: I love that one.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: I like it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: I like it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Such a great, such a great parable.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: It is a very good parable.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: The one that we are going to discuss today, uh, when you first read it, it kind of comes across as, well, that's not very nice.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to kind of scratch your head, so maybe you can explain that a little bit more in depth for us what is going on here.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: But how about a word of prayer first?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pray.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh Lord, we ask that you would open our hearts and minds as we ponder your scriptures, that you would speak to us through these words, that you would stir in our hearts this week as we prepare for Sunday, that you might be proclaimed and glorified in all we say and do.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So the parable of the ten virgins, chapter 25.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to be reading uh verse 1 through 13.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right, this is from the NIV this time.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my goodness.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: Change it up a little bit.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: The foolish ones took their lamps, but did not take any oil with them.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: The wise ones, however, took oil and jars along with their lamps.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: At midnight the cry rang out, Here's the bridegroom, come out to meet him.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: The foolish ones said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, our lamps are going out.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: No, they replied, There may not be enough for both of us and you.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Later the others also came.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, Lord, they said, Open the door for us.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: But he replied, Truly I tell you, I don't know you.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well man, um so when you first think about this, you think, Oh, you don't know the day or the hour.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: The bridegroom returning, Jesus is coming, some will be prepared, some will not.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the message is I guess you need to be prepared because you do not know when it's gonna happen.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is that not the way I should see that?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, that's often one of the ways that it this is interpreted.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's you know, any any parable can have several interpretations, and that doesn't mean they're right or like it doesn't mean any of them are right or wrong.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: They're just different ways to read it.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so certainly one of the ways to read it is that Christ is gonna come again, and we don't know when that's gonna happen.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so make sure you have your life in order and your heart in order when Christ comes, so that you get to go into the big party with him, right?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: But then I've always been taught when I was younger that I'm supposed to be a very generous person.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's what we're supposed to do, help our fellow men and women out.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And half of the virgins needed some oil and and they came to the others, and we we read all throughout Matthew.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if your brother needs food or clothing, you're supposed to help him.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: And this they ask for oil and they say, I'm not giving you any.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Go find your own.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they didn't exactly say that.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: They just said, if I give you some, I won't have my lamp will go out too.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that's like, you know, it's like it's like at the end of Titanic.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember that movie?
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: When Rose is on the thing and Jack doesn't get on it and he dies because he didn't get on the thing.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: If Rose had said, Oh, well, no, like you, like you could come be on it with me, they both would have sunk and both would have died, right?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like sometimes there's like there wasn't room for him on it.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: There wasn't enough oil for the next bridesmaid to have um enough to trim her lamp.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so they said, it's time go go get some more.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: If they had all stayed awake, then they would have noticed that the lamps were burning out, and the foolish bridesmaids could have gone and bought some more oil, but they all fell asleep, and so that's on all of them.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So some are uh yeah, some are more prepared than others.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh another another thing contextually, so when there was a wedding celebration, all the bridesmaids who were virgins, who were unmarried, this was often weddings were often the chance when there might be new connections made so that they can become a bride as well.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: That happens still today, but it still does.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's while you throw the bouquet, right?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so they all wait with the bride until the groom until the preparations are ready, and the groom comes and gets the bride with the bridesmaids and brings them to the wedding.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so the brides who have their oil and enough to get them to there are like this is my chance.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And the brides, the bridesmaids who don't have their oil, like they're missing their opportunity because they didn't think far enough ahead to bring extra oil in case the groom takes a while.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Which she often did.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it also could be um read as like in today's um save all you can.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Both of them were given the same amount in the beginning.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Some choose to, I don't know, burn the candle at both ends.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: You might say.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: And didn't bother to save any, even though they knew you knew the bridegroom was going to be coming and you're back, and you were going to need that oil, but you decided that I'd rather party now and worry about the future later.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: But or you fell asleep on the job and forgot that your oil was lit, right?
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like you fell asleep, and because you didn't burn it out before you went to sleep, or blow it out before you went to sleep, it's all it's all gone.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: So are we supposed to live in the moment for today, or are we supposed to worry about do I have enough for the future?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: So this is where John Wesley's sermon is an interesting conversation partner with this passage, because in the 1700s, it wasn't like retirement as we know it was a thing.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: There wasn't, you know, you you would earn an income, and the lucky ones may not work until they die, but a lot of them did.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: John Wesley certainly did.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and so he wasn't thinking about save for retirement.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, he was thinking save so that you're not a burden on the people around you.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: That was part of that was his sermon's message is save enough so that you don't have to burden your friends or your family when if you spend in ways that are not looking ahead to the future.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: So he wouldn't say you need to have X amount in your portfolio for when you retire.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's what financial planners do.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that's great work.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's very important work.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: John Wesley, that was not part of his mentality.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Rather, his mentality was really to encourage people to be very frugal in their spending.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: He was really um intentional himself about, I mean, I think he like took notes of everything he spent.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: He was very careful about his own spending.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: And he wanted people to make sure they weren't wasting their money on things that didn't really matter or that didn't serve them in the long run.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, we live in a very consumeristic world.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: We can shop on the little devices in our pockets anytime we want to.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And in fact, I, you know, it's like it's a really easy thing to do, to be like, oh, I need that.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: Pull out my phone, boop, it's gonna be delivered tomorrow, right?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like never before has that happened.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so we are living in this like instant gratification, consumeristic world.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: And the message of this passage and John Wesley's sermon to us is are you spending wisely?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Are you prioritizing what really matters?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: The bridesmaids needed to prioritize the coming of the bridegroom.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: We need to prioritize our longevity, but also like what we give our money to takes a part of our heart.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so are we spending in ways that are good for our souls and that allow us to save enough so that we can be wise stewards of what God has given us?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but the TV evangelist says if I give him all of my money, God will double it in return in some other ways.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: What do you say to the person that says you're not supposed to worry about the future?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you trust God, it'll be taken care of.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're just supposed to live in the moment now and give all I mean, not even to give all you can, give all of it away, and God will will bless you later on.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: How how do you balance that those two extremes of I gotta save enough money in case I live to be a hundred years old versus you know I you need to give it all away because you're not trusting and believing in God, you're holding on to too much money.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I think next week when we talk about giving, that we can circle back to that.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: But I think about it this way like God promises to care for us.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, however, if God gives you the most amazing gift ever and you turn around and squander it, that's not on God, that's on you, right?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so so there's a level of personal responsibility.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's another way to put it is God God cares for us and God wants to provide for us, but we can make it really hard for God to provide for us sometimes when we're foolish, as opposed to being wiser and allow and and it's a matter of of being a steward of like the resources we have are all gifts from God.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: How can we dedicate them to God in a way that allows us to to live and do what we're called to do now or do what is, you know, like it's good to go see a show at the D-Pack, like that's fun.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: There's nothing wrong with spending money in ways that are enjoyable.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: But the the the key, I think, that this parable and Wesley would say is that not allowing the pleasure of the moment to outweigh the longer term impact of what's really important and what matters the most.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be wasteful.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know there there's going to be a greater need later on in the future.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so Wesley's argument was spend what you need to, but save what you don't need to.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like really, really try to distinguish between what you want and what you need.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I I think another con like another conversation you can have around this idea is how in today's world there's so much buy new, new, new and not repurpose what has been used.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: That, you know, there are thrift shops, there are there's online consignment shops, right?
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: But how often do we just buy the new, new, new thing and our landfills are piled full?
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so how can we be better about being good stewards of what possessions we have so that we're not contributing to waste?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, part of that is uh a little introduction.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my upbringing, I c I came from a uh family, my mother was an immigrant from um Italy, actually, has lived on a farm in the Great Depression.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Very little to live on, just enough to get by.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: And she was always very, very frugal.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: And she taught us this in a family.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: We were very, very frugal.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And everything from anything need to be fixing, it was fixed.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't call a plumber electricity TV.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: You fixed it.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: You learned how.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: You fix I've learned how to work on cars and everything.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: How did you do it?
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Everything.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I had I had a dad who also so there's that kind of sense of of of trying and repurposing other people.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: I've tried to fix a modern refrigerator.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: I just had to buy a new one.
• 15:20
  unknown: Right.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: After ordering parts twice, trying to put it together, it's not working.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's not worth it.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: They've almost made to where I have to throw it away.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's a shame.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Versus uh old furniture.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: I love refinishing old solid wood furniture, and there's a huge market.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: People actually appreciate it, love the beauty.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Once you scrape off the old paint and get a good finish and fix what's broken, it's actually a beautiful piece.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot there that we need we need to see.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: How does that go as far as saving?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Should we save on to these material things?
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we're dealing with uh uh you get things air family heirlooms, things handed down from past generations, and your children don't want them.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: What do we do with this stuff?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do we you feel like a hoarder holding on to it, you want to save it, but then w it's it's it it doesn't make sense to save it either.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't work I don't have a good answer for that, except for to say that at the end of the day, things are things, right?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Things are things.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: And it's we can only we can place so much importance on things.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: And in and in that way, we can lose sight of the the the real reason they had their lamps was so they could make it to the party and be there for the wedding.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: And like if if we lose sight of what the purpose of the things are and they become idols to us, then we're in a different kind of trouble.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: So why do we why are we saving it?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: What are we saving it for?
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if it could go to someone else right now and you be of use and it doesn't and it's no skin off my back, there's no reason for me to be saving it.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: So give it away.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I I think our things can have rather than us possessing them, they can have possession over us if we're not careful with our the things that we have.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope I didn't steer you too far away, but it was great.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Bringing that in there to the material things as well, and then back to the parable.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the bridegroom isn't very forgiving to the uh virgins who let their lamps burn out, shuts the door in their face, says, Sorry, um, I don't know you.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, in his defense, he arrived and they weren't there.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: He didn't know them.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't there when he came to escort the bride and the bridesmaids to the party, so he didn't know them.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't there because they had let their they did not save their resources wisely.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the parable, but what's the hidden message in that?
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: What does Jesus mean when he says that?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know you.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'll close the door.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um is he same for all those that live foolishly and didn't listen to my words?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't you don't even know who I am?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what's the what's the correlation, do you think?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's definitely meant to be a warning that if if you're not um yeah, if you're not alert, if you're not awake, if you're not there and ready to receive him, then you know, what how like how are you gonna be in the party, basically?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's there's not a one I don't think there's necessarily like a one-for-one, it means exactly this, but I think that it is definitely a warning that if you're not alert, if you're not awake, if you're not ready, then you're not in the party.
• 18:38
  unknown: Right.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a lot of people think uh second comments any minute where there's been all kinds of cults.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you remember the year 2000, a lot of people thought that was the magic year that was gonna happen.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh some other people think they've unlocked the secret and know exactly when it's the Da Vinci Code or exactly when it's gonna happen.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: And we're told that we don't know, even though some people think that they have uh secret knowledge.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it's been like 2,000 years and I don't know how many more years a lot of us have left, and we start going, what am I am I waiting around for Jesus or what what should I be doing right now?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, so I think you can look at it two ways.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: One is absolutely Jesus will come again eventually when that happens.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody knows.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: If they tell if someone tells you they know, then then they have more knowledge than Jesus.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: So that should make you suspicious, right?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus himself said, nobody knows the day or the hour, not even me.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: So um the other way you can look at it is that Jesus comes to us all the time.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: And and that will be next week's parable of Jesus arrives on our in our life and on our doorstep and right before us every day in various ways.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: And are you are you ready?
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: Have you saved your energy so that you can respond?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Have you saved your resources so that you can um prioritize the kingdom and what matters there?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Are you are you alert and awake, or have you fallen asleep and let your candle run out?
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a it's also like how do you live in such a way that you expect to see Jesus every day?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, the message there that be ready.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: It can happen anytime, any hour, any minute.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um say be prepared.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um I hear that all the time in in today's world, we don't talk about necessarily back then there was no retirement.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: You prepare for retirement now, but also prepare for, I know I'm not gonna live forever.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: I do estate planning, I set up a will, I try, I know that it's eventually gonna happen, and I need to plan to be ready for it for when it does.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: And and a lot of people are uncomfortable making that planning or don't have the means or the tools or people to talk to about it.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's also going to be planning on uh being before Jesus someday as well.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that's one that people get really scared about preparing for.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: To which I say remember that Jesus is the one who died for you, is one who has mercy above all else.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: So what's your for your sermon on Sunday, save all you can.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Are we saving all the money we can, saving all the souls we can, saving all of the uh puppies and kitties in the world out there?
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I know there's a lot of people.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: All those puppies and kitties need to be saved for sure.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: No, this will definitely focus more on how we're saving our resources.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I like I'm not exactly sure where it will go, but I'm thinking a lot about consumerism and how we're so pressured to spend, spend, spend all the time and how that can really control our lives.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so thinking of how can we be more like the the wise bridesmaids.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: who only had you know, who were prepared, they had what they needed.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't they didn't blow through the oil that they had.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Instead they were um mindful of their needs of for the future and had like a future oriented look as opposed to just what do I want now, now, now?
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: I like how you tied it to consumerism.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think of today the billionaires that don't have enough.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: They want more, more, more, save more.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: They want to be trillionaires.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: At what point have you saved more than you need to save?
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's time to start And that's the can that's the problem with consumerism is that if you live in that mentality, it's never enough.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: You get the newest thing and it's not enough because now there's another thing that you need.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a never ending it's a never ending battle.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully you can get some again try this into next week we continue this series and to give all you can.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if I save all of I can I'm I feel like there's a line I'm going to cross here and be a hoarder in and shutting somebody out and withholding when I should be giving.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where the sermon that Wesley preached led to was you save all you can so that you can care for yourself and your own, but then you give the rest away.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: The give you give generously so that others can have what they need as well.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: And so that'll be next week's that'll be next week's sermon.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'll let Kevin tackle that one.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well that's easy give all that you can give it give it everything just live a simple life and give it all away the hard one is the how much do I save?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: And how much is it?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah well especially when you have no idea how long you're gonna live you know you don't like is there gonna be a like how are the stocks going to do?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's all the things of like there's a lot of unknowns and I think it's a it's a matter of I see it more as your relationship with your savings.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is it is it controlling you more than you are overseeing it.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah definitely well we always um a lot of us have struggled in um with money issues it's a hard issue to tackle um everyone has a different uh meaning and of what's important what's not how much is enough w what's too much you know I don't I don't have all those answers so one day I guess we'll figure oh well yeah and a financial planner has a lot of those answers too that I don't have of being able to project into the future and um but to your point the like there is a moment when you're like do I actually need all that what what do I actually need and what is it that I want how to be prepared for a rainy day versus that line between preparing for the rainy day and keeping everything and denying other people exact hope exactly that I could give them and I don't think there's an easy answer that fits everybody.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a you trust your gut and you pray about it.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Pray about it.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah well like I said we're gonna continue uh the series next week with uh Kevin will be back and with the give all you can and then that will be the end of this series and then we'll be up to Thanksgiving just around the corner and then you know what happens after Thanksgiving Advent.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: First Sunday after Thanksgiving is first Sunday of Advent.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: So we're getting close to Christmas season.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of Christmas season what's going to be going on around here we're finishing up the audiovisual upgrades in the church still working out kinks as many of you probably saw and heard this past Sunday again a little bit patience as we work through all of that.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: But now they're giving part of and that generosity is going to be needed as we start setting up angel trees.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: Laura tell us about that.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's right so one of our beloved traditions is coming back this year starting on Sunday with our angel tree.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: So this Sunday you can pick up a tag to buy Christmas gifts for children who has a parent that is incarcerated.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: That will be available in the atrium lobby outside of the fellowship hall where the contemporary worship happens beginning this Sunday that always runs out and there's always people who want to give more and so next Sunday we will have a tree up to support Haven House.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: So children who are working with a Haven House which provides safe refuge for kids who are not able to be in their homes.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Havenhouse is also one of our partners in ministry and so you can pick up a tag for a kid connected to Haven House the following Sunday so come in come and celebrate the love of Jesus by giving Christmas gifts generously to kids around us who who needed a little extra love.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah there's a lot of uh people in need out there that's right and it's a great opportunity for us to uh show a little bit of love that's right so hopefully you can come in on uh Sunday if you're live streaming or we're catching the uh sermon online you're gonna miss out on the angel tree so you might have to come this Sunday next week and the following Sunday as well to come get something off of the angel tree.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hope to see you then um Laura will be with Kevin next week and then we'll be a break for uh Thanksgiving so I'll see you at the end of November.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: See you in Advent so please join us in uh then so until then may the love of Christ be with you always goodbye everyone goodbye