It isn’t often that the maintenance or repair of the church
building ends up being a sermon topic, but given how prominently such work can
be in the life of a church, perhaps it should be. It was a church restoration project, and the
unscrupulous financing that was attempted to fund it, that led to Martin Luther’s
protest against indulgences and eventually the Protestant Reformation. Few churches with a long history can say that
they haven’t had to deal with strife or dissension centered around the funding
for, or execution of, a plan to build or repair their church building.
In 2
Chronicles 24, King Joash, now come of age following the regency of his
protector, the priest Jehoida, has decided to use his authority as king to
correct the disrepair that has befallen the house of the LORD. Joash’s initial attempt, simply telling the
priests to divert some of their incoming funds to the project, fails through
lack of cooperation by the priests. At
this point the king, in cooperation with Jehoida, takes charge of the
collection of the annual tax that the priests had formerly collected in decides
to place an offering box at the entrance to the temple to collect these funds
with the restoration project as the top priority.
The
alternative fund collecting idea of Joash is a great success, the people give
gladly to the project enabling it to move forward quickly. With the help of honest and hardworking
craftsmen, the temple repair project is finished with enough funds left over to
replace the golden objects used in worship that had been stolen and profaned by
being used to worship Baal. In the end,
the efforts of Joash and Jehoida are entirely successful, and once again proper
worship of the LORD can take place within the temple.
The
maintenance and repair, building or expanding, of the place wherein God is to
be worshiped is an act of piety. It
ought to be an effort of collective sacrifice that brings the people of God
together, which makes it all the more tragic when it instead tears them
apart. Those who give of their time,
talent, or treasure to the service of the church building itself deserve
gratitude and honor alongside those who likewise give to the benefit of the
church’s programs.
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Sermon Video
Sermon Video
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