INTRODUCTION:

One of my favorite memories is the summer of the treasure hunt. A number of years ago, when my wife's nephews, Chris and Matt, and our son Joshua were around seven or eight, we decided that the two families needed to take vacation at the same time so the boys could get to know each other. So we all met at the farm where my wife's parents live. It's a great place for kids.

Well, there were no video games or cable TV to keep them entertained and the boys were starting to get bored. I was out in great-grandpas' shop looking for something for some little fix it job grandma had for us when I came up with an idea. Great-grandpa's shop was a treasure trove. You never knew what you were going to find. Great-grandpa was one of those who kept everything because he might be able to use it to fix something else.

To give you an example, Great-grandma was the only woman in southern Missouri with an elevator in her house. Great-grandpa built it for her when her knees started going bad so she wouldn't have to climb up and down the stairs to the basement. Great-grandpa converted a closet in the kitchen into an elevator using the gear box from an old piece of farm equipment, an electric motor and an old friction brake from another piece of equipment.

Great-grandpa' s shop was filled with all kinds of goodies. Antiques Road Show would love the place because of all the antique tools. Any how, there were old cans and boxes and bottles everywhere. Great-grandpa kept nails and screws and tiny parts of things in them. If there were more than two of an item, Great-grandpa had it in a box or a jar or a can.

That day I came across a rusty old Bandaid box. Remember the metal kind with the hinged top. It looked about a hundred years old. In a drawer I found some old, old Big Chief Tablet paper. It was old and yellowed. It had been in there so long it even had a couple of grease spots on it.

I took a couple of sheets of that paper and crumpled it up and then threw it on the floor and stepped on it a couple of dozen times. I ran over it with a wheel barrow. I did all of that to make it look even older. Of course a couple of the pieces got torn but that was OK.

I carefully spread out a couple of the sheets and with a red grease pencil (to make it look like it was written in blood) I made a couple of treasure maps. I folded and unfolded each one of them to give them that aged look. Then I took that Bandaid box and put the map and three old silver dollars inside.

On the top of the first map I wrote something more like: "There Be More." Each map had a riddle of sorts which had to be deciphered for the map to make sense. And of course each map lead to the next place where more treasure was buried.

Boys will be boys and they had discovered a pile of dirt, not to far from the house, next to the old chicken coop. I hid the Bandaid box down there, where the boys would find it. You know how young boys are, they'll pick up anything. And sure enough, they found the Bandaid box, the map and the three silver dollars and the great treasure hunt began.

For the next two days, that's all the boys did. First they had to decipher the clues and then they had to follow the clues to where the treasure was buried. And every time they discovered one treasure they found the map to more. There was excitement like you've never seen. They'd find the treasure, count their booty and then start the search all over again.

Each of the boxes, cans and jars was laced with just enough coins to keep their interest and keep them digging. After finding the second stash of treasure, they thought they were rich. They each had a grand total of about $3.00 in change.

We still laugh about how excited they were when they found the third can filled with nickels, dimes and pennies. Matt, the youngest of the bunch, came running up to the house yelling: "We're still, rich. We're still rich."

Those kind of memories are worth far more than any amount of treasure we could ever find.

Every Sunday we talk about a treasure that is worth even more than those memories. Every Sunday Scripture reminds us that Matt was right. "We're still, rich. We're still rich." We are rich because of Christ. We are rich because of what Christ Jesus, the Son of God, did for us. And continues to do for us.

Let's look at the passage from Paul's letter that describes what God does for us through Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:7-15 (NRSV)

[7] Now as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you--so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

[8] I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.

[9] For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

[10] And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something--

[11] now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.

[12] For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has--not according to what one does not have.

[13] I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between

[14] your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.

[15] As it is written, "The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little."

Today as we look at this passage, I want us to think about the Treasure in our lives. Let's look at THE TRUE TREASURE, THE ONGOING TREASURE HUNT AND SHARING OUR TREASURE.

I. THE TRUE TREASURE:

A. First, let's look at the THE TRUE TREASURE of life. You see, there are a lot of things in life that make that claim. There are a lot of things in life that claim to be THE TRUE TREASURE of life.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that money is THE TRUE TREASURE of life.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that accolades from others and acceptance by others is THE TRUE TREASURE of life.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that the accumulation of things is The True Treasure of life. That's what advertising wants us to believe.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that it's the earthly thrills that are The True Treasure of life.

Some of us even fall into the trap of thinking that marriage and a family are The True Treasure of life. While they are part of the Treasure of life and should be highly treasured and treated as one of the most valuable treasures of life, they are not The True Treasure.

This passage describes The True Treasure of life. John 3:16-17 describes The True Treasure of life. The Sacrifice of Christ is the The True Treasure of life. Jesus gave his life for us. He traded His riches for our poverty so that we could be rich in Him.

Jesus took off the royal robes of heaven and put on the rags of our flesh and blood. He stepped out of the riches of heaven and into the poverty of our lives, our souls, our minds and our spirits. And He did it to lift us up. As Paul says: we have become rich through the poverty of His sacrifice for us and for our forgiveness.

We have become Rich in The True Treasure of life, salvation though faith in Christ.

B. The youth and adults who will make a public profession of faith today are really making a public claim that they believe Jesus and the Salvation He Offers is THE TRUE TREASURE of life. And they are correct. And this is a Holy and Sacred moment.

II. THE ONGOING TREASURE HUNT:

A. But accepting THE TRUE TREASURE of life isn't the end. This adventure of faith goes on. The life of faith is an ONGOING TREASURE HUNT.

We've accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We've been baptized, confirmed and now we are members of Christ's Holy Church and of this congregation.

The journey has begun. The adventure of faith has kicked off. The Treasure Hunt is under way. We've begun this walk with Christ. However you want to put it, Paul writes "Now finish doing it."

You see what we do here today is both an end and a beginning. It's the end of an old life. It's the end of old ways. For the confirmands it's the end of the classes. But even more importantly, it's an end to the fear and guilt. Our sins have been forgiven and we've been given new life in Christ.

So it's also a beginning. The beginning of a new relationship. The beginning of a new way of living and looking at the world. It's a beginning of a new relationship with the Church.

And it's the beginning of the Greatest Treasure Hunt of all. For each day becomes an adventure in faith. Each day becomes another opportunity to be able to see Christ in the world and in others. And another way to let Christ be seen in you.

Or as the kids learned in VBS this week, it becomes another way to let the light of God shine through you to bring light to the world.

B. Every time you open the Bible, every time you have a conversation, every time you see a sunset or a sunrise, every time you stand with a friend in need, every time you witness someone helping another or when you reach out to help, you witness the presence of THE TRUE TREASURE of life.

The secret of ONGOING TREASURE HUNT is to keep looking. The secret is to call upon the Treasure of Jesus, so you can see His presence in the world. And so you can be His presence in the world so others can discover THE TRUE TREASURE of life and the ONGOING TREASURE HUNT.

III. SHARING OUR TREASURE:

A. YOU AND I ARE CALLED TO SHARE THE TREASURE. Paul writes "Now finish doing it." But notice, he doesn't say we have to do it alone. To the contrary, he says we're in this together. Some of us have been given an abundance and some have been given a little. But between the two, no one has too much and no has too little, especially when we share.

That's why every member renews their vows of membership and their commitment to Christ every time someone gives their life to Christ, every time there's a baptism and every time someone joins the Church.

A little girl asked her father, who happened to be very active in his church, what a Christian was. She thought she might want to be one. Daddy took her aside and began explaining what a Christian should be like. And in a very serious tone, the little girl asked: "Daddy, have I ever seen one?"

Every time we baptize an infant or baptize a child, we promise to live our life and our faith in such a way that each child will see Jesus in us. We promise to live THE TRUE TREASURE of life so each of our children will know the True Treasure when they see it.

You may not have been given the singing voice or the gift of playing an instrument. You may not be able to teach Sunday School. But you can pray. We all need that. And you can be faithful in your giving, in your attendance, and in your support of the ministries of the church.

We had a member of a church who was 103. She was nearly deaf but she came to church every Sunday that she could. The only time she missed was when the weather was just too bad or she was sick.

One Sunday a little girl crawled up and hollered in Ms. Davis' ear, "Ms. Davis, if you can't hear the sermon, why do you come to Church."

The whole congregation got quiet so they could hear her answer. Ms. Davis said one of the most profound things I've ever heard: "Honey, I come to Church every Sunday because I want everyone to know Who's side I'm on."

And sometimes that's all the rest of us need. Sometimes what we need to know the most is that we're not alone in this adventure of faith. Because we all know that even the greatest adventures can have some really rough times.

Pastor Wesley Taylor of the Tualatin United Methodist Church in Tualatin, Oregon, tells the story of a 13-year-old boy in the hospital. Joe had been run over by a tractor and left almost completely paralyzed. He could use only one arm. The accident left him blind and without speech and in such a deep depression that no one could reach him or help him.

After some time in the Center for Attitudinal Healing, he was transferred to a hospital close to his home in the Midwest. And there he lay, immobile and unresponsive.

A few beds away, in the same pediatric ward, there was a 2-year-old boy suffering from a brain inflammation and whimpering pitifully hour after hour. Joe's mother, remembering what they had learned at the center — that if you can help somebody else you're not disabled — went over to the little boy's bed and, with the permission of the child's mother, picked him up and carried him to her son's bed.

Then she laid the child on top of Joe — just laid him there. Joe stiffened with surprise at first, but then he took his good arm and began to slowly caress the baby.

They laid there together, Joe stroking the crying baby. And the whimpers stopped. In the days that followed, the two spent a lot of time together and both began to improve and recover. Joe began to talk again, to leave his crippling depression, and started therapy to learn to walk again. (1)

You and I are heirs of the Kingdom. You and I are brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said He would be with us always, even to the end of the age. And when we look out and see one another, it reminds us that Christ is with us. We are not alone. Have you ever thought about that, that you represent the presence of Christ in the world for someone else.

Whenever we live our faith. Whenever we live out our baptismal vows and our membership vows, we are SHARING THE TRUE TREASURE of life with those around us.

CONCLUSION:

The Good News is that because of Christ "We're still rich." Out of the Poverty of Christ we have been given THE TRUE TREASURE of life, salvation through Christ. Our salvation calls us into ONGOING TREASURE HUNT of a life in faith. Part of which is simply SHARING THE TRUE TREASURE of life with those around us.

1. Homiletics, (Communications Resources, Inc., Canton, OH), June 29, 2003

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www.SermonWriter.com (Copyright, Richard Niell Donovan, 2000)

www.SermonMall.com

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Preaching Magazine (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)

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