During worship this past Sunday, we did an art project. You can see it in the picture above. We’re going to frame it and display it in our church lobby. Why? It has everything to do with the Sabbath Year. In Leviticus verses 1 through 7, we learn about the Sabbath Year. “The Lord saidContinue reading “A rainbow mosaic to help us trust in God – The Sabbath Year, Part 2”
Tag Archives: giving
How a car for sale on Facebook led to a beautiful expression of Jubilee – Jubilee, Part 5
A person in our congregation has been seeking a reliable vehicle for months. Given their financial situation, our church Leadership Team approved using money from our Care & Share Fund to help them with the down-payment on the vehicle. During the past two months, they looked at numerous vehicles, and two really good possibilities fellContinue reading “How a car for sale on Facebook led to a beautiful expression of Jubilee – Jubilee, Part 5”
What a keyboard taught me about the nature of sacrifice – 2 Samuel 24, Part 4
My church has a history of renting space in our building to other churches. In late 2018, sadly, one of those rental churches dwindled in size, and they decided to disband as a church. The remaining members formed a house church, and they gave away their assets. They gave our congregation a large financial donationContinue reading “What a keyboard taught me about the nature of sacrifice – 2 Samuel 24, Part 4”
The intersection of generosity and gratitude – 2 Samuel 22, Preview
It’s Thanksgiving Week! As I write this, yesterday was Lancaster’s annual Extra Give, a one-day explosion of generosity for over 400 non-profit organizations in our county. I love that the Extra Give is always so close to Thanksgiving, because it seems to me that the two days go hand in hand. When we give, weContinue reading “The intersection of generosity and gratitude – 2 Samuel 22, Preview”
Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1
This week we take a break from our Relationships in the Church series. At Faith Church this past week I gave a Q & A sermon. I asked the congregation for questions ahead of time, and then I attempted to bring biblical theology to bear on their questions. Here goes… He Gets Us spent almost $15 millionContinue reading “Is “He Gets Us” advertising worth the expense? – Q & A Week, Part 1″
One man’s example of sacrificial generosity – Encourage one another, Part 2
One of the most famous encouragers in the Bible is Barnabas. But Barnabas is not his real name. Turn to Acts 4:36-37. In Acts 4:36, we learn that Barnabas’ actual name is Joseph, but he is called by the nickname “Barnabas” because he is known for being an encourager. “Barnabas” means “son of encouragement.” ThoughContinue reading “One man’s example of sacrificial generosity – Encourage one another, Part 2”
Some much needed perspective on how to worship the Lord – Psalm 96, Part 4
In Psalm 96, this psalm about perspective, the psalmist started with a repetitive phrase, “Sing to the Lord,” which we talked about here and here. And now later in his song, he returns to a repetition. Look at verses 7-8. “Ascribe…Ascribe…Ascribe to the Lord.” What does it mean to “ascribe”? “Ascribe is not a commonContinue reading “Some much needed perspective on how to worship the Lord – Psalm 96, Part 4”
Giving is living – John 17:1-5, Part 2
Jesus has one more bit of work to do. Not a small bit either. It is the final offering. Jesus would be offering his life through his beating, his crucifixion and his death. Astoundingly, as Jesus tells us in his prayer in John 17:1-5, his offering brings praise to God. In fact, Jesus in verseContinue reading “Giving is living – John 17:1-5, Part 2”
Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5
Does the Bible tell us the goal of generosity to the poor? It does. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul taught something that is not mentioned enough. One of the subplots of Paul’s missionary journeys is that he was asking the churches across the Roman Empire to give money to help the mother church in Jerusalem. Continue reading “Why and How to be more Generous – John 11:46-12:11, Part 5”
What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4
What does extravagant generosity to Jesus look like in our day? In John 12:1-11, Mary dumped $70K worth of perfume on Jesus’ feet. While Jesus doesn’t expect us to do precisely what Mary did, he does expect us to be extravagantly generous. Why doesn’t he expect us to do what Mary did? Mary lived, forContinue reading “What Jesus meant when he said, “You will always have the poor among you” – John 11:46-12:11, Part 4″
Engaging Scripture 