Note from Sunday, September 22, 2013
When we first introduced you to our Home Missions Offering, we said that pretty much all we’re looking for is $1 from each of you. Remember the little catch phrase you asked each other: “Did you bring your dollar?”
I want to revive that.
We only have a few months (like, 12 Sundays!) before we leave for the Heartland trip, and we want to take a bundle of money from our youth group to give away to the church planters. But… that means we have to have a bundle of money.
Giving is spiritual. It’s not about the money… it’s about your walk with God. If you’re not giving, you’re not obedient to Scripture. That’s why we encourage you to give. It’s a spiritual discipline, just like reading your Bible, praying, guarding your mouth and thoughts…
Giving doesn’t have to be about the amount. It’s about faithfulness and sacrifice. Have you been faithfully giving recently? If not, how about bringing a dollar to our offering each week? How about making up for the past weeks you’ve missed?
Sacrifice is giving up a part of yourself. If $.50 every week is a sacrifice to you, great! If $1 is no sacrifice to you and you could easily give a dollar a week, what would it take for you to have to give by faith? “God, where’s this $5 going to come from this week?” “God, where’s this $____ going to come from this week?” If the commitment is from God and for God, He will make sure that you are taken care of. But what does sacrifice look like to you? Fill in the blank above. Then bring that amount every week. All through Jr. High and High School (even before I had a job), I always tried to commit more and more each year, so that by the time I was a sophomore, God was able to provide $5/week for missions, and up to $10/week by the time I graduated. It was a sacrifice, but God always provided.
Faithfulness is about keeping to what you know you should be doing. It takes discipline. It takes… remembering. “I forgot.” That’s just an excuse, not a reason. Faithfulness is… always. Always being there when needed, always giving, always keeping up… Are you being faithful? I think the fact that our offerings have slipped a little (like, $4/week for the past few months) is an indication 1) that I haven’t been mentioning it much, and 2) that we could use a reminder to be faithful.
So, what we’re going to do is have an offering time on Sundays AND one Wednesdays. We will still shoot for $1/week from each of you, but it will be in front of you TWICE a week now to help you remember. Go ahead and ask each other every Sunday and Wednesday… “Did you bring your dollar?”
-Bro. Ryan
He Hath Shown Thee/ Micah 6:8 (song 128)
He hath shown thee, O man, what is good;
And what doth the Lord require of thee,
But to do justly and to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with thy God.
Every Day With Jesus (song 133)
Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.
Every day with Jesus I love Him more and more.
Jesus saves and keeps me and He’s the one I’m waiting for;
Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.
Cares Chorus (song 131)
I cast all my care upon You.
I lay all of my burdens down at Your feet.
And anytime, that I don’t know what to do,
I will cast all my cares upon You.