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Pastor's Points - November

Dear Church Family,

I pray you are doing well and trusting in the Lord during these difficult times that we are living in. This month I was going to write a devotion about generosity, but as I was preparing to do so I came across a devotion by Dr. Charles Stanley on this very topic. In it he interacts with the story of the widow woman who gave her last two copper coins, which was all she had. And out of this story Dr. Stanley asks the question…

Are you generous? Maybe you feel that giving liberally is a luxury you can’t afford. Yet the most generous financial gift mentioned in Scripture had very little monetary value. Often called “the widow’s mite,” this small gift has inspired believers through the ages to give freely. Let’s look at the message conveyed by this sacrificial gift.

Read the passage in Mark 12:41-44 - The True Measure of a Gift - Because Jesus saw the hearts of everyone, He knew these rich people were not committed to God (Mark 12:41). They carefully observed the external requirements of their faith, including  tithing (see Luke 11:42). But their devotion to the Lord was almost non-existent. They gave to be praised by men.

- What did Jesus say about those who give to earn people’s admiration (Matt. 6:1-4)?
- Do you ever fall into the trap of giving primarily for the approval of others? Why do you think this is?

The widow gave “two small copper coins, which amount to a cent” (Mark 12:42). The King James version refers to them as “mites.” Although we cannot calculate their exact value in today’s money, we know these were the smallest coins used by the Jews at the time.

- What is surprising about how Jesus viewed the widow’s contribution (Mark 12:43-44)?

This passage teaches that God considers the motive, attitude, and financial condition of the giver when determining the gift’s value.

- What should our attitude be, according to 2 Corinthians 9:7?

The Adam Clarke Commentary says that “the poorest person has it in his power to make his mite as acceptable to the Lord, by simplicity of intention, and purity of affection, as the millions given by the affluent.”

- How does this fact motivate you to give generously?

The widow gave “all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44). In other words, the widow forfeited the money that would have bought food for the day. Her gift demonstrated amazing trust in God. Imagine you lost your wallet and needed to buy gas in order to make it home. If you found a five dollar bill in your pocket, would you give it away to a street beggar, trusting God to provide a way for you to get home? Although this illustration isn’t perfect, it gives you some idea of how the widow may have felt.

Sacrificial Financial Giving - Those who have an abundance usually spend it on themselves--better possessions, nicer vacations, or upgraded homes or cars. Or they may pay for more services and conveniences. Those with financial shortages often resist giving to the Lord’s work or to those less fortunate. They cling to what little they have, fearing there won’t be enough if they give.

- Do you see yourself as one who has an abundance of wealth (money and/or goods) or a shortage?

No matter which category you fall into, as a believer, you are called to be generous. Even the poor should give to the church and other people in need (Eph. 4:28). This is contrary to worldly wisdom, which says not to give if you have a shortfall. But poverty is not an excuse to hold back. Jesus commended the widow for giving, though she had almost nothing. Each person should give in proportion to his or her income (1 Cor. 16:1-2).

- Are you charitable toward those who are less fortunate than you? How?
- How did the Macedonian church give (2 Cor. 8:2,3)?
- Do you ever give sacrificially? Explain.
- How could you arrange to give up something you want (or have) in order to help spread the gospel or provide for the material needs of another?

I pray this devotion helps guide us as we consider our regular giving to the Lord as well as our 3-yr pledge to the stewardship campaign.

I love you and I love being your pastor!

Pastor's Points

Dear Church Family,

I pray you are doing well and are enjoying this wonderful cooler weather!  I am so thankful for fall and all that it brings to us as we are getting ready to take exciting steps forward into the future of our church family!  We truly are entering into a season of thankfulness.  We have so much to thank God for!

First, I want to thank God for HIS TIMING.  I have said for a long time now that, as God moves, we move.  And what I am trying to communicate in that little saying is that we do not want to get ahead of God.  We want to make sure that we are getting our
direction from Him.  Sometimes this is hard especially when it seems as if we need to be moving forward but things are not working out.  For some time, we thought the property that we needed was the Associational fields that are more north of us on
Oakhill.  But as we had to wait for that property to become available, God shut the door on that possibility and then swung a door wide open for us on a better piece of property, closer to us, with buildings already on the property.  God’s timing is so good, and we have been blessed for it!  Our North Campus has already helped us be able to offer our summer camp through our day care (65 kids). We are offering Vacation Bible School on that campus on Sunday evenings (85 kids per night), and we have our student ministry meeting down there on Wednesday evenings which allows us to offer AWANA’s on our South Campus with the room to socially distance our children.  We could not have done any of this without the provision of our new North Campus.  Thank you, Jesus, and thank you for perfect timing!!

Second, let’s thank God for HIS LEADING.  We have been crying out to God for His leadership for some time now through this process and He has been so gracious to give it to us.  We are now seeking His leading once again as we come to Him in a concerted time of prayer.  Please participate on October 4^th in our special prayer Sunday as we seek the Lord’s leading.  We will be preaching on the theme of prayer on this Sunday, our Life Groups will be meeting and praying together, and then on that Sunday afternoon up until 4pm we will be having a prayer walk on our North Campus.  After lunch on that day come to North Campus, get a prayer guide, and pray over this piece of property that we are using for the glory of God.

And finally, I want to thank God for HIS PLAN. Our plan is the same plan that we presented to our church from the beginning.  We will be using both of our properties in concert with one another to provide all the ministry, and parking space that we need as a growing church family.  As our plan is developing God is working through our architects and engineers to sharpen the plan for the building and renovation of both North and South Campuses. We are doing everything we can to come up with the most useful and cost-effective design of our campuses.  You will soon see the latest renderings of what North and South Campus will look like.  I am so thankful for the architects that God led us to work with.  They are believers and they are helping us every step of the way to come up with the best plan for our church!

So thankful for all of this!  It all comes from the hand of God!  He is so good to us!!  Please be praying and ask God to show you how it is that your family could give to support all that His plan calls for.  Let’s keep our eye on Him, and as God moves, let’s move with Him!

I love you and I love being your pastor!!