This past month we have been in a sermon series called "Honoring God's House."  We've been talking about the need for disciples to honor God's house through giving to the church.  

This past week we talked about the practical and spiritual benefits of giving.  I taught that giving is not just about giving, it's about receiving as well. Here is what I gleaned from Scripture:

1. Giving is in antidote for fear - when we trust God through giving to the church we defeat the fear that we have as we misplace our trust in our bank account.  Our bank account may go up and down, but God's love for us remains constant (1 Timothy 6:17).

2. Giving strengthens our faith - When we give and trust that we will have enough our faith is strengthened.  When God is faithful one time, we can trust that He will be faithful again (Malachi 3:10).

3.  Giving is an investment - when we invest in the church we invest in the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God is expanding with the work of the Holy Spirit and our investment allows us to partner with the Spirit and be a part of the Kingdom; it is an investment with great returns.  We are commanded to invest in the Kingdom of God (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

4. Giving draws me closer to God - When we give we are exercising a communicable attribute of God - generosity.  We are more like God when we act like God; when we allow the fruits of the Spirit to act in our lives (Matthew 19:24-27).

So as we give to God through the church we receive these things along the way!

I drive to work everyday from Hampstead on rt. 121.  When you drive a road as often as I do you learn all of the curves and bumps - I'm sure you've had the same experience.  Another thing I learn is where the sun will be relative to the direction of my car.  In other words, I learn the spots on my journey where I will be blinded by the light as a drive.

Tonight Brookridge is having a concert - No Greater Love. The concert is focused on how great God's love is for us. Here is a pic of one of the songs we did. If you like what you see you can go to www.brookridge.org to get more info about the Brookridge community.

Also check us out at 10:30am on Sunday morning.

No greater love - God's love is furious for you!

Hey all - hope you are doing well today!

I'm often asked what I read to keep up with my faith, religion, etc.  So I thought I would list the top web sites that I frequent.  I'm not getting paid to promote these sites; I'm hoping that posting these will help you become better educated and  informed about your faith, religion, church, etc.

www.christianitytoday.com
www.christianpost.com

www.huffingtonpost.com/religion
www.sojo.net
www.conversantlife.com
www.outreach.com

Each of these sites has it's own flavor - some more "conservative", some more "liberal" - all have been helpful for me.

What sites are helpful for you? List them in the comment section!

Most of us are on social media in one way or another - if your reading this it means that you are socially "connected!"  There are a lot of resources and fun things for you to take advantage of - especially to keep up with the life of the church.

One thing that you may not know is that BRCC has an INSTAGRAM page.  There are a ton of pictures there that really help to give the flavor of the church.  Have you been there yet?  If not click HERE and cruise on over there!

Also, don't forget about our Facebook group page, click HERE to join if you haven't already!

BRCC is preparing for a fall mission trip to Costa Rica where we will be working alongside our missionaries there.  I believe right now we have between 14-20 people going - it's going to be exciting!

In order to raise money for the trip we are having a community-wide spaghetti dinner followed by a concert featuring our worship team.  There is a suggested donation of $5/person or $10/family.  The meal is going to be great and the music is going to inspiring.  

I'm asking all of my friends on Twitter and Facebook to help support our trip by buying tickets to the spaghetti dinner.  If you want to buy tickets, you can click     
                                                                              HERE.  

                                                                               I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

Hey everyone - 

Over the past ten years we have been blessed to have a top-notch worship team.  Our team leads us to worship and prepares our hearts to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.  They are a huge part of our Sunday celebrations.

Erin, our worship leader, just created a page on our web site that allows you to hear our music!  Click HERE to go to the page and click "launch media player."

Feel free to share this link with friends as it is a great way to share what our worship service is like on a Sunday morning.  

SHARE AWAY!!