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!

Sunday worship celebration is one of the most exciting times in the life of BRCC.  Every element works together to provide an environment in which the Christian can be thankful for what God has done in the previous week and anticipate in hope what God will do in the next week.

Thankfulness and anticipation are two essential parts of worship.  The first reason is that both are active.  Worship can never be passive.  Through the Holy Spirit each believer actively gives their body (including their voice) to celebrating God.  Worship was never intended to be a passive event.  When we are thankful we are actively engaging in acknowledging God's activity in our live over the past week.  So often we ignore the work of God in our lives; we don't even recognize what gifts God has given us.  This often leads to believing that God isn't in their lives or is not concerned about their life - nothing could be further from the truth.  When a Christian is thankful, worship begins to take on its correct contour and shape.  Worship grows out of thankfulness.

Secondly, worship grows out of anticipation.  Anticipation is an acknowledgement that God has done big  things in the past and that He is able and willing to do them in the future.  Anticipation is expecting God to act in our lives.  When we anticipate God working in our lives our we are naturally led to thankfulness for what God will do.  Worship fully takes on its contour and shape with the combination of thankfulness and anticipation.

This Sunday, don't come to worship EXPECTING something to be given to you.  Worship is a celebration when YOU bring something to worship.  The first place to start is being thankful for what God has done and begin to anticipate what God will do in the coming weeks!

This week starts a new discipline for me - posting my sermon slides online.  These are the sermon slides that I use on Sunday morning.  Some of them will have narratives with them, but some of them will just be the slides.  These are for people who miss worship on Sunday morning  and those who want a refresher.  

Enjoy and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions!