Summer Reviews #1

Throughout the summer, I’m going to do a number of reviews on music, books, or anything else you may want to get into this summer. Because summers in Minnesota are laid back and beautiful, people generally like to find new things to get into. Here we go with the first edition of the summer reviews!

I’m going to focus this one for parents and families. Chances are, you’ve seen the Narnia movies (or at least one of them). They are pretty good. Years ago (and I mean years ago) I read two of the Narnia books, but really didn’t get into them because I was a young teenager and I thought they were uncool. My plan for summer reading is to read all the books.

This past weekend, I knocked out ‘The Magicians Nephew‘ just on the plane going to NC and coming home. This is the very first in the stories chronological order. It explains quite a bit of what you may already seen in the other books/movies, and is essentially about the creation of Narnia.

What’s so beautiful about this book is how CS Lewis details Aslan creating Narnia from nothing. It parallels the Biblical story so well. Reading how Narnia was created was like seeing the story of God creating this world in a very new and awesome way. It would be an awesome story to read to your children, and not only perfectly paint an illustration of creation for them but you also. It’s such a simple and short read.

It hit even harder today as I was listening to Andrew Peterson here in my office. His song ‘The Magic Hour‘ shuffled up and the song hit me in a way it never has.

Here at the magic hour
Time and eternity
Mingle a moment in chorus
Here at the magic hour
Bright is the mystery
Plain is the beauty before us
Could this beauty be for us?

What is this voice that sings
Holy and hovering
Over this hill in the still of the evening?
Son of God, speak

Into the peace of these wild things,
Into the wild of this grace,
Into the grace of this blessing,
Speak in the peace of this place

After reading ‘The Magicians Nephew’ this song was even more beautiful than it previously had been. I would encourage you to read the Narnia story to your children, or simply read it yourself. CS Lewis is one of the most amazing authors of the 20th Century, and his writings inspire all ages.

And get that Andrew Peterson album for summer listening! It’s an album about family.

Summer is Upon Us!

Our summer service schedule begins June 5th!

That means there will be no Sunday school and worship will be at 930am. Also, Fellowship Lunch doesn’t resume again until the fall.

So mark your calendars for 930am starting June 5th! And go outside and enjoy God’s creation.

When You Give (recap)

This past Sunday we started studying the three disciplines listed in Matthew 6, beginning with giving.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:2-4

We give to things we believe in.

Isn’t that true? Think for a moment about where your money goes. I’m not talking about basic bills, or mortgage or rent. Where does your money go? Do you give any of it away? I would argue that you are putting your money into things you believe in. Maybe things you like. A lot of times we believe in ourselves, though. We put our money into the greatest investment there is…US! We buy things. We often buy things we really don’t need.

Have you ever printed off the past 30 days of your checking account and line by line went through and categorized where your money goes? It is fascinating to do if you’ve never done it!

‘Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. (Malachi 3:8)

Are you robbing God? Let me ask you this: Do you believe in His power? Do you believe that God can manage your finances better than you can? Or do you believe in yourself?

The word ‘tithe’ is a translation from the Hebrew word ma’ser. This word literally means ‘a tenth part.’ Here’s some context for this word…

‘Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords; it is holy to the Lord.’ (Leviticus 27:30)

The word ‘holy’ means ‘set apart.’ We see that God is asking to set apart a tenth for giving to Him.

Giving must be done with the right motives.

Often times what we give makes us believe we have stock in the church – we have a right to have things our way because after all, we GIVE. That’s why Paul says that the elders of the church are not to be driven by the love of money.

Did you know that the church offering is instructed to be put aside for the ministry, and overseen by the church leadership? Paul talks about this in 1^st Corinthians, where he says

‘On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. (Now Paul was encouraging them to take a weekly offering rather than just offerings when he was passing through). When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gifts to Jerusalem.’ (1^st Cor. 16:1-2)

Giving doesn’t mean that you’re buying stock in your church or ministry. It’s just about honoring God. And we must honor God with the right motives. The heart is everything. Jesus makes that so clear. It’s not just about the things we do as the motives behind it. We can do all the good in the world, but if we do them for what we can gain, they’re pretty worthless.

God must be honored. ‘Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce.’ Proverbs 3:9

And when God is honored, He honors us.

God Rewards Givers

In our passage today, Jesus talks about God rewarding us (rather than man) when we give with the right motives. How does God reward us? You’ll probably be familiar with this, but God really does take care of us. Shocker, right?! The truth of the matter is that God is faithful to his word.

‘Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?’ Matthew 6:26

Are we not much more valuable to God? God promises to take care of us. Let’s check out this very clear verse…

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ”They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 2^nd Corinthians 9:6-9

Because we give to things we believe in. Do you believe God is faithful? Giving should be done with the right motives. Are your motives pure? God rewards givers. Are you getting your reward?

Q&A

10% was for the Jews – what should Christians give?

• If 10% is what God asked of them, and we have Jesus, I would say 10% is the minimum we should give. The more we can give, the better. Sowing bountiful reaps bountiful.

I want to give to a bunch of different things. Do I divide up my 10%?

• If we want to stay true to Scripture and the example of the early church, we should give our full 10% to our church. Why? Because we are to believe in our churches leadership and their ability to disperse funds appropriately. That’s what we see in Corinthians. Also, our initial responsibility is to our ministry here in Dassel. Everything else needs to come 2^nd, and above and beyond what we give to the Lords work here.

What if I whole-heartedly and honestly can’t afford giving 10%? My bills verses my income barely break me even!

• I know it sounds crazy and hard – but put it to the test. And be smart about it. Check your priorities – giving to the Lord verses _________.

Do I give before / after taxes?

• Really?

If everyone faithfully gave 10% of their income, how would that change our ministry and impact in Dassel?

• I’ll leave that to your imagination.