Wellington Church of Christ

Over the past weeks as I have studied the Bible in preparation for what I would preach regarding the topic of financial giving, I have also read and listened to a large number of teachings on the subject.

Last year I knew of two churches that conducted studies regarding the giving percentages of their members.  The results surprised me.  Both studies showed a similar result of financial giving by less than 50% of its members.

Giving, Part 1

I’ve shared before that my favorite part of corporate worship is taking the Lord’s Supper.  What I haven’t shared is how much I love the “separate and apart” part that comes right after the Lord’s Supper – the offering.

There is an ever-growing teaching in the world today that Christians do not need to attend worship services with other Christians, or as most people refer to it, “go to church.”  Many so-called Christians even suggest that it is better to not attend than to attend.

The great danger of denying God’s glory is that He will pour out His wrath upon you.  When we hear someone reference, “being saved,” I often wonder if they realize what they are being saved from.

An Important Distinction

We teach that mankind is saved by grace, through faith in Jesus and His accomplishments.  Yet the Bible consistently teaches that those who are not obedient to its teachings are not saved.  Those who are self-diluted are those who Jesus refers to in Matthew 7:21-23,

Wow!  Can you believe we’ve been together for over a year now?  God has been so good to me in the last year.  It hasn’t been without struggles, but the struggles cause a greater bond.

Fruit

Have you ever had two pieces of fruit that look identical in their makeup but one tasted wonderful and the other was terrible?

Jesus talks about these kinds of fruit in His great sermon when he warns us about the danger of false teachers.  Here’s what He says in Matthew 7:15-20 –

One of the more difficult concepts to wrap our minds around in the current religious climate we live in is that salvation is free but discipleship costs everything. 

This week we’ll examine another of the best-known scriptures in the world, by Christians and non-Christians alike, Matthew 7:12

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you…

Which is actually only part of the whole verse and which is often further simplified into:

Treat others how you want to be treated.