No Pain, No Gain. We”ve all heard this in reference to becoming a better athlete or other physical performer. But how often have we applied this to our spiritual growth? Personally, I (Pat) struggle with making time to sit quietly and pray and listen to God. It”s hard for me. But I know I need it so I make time (pain) to improve my relationship with God (gain).
At New Life we create safe places for people to discover God. But God”s plans for us are not always safe, or fun (another value of ours), or easy. Sometimes they are down right painful. But these plans are often the very things that cause the most growth and give the greatest reward that make the initial sacrifice worth it.
Tithe Sunday is one such opportunity. We want you to wrestle with God to see what it would be like to tithe for one week. Pray about it. See what God will do. This is your chance to put your toe in the water and see how it impacts your connection with God.
From a church we want to see what could happen if everyone tithes. The Malachi passage Brett shared a couple weeks ago (Malachi 3:10) isn”t just to be applied personally, but also corporately. We, as a church, are not bringing the “whole tithe to the storehouse.”. Brett feels his error has been that he has been content to allow some to not participate with the church as others give generously.
So for just one Sunday (February 3rd – Superbowl Sunday) we are asking everyone at New Life to tithe. To bring their “whole tithe to the storehouse.”
What does this mean? A tithe is 10% of gross of whatever income you earn that week. The bible also says that we should not give under compulsion but that God loves a cheerful giver ( href=”https://www.youversion.com/bible/59/2co.9.7.esv” target=”_blank”>2 Corinthians 9:7). Our desire is that you would join us on Feb 3rd because you want to see God change you… because you want to be part of the New Life family… because you want to join us in seeing what God can do through all of us. If you only give legalistically your life will likely not be changed and you may or may not see God”s blessing. But, even giving legalistically is still a step toward yielding your complete self to God and that is a win.
In terms of logistics we ask that you prepare in advance to give via check 10% of whatever you earn that week. If you give electronically, we will give you the opportunity to write down on a slip of paper what your “one week” tithe would be. If you typically give quarterly or annually we would encourage you to go ahead and participate at this time as being part of the family.
Our true desire is that this will not be a painful experience for you. That you will experience God”s joy as you write your check or complete your electronic payment (via CCB or your bank). That we, as a family, will bring the whole tithe to the storehouse and see God work in a mighty way.