Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
We’re a “church plant” and move in and out of South Lebanon Elementary each week. They are gracious hosts, but I often think about the luxury of having our own place.
Reading in 1 Chronicles about David making the preparations for his son Solomon to build the temple. Did you know David procured 3,750 TONS of gold and 37,500 TONS of silver? So I had to do the math–and in those two materials alone in today’s prices, God’s temple would have cost about 125 Billion dollars. ($125,000,000,000) Dang, that’s a building project!
We love our volunteers, so we want to say thank you! See below! (click to make bigger)
If you have served in anyway at KingsWay in this past year, consider yourself invited (and appreciated!)
If you aren’t taking the 90 Day Tithe Challenge, here’s a peak at letter’s I periodically send out to people who have taken the challenge to encourage them to press on!
“We are Day 53 into our 90 Day Tithe Challenge—Over half way done! How’s it going? It’s God showing up in miraculous ways? Are you struggling with the pursuit of this Malachi 3:10 challenge? Along the way, I told you I’d share stories about how God was working in people’s lives as they’ve taken this challenge (or have been long time tithers). Here’s a story I received near the beginning of the challenge:
Tithing is our budgeting plan. I keep a record of bill-type expenses, but it doesn’t include any income information. I send KingsWay about 10% twice per month when I pay bills (as well as our $100 pledge to Kirkwood once per month) and there always seems to be enough money to cover the bills. I never, ever calculate ahead of time (and rarely afterward) how our income and expenses balance. When I was less organized, and therefore more haphazard about tithing, the money definitely seemed to disappear faster… and at one point we were almost a year behind in our pledges to Kirkwood. I used to tithe when there was 10% left over to give, but that was inconsistent at best and it seemed like there was never enough money for everything. Ever since I added our tithe and Kirkwood pledge to my schedule of payments, things have been much more stable. There are always lean months around property tax and homeowner’s insurance time, but never to the point that it feels like we’ll never be able to catch up. I have absolutely no proof that tithing has made our financial situation healthier. I can, however, say that in response to our dedicated tithing and giving regimen, God has made us more comfortable with the financial situation He’s given us.
I was thinking for the 90-day Tithing Challenge I will collect some actual paystubs and do an exact calculation of our gross income and give a true 10% of that rather than the generic round number/estimate that I’ve been using. I’ll keep you posted of anything interesting that happens in the meantime. Her spouse adds this: I have not always had a great job, or any job for that matter during this time and we have never had to back off of what we want to save and invest while we are tithing.
I hope this story encourages you. Keep pressing on! Malachi 3:10: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Ps. Several Financial resources are available on my blog here. Check out the post heading “Going Green Resources” and find a “Spending plan,” “debt reduction plan,” and “spending record.” These have personally helped me greatly as I seek to be a good steward of what God has entrusted me with.
Love Bill Hybel’s passion: “Personally, I’ve never understood inactivity. Why a person would sit when he could soar, be a spectator when he could play, or atrophy when he could develop…is beyond me.” Phil 3:13-14
We are in day 33 of our 90 Day Tithe Challenge. One of the neat things that is happening during this challenge is the storytelling going on– from new tithers to long time tithers–telling their stories about their exprience tithing. If you missed our first video testimony shown on Sunday, check it out now. Great Job, Jeremy.
Embedded video to come: for now, click here
I start early in the week for message prep. Mostly because 1) I have questions about the text that take time to solve 2) I’m slow (and I don’t want to start on Friday and not be done in time for Sunday, AM) and 3) I’m just anal about getting stuff done early. Anyway, talking about the great “seismos moment” in Matthew 8:23-27. Totally stuck on a few things:
Matthew and Mark say “where is your faith?” and then Jesus calms the storm. Luke’s version has Jesus calming the storm and then asking “where is your faith?” Is that significant?
Did Jesus intentionally take the disciples out into the squall?
Is the overall point of the calming of the sea to help develop the disciples belief in Jesus as a miracle worker OR their belief in him as God (there would seem to be a significant difference). Both? Is their “lack of faith” an issue of thinking they were going to die or an issue of them not believing that Jesus was God? (God was often portrayed as having complete control and sovereignty over water, a la Psalm 89:8-9, Ps 65:7, Ps. 104:7, Ps, 106:9, Or Ps. 107:23-30, Ps. 46:1-3).
The greatest mark of a disciple of Jesus: Living on Mission. Are you?
At KingsWay, we keep trying to think of ways to simply “bless” people. In fact, part of our vision, (Worship, Grow, Send) is to be “sent” to bless… So we’re preparing some “Spring-Themed” baskets to giveaway to peole in the community who we think might be interested in getting one. Here’s how you can get involved:
Pick up some Spring-themed items like:
Cleaning supplies
Fruit roll ups
Juices
Kites
Bubbles
Sunglasses
Bug repellent
Sunscreen
Goldfish crackers
Flower seeds
An umbrella, etc.
April 16th, several of us are gathering at Panera bread on Mason Montgomery Road @ 6:30 to organize and pack those baskets (to make them look nice).
Apri 17th, several of us are going to gather at South Lebanon Elemtary School (at 11am) to deliver those baskets to people–just as a practical way of blessing people and saying “God loves you.”
I invite you to participate in purchasing some of those items, joining us to help pack and organize, and being “sent” to deliver them. Need more info? email info (at) mykingsway (dot) net
