It is More Blessed to Give...

“For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.” Romans 15:27

Beloved,

Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Jesus always speaks the truth so we know that it is more blessed to give than to receive. This has been one of the founding principles of Christianity since the foundation of the church in the 1st century. Paul makes the statement that as the Gentiles have come to share in spiritual blessings, they also should serve in material blessings. As this was true then, it is also true today.

As a church we are not currently meeting our budget. There are several factors that have contributed to us not meeting out weekly budget, but I believe it is important to inform the congregation of our need. As the church continues to care for you spiritually, will you prayerfully consider increasing your weekly giving to meet our financial needs? Can I also encourage those who are not currently tithing to experience the blessing of obedient giving?

Old Testament Prophet Malachi says, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions…Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need (Mal 3:8,10).” The Lord will honor those who give for it is more blessed to give than to receive, but to those who do not give, they are equated with robbing God.

Although the New Testament never explicitly says that it is the Christian’s responsibility to give 10% of their income to the Lord, Jesus affirmed the importance of tithing when he said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23, “For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

We should not only tithe, but also not neglect others. God wants you to give, but also cares about how and why you give. God does not want your money, but he wants your heart. And he will use your money to get to your heart. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive because as we give we show that our treasure is in Him and not in our wealth.

Listen to 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Jesus always deepens the demands of the OT law. This can be seen in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard that it was said, you shall not murder and whoever murders is liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment” (Matt 5:21-22). Jesus wants more than external obedience, he wants your heart. He wants you to cheerfully and willingly give to the Lord’s work. 

The New Testament expects you to tithe and to tithe with a joyful heart. Tithing should not be the end goal for Christian giving, but rather tithing should be the starting point. Sometimes obedience follows emotion and sometimes emotion follows obedience. We cannot be satisfied with one or the other, God wants both. He wants our obedience and our hearts. Financial giving is one of the way we can show the Lord is our true treasure. So give and give from a cheerful heart.

In Him,

Pastor Dave

To God to be the Glory

Beloved,

We will be singing the great hymn of the faith, To God Be Glory, tomorrow. It would do our hearts good to reflect on these lyrics in preparation for our corporate gathering.


1. To God be the glory, great things he hath done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

and opened the lifegate that all may go in.


This verse highlights that all glory goes to God. When you read the New Testament letters, all of the writers give God all the glory for what he does for his people. The word for glory in the New Testament occasionally refers to human honor, but predominantly is a reference to the weightiness or the worthiness of God. Ultimately, God’s glory is revealed in the salvation that he offers the world in the giving his Son. As we sing, we can join thousands of other believers, who have sung this song to God’s glory.


“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”


Jesus also gave his life as an atonement for sin. In his mercy, he did not make us pay for our sin, but took it upon himself through his death. It is through this atoning sacrifice that he makes amends for us with God and allows the lifegate to be opened for all who believe.


Psalm 78:38, “Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

Refrain:

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,

and give him the glory, great things he hath done!


This is why we can sing, “Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord.” He is most definitely praiseworthy for this great gospel. So we sing not only to his praise, but to those who are with us. We plead with them through song to come to the Father thru Jesus the Son. We are singing a gospel call to sinners. We should give him glory for the great things he hath done. Teach your children the great things he hath done so they can join in the gospel call.

2. O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,

to every believer the promise of God;

the vilest offender who truly believes,

that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.


The redemption of God is a perfect redemption. The perfect Son of God spilled his perfect blood to purchase his church (Acts 20:28). We are part of the redeemed because we were bought with a price, the price of the blood of the Savior, Jesus Christ. So every believer from every generation receives the promise of redemption through faith. “Therefore since we have been justified by his blood, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have access by faith into the grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:1-2).


We are not saved because of our good works, but through the blood of Christ. The vilest offender who TRULY BELIEVES will receive pardon from their sin through Christ. What a great promise!!! Your vilest and most evil sin is not able to separate you from God through the blood of Christ.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-9)

3. Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done,

and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son;

but purer, and higher, and greater will be

our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.


Oh what joy does the gospel bring!!! There should be great rejoicing to God thru Jesus. But our current joy is only a glimpse of the joy we will have when we see Jesus face to face.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 1 Cor. 2:9

So before worship tomorrow, take 15 minutes and meditate on the lyrics. Listen to the link below and rejoice in the salvation we have in Christ. Teach the song to your children. God has sovereignly revealed Himself to us which should cause our hearts to sing to His glory.

Don't Be a Fool....Learn to Listen

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12, ESV)


Beloved,

I need to grow in my listening. As the old adage says, “God gave you two ears and one mouth so you should

listen twice as much as you speak.” But listening is not easy. It is hard to listen, because we naturally think our opinion is the most important one. We do not want to apply our hearts to instruction and our ears to words of knowledge, because there is a part of us that believes that we do not need to be instructed and to hear words of knowledge. Our lack of good listening skills could be, at its core, an inflated view of ourselves. James writes that we should, “be quick to hear and slow to speak,” but too often we are quick to be heard and slow in allowing others to speak.

Before we are able to give our ear to words of knowledge, we must apply our hearts to instruction. We have to open our hearts so we will be able to hear from others. For if we close our hearts to instruction we will be like the fool:

· The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to run. (Prov. 10:8)
· The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. (Prov. 10:14)
· The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice (Prov. 12:15)
· Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge (Prov. 14:7)
· A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul. (Prov. 18:6-7)
· Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. (Prov. 17:28)
· A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back. (Prov. 29:11)
· Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him (Prov. 29:20)

Beloved, one of the best ways not to be a fool is to listen more and talk less. We have to open our hearts to instruction which will close our mouths to our own opinions. Let us be quick to listen and slow to speak. Listening is hard, but the benefits are tremendous.


In Christ,

Pastor Dave

"We Shall Certainly Be..."

“For if we have been united him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:5

Beloved,

The Bible is full of beautiful and precious promises. For me, there is nothing more beautiful than the promise of our union with Christ. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life. He perfectly obeyed the Father. He always spoke perfect words. He always treated others with a perfect love. His perfect life led him to the cruel cross of Calvary in a perfect sacrifice for sinners. Jesus Christ is the perfect man.

So notice that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ the Bible says we are baptized with him into his death. His death becomes our death. His death pays the penalty for our sin. But our faith in Christ not only unites us in his death, but also unites us with him in his resurrection. Jesus’ perfect life is credited to us so when we close our eyes in death, we can be confident that we will open them in glory. For our union with Christ gives us confidence for the Apostle Paul writes that, “we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” We must hold fast to this confident hope. And none of this depends on us, but on the death and resurrection of our perfect Savior. Our faith brings us in union with His perfection. What a great promise!!

John Kent (1766-1843) wrote about this union:


Hail, sacred union, firm and strong
How great thy grace, how sweet the song,
That rebel worms should ever be
One with incarnate Deity!

One in the tomb, one when He rose,
One when he triumphed o’er His foes
One when in heav’n He took His seat,
While seraphs sung at hell’s defeat.


Beloved, is there any greater promise that we are united with Christ? “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). Take heart and rejoice in your union with Christ!! For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

While We Were Still Sinners

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly; but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  (Romans 5:6; 8 ESV)

Beloved,

      Some days feelings of guilt and shame can be overwhelming.  We make another mistake and hurt someone we love. We fall again into a sin that we said we were never going to do again.  We feel alone, condemned and start to lose hope.  Regardless of where you are at on your spiritual journey, we all have days when we feel weak and our sin feels overwhelming. We may even doubt God’s love for us.

      In those moments, we must remember the great compassion and the immense grace that has been given us in Jesus Christ.  Jesus died for us while we were still weak.  Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.  Before Jesus died, he knew who he was dying for: wretched sinners.  But the truth of our sin should not overwhelm us in grief, but should cause our hearts to overflow in love.  For “God shows his LOVE FOR US in that while were still sinners, Christ died FOR US.”  This is a profound truth.  When we understand the truth about our sin, we only begin to understand how great God’s love is for his people.  God did not come to crush his people in there sin, but graciously and lovingly save them from their sin.  “As sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21).”

    Beloved, grace is always more powerful than sin. We can trust that whenever our sin feels overwhelming in our life, the grace of God abounds all the more.  We will have days of guilt and grief over our sin. But in those days we have a choice: condemn ourselves or rejoice in that while we were still sinners, Christ was condemned for us. Oh what a great God we serve!!! “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God shouldst die for me?” 

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shenand called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12)

Dear Beloved,

It is important to remember what God has done for his people. God’s past faithfulness will ground us in his future faithfulness. After great miracles and victories, the nation of Israel would set up a monument to remember God’s deliverance.

After the return of the Ark, Samuel set up a stone and called it Ebenezer for the Lord had helped his people. The stone would serve as visual illustration of how God helps His people. So as children would walk by that stone, a father or grandfather would be able to pull them aside and tell them about the great victory God gave over their enemy. Monuments are instruments of remembrance.

Like Israel, we should take time to remember all that God has done for us. This Sunday, we celebrate our 106th year of the Park Baptist Church. God has been very gracious and kind to the people of Park. He has used this church to bring many people to Christ and to strengthen their walks with the Lord Jesus. In an effort to raise our remembrance of God’s faithfulness to us, we stop once a year to remember what God has done in and through us. As the great hymn of the faith, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, says,

Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by they help I’m come; and I hope by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

We can rejoice in what God has done through Park for ultimately it is a work of His hand. Think about how many Jesus has sought when they were strangers, wandering from the fold of God through our 106 year history? Think about how many Jesus has rescued from danger by interposing his precious blood in the last century? Oh beloved, let us use this coming Sunday as a special day to rejoice in God’s faithfulness to the Park Baptist Church. We hope by His good pleasure that we will labor for his glory until we safely arrive at home.

In Christ,

Pastor Dave

From My Youth

For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth; O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. (Psalm 71:5; 17)


Beloved,


According to the Barna Research Group, less than one out of every four born again Christians (23%) embrace Christ after their 21st birthday. This means that it is vitally important for young people to hear the gospel message of Jesus Christ while they are still in their youth. The number one reason for young people to come to Christ is to be raised by parents who love Jesus Christ. The best evangelism will always be when parents pass on the truths of the gospel to the next generation. It is responsibility of every Christian parent to teach the hope held out in the gospel to their children.


My prayer is for the young people at Park Baptist Church that they will be able to say along with the Psalmist, “For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. O God, from my youth you have taught me.” We want our children to come to faith in Christ at a young age. We want them to hope and trust in Christ as their Savior. This should be the heart’s desire of every Christian parent.


Although this is the hope for every Christian parent, this is not the hope of every parent. Many parents have abdicated their spiritual responsibility leaving their children susceptible to the lies of the evil one. If parents do not believe in Jesus Christ, neither will their children. Therefore it is our responsibility as a church to aggressively fight for the souls of the youth in our city. As the statistics show, the hearts of youth are more receptive to the gospel message. We need to go to our youth with the gospel. To that end, I pray you will support our church’s effort to take the gospel to youth which, Lord willing, will be spearheaded by our new director of youth ministries, Casey Espich. Casey is a passionate young man with a great fervor for the glory of Jesus Christ. It has been an honor to get to know him and see his heart to reach young people with the gospel of our Lord.



The Psalmist had come to the Lord in his youth, but writes this psalm at the end of his life. Listen to the lifelong impact that the gospel had on this man when he says, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” He came to the Lord as a young man and was still proclaiming the wondrous deeds of the Lord to end of his life. Beloved, imagine how many teenagers are in our city that could one day say as senior saints, “O Lord, from my youth, you have been my hope and my trust. You taught me from my youth and I am still proclaiming your wondrous deeds.” Let us fight for the souls of our young people with the gospel of Christ. Let us be intentional as a church to be a vehicle for the spread of God’s glory throughout this city.



In Christ,

Pastor Dave