Do You Want to be Blessed?

Transcription

1 The Mustard Seed May 2014 P a s t o r s C o r n e r Do You Want to be Blessed? According to the Scriptures, blessing is the result of obedience. Disobedience brings about discipline and / or cursing. Jesus, addressing His disciples, said if you love me, you will keep my commandments. As God's people, we are to obey Him. Obedience demonstrates that we are His people, the citizens of the Kingdom of God. God specifically joins obedience and blessing in Malachi 3: In Malachi 3: 8 12, God accuses the people of robbing Him because they have failed to give God tithes and offerings. Note that the people have failed to give two things to God. The tithe is ten percent of a person's increase. An offering is over and above the tithe. What is the purpose of the tithe and the purpose of an offering? The tithe acknowledges that all belongs to the Lord, that He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. The tithe establishes a relationship of trust. Every beast of the field and the cattle on a thousand hills belongs to God therefore God does not need our tithe for Himself. But, this is the tragedy, God cannot bless those who will not tithe. As is said in Malachi 3, You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me. God's people fail to tithe for these reasons: 1. They erroneously believe that tithing is not for today. This is a failure to recognize that: tithing preceded the giving of the Law (Genesis 14: 20), that Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for neglecting the weightier things of the Law while acknowledging that they did tithe (Matthew 23: 23), and the writer to the Hebrews states that people were tithing in his presence (Hebrews 7: 8). 2. They fail to recognize the importance of tithing. 3. They are ignorant of the benefits of tithing. 4. They are fearful of insufficiency. According to Malachi 3, a tithe opens the windows of Heaven for blessing. The offering is a discretionary amount that reflects the heart of the giver. The offering is a measure of the giver's love and gratitude toward God. Note that Malachi 3: 8 specifically states that God was being robbed in two ways. God was being robbed of tithes. God was being robbed of offerings. The people were not acknowledging God as the giver of all (tithe) nor were they expressing praise and thanks (offering). Malachi 3: 8 12 is the only place in the Scriptures that God challenges His people to try me now in this. Giving is a very practical way to demonstrate that you live by faith. Giving is a very practical way that you can express your gratitude to God for all that He has done for you in Christ Jesus. Giving is a very practical way that God demonstrates His faithfulness to His word and His people. Do you evidence your dependence upon God and His Sovereignty in giving 10% of your increase? Do you evidence your love and gratitude by giving over and above the 10%? May God bless you in the same measure that you express your praise and thanks, according to His word. Pastor Russell

2 P a g e 2 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d The Messiah in the Passover with Communion Speaker: Mitch Forman Mitch will be presenting this important message during our Communion Service on May 4, He presented last fall and we are blessed to welcome him once again. Mitch will have more info and books to purchase downstairs following service. If you would like to donate to the Chosen People Ministry, a free will offering will be available. Spring Church Clean-up - May 3rd, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Join us to help spruce up our building and grounds after this long, cold winter. Plenty of projects inside and out! Scouts will be available to take care of most of the outside projects. Lunch will be served. Many hands make light work! Please help!! Ladies Breakfast - Saturday, May 10th at 9:00 am Men s Breakfast & Study group are hosting breakfast for the Ladies and guests. Men will meet at 8:00 am to prepare breakfast, all men who would like to help please join us! See Pastor Russ or Keith TenDyke for more info. Church Theme Service & Unity For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. Romans 12: 4-6a

3 P a g e 3 Having meditated on our church theme verse(s) for , service and unity (Romans 12: 4-6a), have you been encouraged by learning about the different spiritual gifts that are discussed in the Bible? God, in His grace, has given you gift(s). In what way(s) have you seen these gift(s) when you demonstrated it/them and then, also received affirmation from other believers? We took a look at the gift of mercy in the previous Diaconate Corner. This month, we will look at the gift of giving: Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: he who gives, with liberality. (Romans 12: 6-8) What does this mean? What does God tell us how to give? We are to give or to share generously (Psalm 37: 26, Proverbs 21: 26) and with cheerfulness (2 Corinthians 9:7) the material resources that God has graciously given to us, and not self-servingly think about how they can be returned to us. Let s keep in mind that giving, along with some of the other gifts (such as mercy), is a gift that is used for serving rather than one exercised by being talked about: Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6: 3, 4 our giving is to be in secret. Our Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. He will certainly confirm you as you practice your gift. The gift of giving, however, goes beyond having learned to tithe. The giver is able to see a multitude of resources which he uses to advance God s work and this causes joy to him as he uses his gifts of giving. Does this mean that I may only have this gift when I am wealthy? While the Bible certainly includes the financial aspect, we can also give other possessions such as of our time or of our talents with which God has blessed us! We are - as we exercise our gift of giving - to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God as our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1). So as we use our gift of giving, let s also continue to give thanks to God as, after all, our gifts are His gifts! In Service to His Church, John Kunze, Helen Palmer, Karen TenDyke, Pastor Russ, Nina Miranda, Hartwig Schmidt, Dianne James & Ruth Reed Church Potluck Luncheon 3rd Sunday of the Month Hope you enjoyed your Easter celebration dinner with your families in April. In May we will resume our monthly potluck luncheon! May 18th bring a dish to share with your church family. A wonderful time to fellowship, be encouraged and share a meal together.

4 P a g e 4 T h e M u s t a r d S e e d This month the Missions Committee is highlighting ZOYA Ministries. Zoya Ministries is a ministry of help. Quoting their Mission Statement Our mission is to help spread the Gospel of the Lord Jesus around the world by way of building churches, distributing Christian literature, encouraging Christians, feeding the poor, providing medical care and medications to the sick, and joining resources with other Christian ministries to effectively minister together for the promotion of God s kingdom. One of ZOYA s projects is supporting the Ministry of Mercy (MOM) Orphanage. MOM, tucked inside the remote village of Otutulu in central Nigeria is an orphanage bursting at the seams with the love of Christ and children in need. Founded in 1992 by Daniel and Esther Edeh, MOM is the largest orphanage in Nigeria, feeding and housing more than 300 children. In fact, no child has ever been turned away regardless of their situation. Whether abandoned, motherless or a special needs child, each child is cared for on an individual basis according to their needs. And recently, MOM has expanded to the nearby city of Lakoja where an additional 50 children are being cared for and their numbers are growing almost daily. Our Church (Congregation Church in Wilmington) partner s with ZOYA in support of MOM through regular financial contributions and Prayer. This summer, ZOYA Ministries will be taking a team of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and people who are willing to share the gospel, to the mountains of Cap-Rouge, Haiti for a week - long medical mission trip. ZOYA will provide a medical clinic, and share the gospel to the people in this village. In their most recent newsletter ZOYA made the following prayer requests: For God to prepare the hearts of the villagers, who will be attending the medical clinic, to be receptive to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For God to prepare the hearts of the team members to accomplish His work and demonstrate his love to the Haitian people For adequate donations of medical supplies for the mission trip Please continue to pray for ZOYA as they seek to spread the Gospel, and serve those in need throughout the world. Missions Committee, Lavern Forrest, Marcia Armstrong, Louise Jenkins, Cheryl Diorio

5 P a g e 5 Cub Scout Corner It has been a busy time for the Cub Scouts as we move towards summer. The boys have been finishing up a few badges. The Pinewood Derby was a lot of fun in which every boy is a winner. They went to the Shawsheen Tech pool and learned swimming safety, as well as water rescue. They enjoyed a day at Sturbridge Village on Boy Scout Day. They are busy as you can see. We will be hiking, camping and going to Muster Day in Sudbury. They all seem to enjoy the active life and it does the body and mind good. May God bless these young men, help them to learn and grow in all that God has put before us. Boy Scout Corner We have enjoyed camping, even in the rain. It was a busy week-end where many new scouts learned how to start a fire, along with knife and ax safety, and first aid. We are off for another week-end of camping in which we hope the new scouts will be able to set up and sleep in a tent over night. Last time it rained so hard the boys stayed in a cabin. They will learn more cooking skills and enjoy the life of being in the great outdoors. A few of the young scouts enjoyed the movie night and we are planning another one. We are planning our service project which will be to help spruce up the Church. We look forward to doing this as a way to show thanks for allowing us to use the building and grounds. Thanks to every one for helping us. If you would like to support the Walk for Hunger, a group is planning to walk and could use sponsors. This great event feeds families here in MA. Please see Jose who will be doing the walk with Kim and many other scouts. May these boys grow in Christ as they travel the road of Scouting. We are all blessed by what these boys are becoming. Submitted by Peter James Charter Chairman-Dick Grinder Charter members-steve Lyons & Peter James

6 The Congregational Church 220 Middlesex Ave Wilmington, MA Moved? Please update your address with the Church Office. Thank you. M u s t a r d S e e d N e w s l e t t e r Pastor: Russell Kent Secretary: Heidi Kumm Music Director: Lydia Okumura Sexton: Don Armstrong June Newsletter Deadline May 25, 2014 Office Hours Mon-Thurs - 9:00-3:00 pm Phone: office@wilcong.org The Mustard Seed - A publication of The Congregational Church in Wilmington, 220 Middlesex Avenue, Wilmington, MA Editor: Heidi Kumm. The Mustard Seed is published monthly, excluding the month of August, to keep members and friends informed of programs of the church and to report news about the congregation. Deadline for copy: Third Wednesday of the month