Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Steve Aguzzi - "Firstfruits of Faith"

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This Sunday
Nov. 8, 2015



Sermon Title:
"Divine Math"



Scripture:
Titus 3:1-11 (ESV),
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)  
Pastor Steve
November 5, 2015
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
"If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so
is the whole lump, and if the root is holy,
so are the branches." Romans 11:161
 
This coming Sunday, we will be celebrating Ingathering Sunday. It's a time to remember God's goodness to us, His blessings upon us, and His provision for us. It is a time to gather together as the Body of Christ, expressing our unity in the Spirit and confirming our commitment to God, our commitment to each other, and our commitment to serving the outside community by virtue of our inward strength in Christ. The sermon theme for that Sunday will focus on how God "...added to their number daily those who were being saved," the last section of our God's New Community sermon series on Acts 2: 42-47. Please come and join us for worship, and for the church luncheon that will follow. And please remember your commitment sheets (time, talent and treasure, and offering cards). It is our tradition to walk up and offer those as symbols of our deeper commitment to God, and as a response of thanksgiving for His goodness.
 
Though the Acts 2 theme will apply on Sunday, I wanted to use this brief letter to bring up another theme, that being tithing. Tithing is a very biblical concept. In fact, God commands the following in Malachi 3:10: "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." It is pretty amazing that although God is giver of 100% of what we have and hold, He simply wants as minimum the 10% to go to Him and His work.2 And if that 'firstfruit,' that first part of the fruits of our labor, is dedicated to God and His Holy cause, the rest is blessed by God too. Actually, God promises to fulfill every need through His blessing, if we are faithful with our tithes. Because God owns everything in this universe anyway, God cannot be out-given, out-maneuvered, and certainly He cannot be out-blessed. 
 
I do believe giving money is an important part of our tithing. Specifically, giving to both the poor, and the church, in humble devotion to God, is a central part of the New Testament. When Jesus sees the poor widow give of her small amount of valuables for the kingdom's cause (in the 'church' of her day), He uses her as an example of faith: Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on" (Luke 21"1-4)3  We notice that even in her poverty, the widow gave. In a very important point, Jesus stresses humility in giving, when He says "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:1-4).
 
Although tithing involves giving money or goods, it also involves the giving of one's skills and time (1 Corinthians 12:1-31). Perhaps in our culture, time is the most important commodity. Have you considered how you might use your time to serve God? There are plenty of places for you to do so through the church's ministry. From Fired-Up Friday, to a local mission event through Mission Possible, as a children or youth volunteer, a teacher, sitting on a ministry team, leading a small group, making first contact with those who visit us, singing in the choir or playing an instrument on the worship team, the list goes on. But it is important for you to discern, through prayer, your skills and spiritual gifts. Once you do that, it becomes a lot easier to make a tithe of your time and skills, and know where to serve. Contact us, and we can help you with the discerning process!
 
Overall, our own self-giving and surrender is an important way that God blesses us. He uses our willingness as a vehicle for His goodness and kindness...both to us and others. Sometimes this is through monetary blessings, but sometimes it is through other kinds of blessings. In Luke 6:38, Jesus puts it this way: "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

Pastor Steve

______________________   
1 Paul is using this analogy in a very complex theological explanation regarding the sons of Abraham, Israel, and the church. Nevertheless, I believe it applies to the concept of tithing too. 
2 Leviticus 27: 30-33 mentions the giving of 1/10th of one's wealth, and elsewhere it is mentioned that this should be a firstfruit. The root word in Hebrew for 'tithe' was also synonymous for 'wealth.' The idea was that those who tithed would be granted blessings by God. Deuteronomy also mentions a kind of giving designed for the poor, the widow, the orphan and the foreigner. The number '10' appears in the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, in order to emphasize that which belongs to God or is reflective of God's holiness. For example, the Decalogue, or the Ten Commandments, are God's commandments (and He is the only One who can perfectly keep them, by the way).  
3 2 Corinthians 8:1-24 describes how even in their poverty, certain churches in Macedonia gave generously to the causes of the kingdom.

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