<\/p>\n
Keep giving to your local church by\u00a0Erik Cooper<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Mar 25, 2020<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0Church<\/a>,\u00a0Faith and Work<\/a>,\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Perhaps I\u2019m the right one to say this as I have no direct personal upside from the conversation. What I do have is a deep belief in God\u2019s Word, a love for the mission of God in the world, and a network of dear friends leading this charge in countries across the globe and in local congregations right here in my own community.<\/p>\n While I don\u2019t draw a paycheck from a church, I love the local Church and believe it is God\u2019s plan to embody and proclaim His Kingdom to the world. We can debate its many forms and expressions, whether its a building, an organization, or just the people, but there\u2019s one thing I don\u2019t think should be debatable for Christians today: when we honor the Church we\u2019re honoring God.<\/p>\n Like all of you, in the midst of this COVID-19 outbreak, I\u2019m incredibly concerned about finances \u2013 my personal finances, my business\u2019s finances, and quite honestly, the financial position of all of you around me as our economy is complex and intertwined. Those aren\u2019t just self-centered wrestlings.<\/p>\n And in the midst of these scary times, we are watching beautiful outpourings of generosity manifest in many different ways \u2013 families delivering food to their elderly neighbors, people donating and even making masks for front line medical workers, NBA stars covering the lost salaries of arena workers. It is encouraging to see humans respond to the needs around them in times of crisis.<\/p>\n But during this unprecedented historical moment full of countless unknowns, I want to encourage\u00a0all of us<\/i>\u00a0to continue giving to our local churches.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019m going to step out on a limb here and risk sounding like some kind of manipulating televangelist, but the Church is not just some other nice charitable organization amidst a smorgasbord of philanthropic options. Something spiritually unique happens when you give to your church, something that goes far beyond just helping to pay pastors\u2019 salaries, building mortgages, and program costs.<\/p>\n \u201cBring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,\u201d says the Lord of Heaven\u2019s Armies, \u201cI will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won\u2019t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,\u201d says the Lord of Heaven\u2019s Armies. \u201cThen all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,\u201d says the Lord of Heaven\u2019s Armies. Each time I get paid \u2013 whether my check is big or small, growing or shrinking \u2013 when I give the \u201cfirst fruits\u201d of that income to God through my local church, I am making a tangible declaration to me and my family that God is my ultimate provider and the foundation of my trust.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not talking about some kind of magic elixir here. Tithes and offerings aren\u2019t a snake oil that wards off economic collapse and physical sickness. In fact, suffering is part of the Christian experience. Jesus promised it (John 16:33).<\/p>\n But, if money is a tangible representation of our lives, our work, our contribution to the world, then when I give the first portions of whatever I make to my church, I am declaring boldly that no matter what is going on around me, my\u00a0ultimate<\/i>\u00a0hope and trust are rooted in Christ. No matter what happens, I am\u00a0under<\/i>\u00a0the shadow of His wings. He is\u00a0with\u00a0<\/i>me at all times and in all seasons. That my God will supply\u00a0all\u00a0<\/i>my needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19).\u00a0When the world is shaking, there is no place I would rather be.<\/p>\n In this terrifying time of uncharted financial waters, I just want to encourage you to keep giving to your local church. It\u2019s not magic. It doesn\u2019t mean you will be exempt from all the sinful effects of this fallen world. It\u2019s not a give to get rich scheme. It\u2019s a declaration. Give joyfully as an outward expression of an inward commitment that Jesus is where your trust is firmly rooted in this tumultuous season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Please continue to give to St. Bartholomew’s even during this difficult time we are all facing.\u00a0 Your checks can be mailed in and that will help us take care of bills and be ready to open the doors wide when … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-save-the-date"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1044,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1042\/revisions\/1044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stbartshhk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u2013Malachi 3:9-12<\/b><\/p>\n