Pastor’s Pen—September 2018

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God, indeed, has blessed the mission and ministry of First Lutheran Church. God has done so through your financial gifts, prayers, and service to others. It is my hope that after reading these Stewardship Values and prayer, we will all be encouraged to make a Faith Commitment (pledge) to the ongoing work of God through First Lutheran Church.

The Fourth Stewardship Value: First

“When you have come into the land that the lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the land that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name”. Deuteronomy 26:1-2

First-fruit giving is the next stewardship value. This one is easy to understand. Giving first means giving to God first and living off the rest. The opposite, of course, is to take care of the needs and wants of this life first, and give God the leftovers.

Giving to God’s mission and ministry first is an essential key to giving generously. We live in a world in which advertising is very adept at turning wants into needs. Daily we’re bombarded with thousands of messages telling us that we will be happier if only we purchase this product or that. These messages are very sophisticated, and they work quite well. If we don’t give to God first, we will short-change God every time. We will use our money in pursuit of this dream or that dream, and God will get what is left.

Giving to God first means that when we receive income, the first check we write is to God’s mission and ministry at First Lutheran. Before we pay our bills, before we go to the store, we write a check to our church. This way, we’re certain to give to God first and live on the rest, rather than meeting our wants and needs first and giving God the leftovers.

If we are going to give generously, we need to give to God first. Thank you so much for your continued financial gifts to support the mission and ministry of First Lutheran Church.

Blessings and Peace,

Pastor Steve