Newsletter Nov 8th

GREETINGS FROM BARBEE’S GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

THANK YOU so very much for the Love Offering, the gifts, the cards, and your words of affirmation that you gave during Pastor Appreciation Month. I love and appreciate you in return.
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Recently, I read an article describing “cheap” things that extremely wealthy people were observed doing. The one I remember best happened in a church. The commentator said that he was sitting on a pew beside a man who was worth over 100 million dollars. The offering plate was passed. The rich man tossed in a 20 dollar bill. [Pretty stingy gift from a man who was that wealthy], Then, the commentator was astonished when the rich man reached into the plate and took out 3 $5 dollar bills in change. Total contribution was 5 dollars. Do you think the angels in Heaven danced with joy over that gift??

In the Sermon on the Mount, [Matthew 6:21] Jesus taught that our “Treasure” and our “Heart” reside in the same place. Obviously that wealthy man had no “heart” for God. He proved it by what he did with his earthly wealth. Let’s look into the Bible and compare some folks who had “no heart” for God and some who loved the Lord greatly.

NO HEART FOR GOD
   …Cain brought the Lord an unacceptable gift [Genesis 4:3]
   …Achan stole that which belonged to God [Joshua 7:1]
   …The people of Malachi’s day brought God insulting offerings-the sick, the lame, the dying [Malachi 1:6,7]
   …The Rich Young Ruler loved his wealth more than he loved Jesus [Matthew 19: 16-23]
   …Instead of sharing his bountiful harvest, one man wanted to build bigger barns so he could horde his wealth [Luke 12: 18-20]
   …Ananias and Sapphira wanted the praise of men and lied about the size of their offering {Acts 5: 1-11]

PEOPLE WITH A HEART FOR GOD
   …Abel brought an offering that pleased God [Genesis 4:4]
   …David was instructed to use the Threshing Floor belonging to Ornan the Jebusite as a place to build an altar to worship God. When Ornan saw that it was King David he offered to freely give his property. I love David’s reply. “I WILL PAY FULL PRICE. I REFUSE TO GIVE TO GOD THAT WHICH COSTS ME NOTHING”. [1 Chronicles 21: 18-26]
   …Later, near the time of his death, David prepared for the Temple of God to be built. One Bible translation says that out of his own Personal Bank Account, David gave the following amounts—Gold, $ 85,000,000 and Silver, $ 20,000,000.
[ 1 Chronicles 29:3,4]
   …A widow and her son faced starvation, But she shared her last bit of food with God’s prophet [1 Kings 17:9-16]
   …The widow gave her last two coins. All she had in her possession [Mark 12:41-43]
   …A little boy was willing to give his own 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus, Jesus used it to feed thousands [John 6:5-13]
   …The grateful woman poured the expensive perfume upon Jesus [Mark 14:3-9]
   …Paul says that even though the Macedonian Christians were in need themselves, that they dug deep into their pocketbooks to give a generous offering for the starving Christians in Jerusalem [2 Corinthians 8 and 9]

Some of the gifts listed above were huge. Others were miniscule in the eyes of the world. What made each gift special? They were given from the heart from someone who loved God completely. Each of us must ask ourselves, “Where is my heart located?” Is it in Heaven, focused on eternal matters? Or, am I enamored with earthly toys and trinkets? Banks are always asking you to move your account to their bank. Similarly, the devil is constantly tempting us to move our heart from Jesus to him. 

I ask myself this question—”If Jesus walked up to me in the flesh today and asked to see my checkbook, would I show it to Him with regret, or with confidence that it would show Him that I really loved Him”? What about you??

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1.     Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church are at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10 on 99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study are on Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall
4. Let’s be generous as we give to the Thanksgiving Offering for the NC Baptist Children’s Homes

The Lord loves a cheerful giver

Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church