Month: August 2018

Presented by our Sponsors

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When we left off with the points of community service and caring for those in our church families that is most often what brings us closer to God. For many of us, it’s been months or years since we’ve stood in a pew, and for others, it was today. Yet, there are so many times we made sincere worship out of a youtube video and our own voices or stopped to help someone and felt God with us. One of the many things that we often see in the world (and miss in ourselves) is that we attend church and listen to sermons as a form of participation award, when it’s the heartfelt moments of sitting by someone’s bed when they’re sick or staring out at a field of God’s creation that really brings us closer to Him. Scripture shows that the tithes are that same kind of participation award that many use to ensure their own participation without getting involved with the sincere efforts of their hearts, which led us to this lesson.

Jesus’ teachings were given to us in parable form so that unlike the Law, taken and used as a yardstick, they would be more flexible in applying to life lessons both then and now. He showed us that not every situation is as black and white as we thought, and grace covers a multitude of sins the Law would otherwise punish with death. In many cases, the law was used for its consistency, but ultimately, man had difficulty using such a guideline without making some people seem holier and closer to God than others. Where the Law was intended to show all of us how far God’s mercy had reached, many used it to award themselves gold medals for financial contributions. With Jesus’ teachings and the Grace that has been given to us, God asks us for our sincerity and effort, rather than blind obedience.

God is always available to the sincere in heart that seek a relationship with him. Whether you’re pumping gas and thanking Him for your blessings or holding the hand of a stranger in a hospital bed, God is with us when we are taking care of His people. Christianity is not about being a sponsor of a church, it’s about being volunteer among his people.

After Tithing

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Following many requests for clarification of the responsibilities of tithing and the Old Testament versus New Testament confusion, we at The Incomplete Message have just finished a long series covering all angles. We received quite a bit of discussion during the lessons for Abrahamic, Mosaic, Pre-Kingdom, Kingdom, Exiled, Post-Captivity, Jesus’s era, and Pauline tithing. As a close to that series, we wanted to issue a request for any final questions or issues with tithing and the scriptural foundations by which we follow. Also at this time, we are considering new topics to be covered, especially ones that anyone isn’t sure where the scriptural guidance is or if there are significantly different perspectives, to help give the facts of what the Bible gives us. We hoped early on for this to be a place of great discussion and community for others who follow God’s word before the words of man, and we are open to any topic therein. Thank you to all of you who have participated recently in the lessons to help us and our readers understand the many facets that led to ultimately the end of tithes but not the responsibility to take care of our religious leaders and our community.