Slide 1: What is a firstfruit?
The first, and best, of anything you have
Slide 2: What is a firstfruit? It could be…
Praise – Heb. 13:15
Thanksgiving – Ps. 50:14
Our children – 1 Sam. 1:11, John 3:16
Our lives – Rom. 12:1
An offering – Lev 2:12
Slide 3: Let’s talk tithes. Three O.T. tithes…
Levitical – Num. 18:21-24
Feasts – Deut. 14:22-27
Poor – Deut. 14:28-29
Slide 4: Why we shouldn’t tithe.
We’re not under law – Rom. 6:14-15
We make only freewill (spontaneous, voluntary) offerings – Gen 14:18-20
Slide 5: Our giving should be…
Planned, proportionate, and private – 1 Cor. 16:1-4
Generous, given cheerfully – 2 Cor. 9:5-7
Slide 6: Why are firstfruits important?
Keeps us dependent and makes us grateful – Hag. 2:8
As an act of congregational worship
So that each member of the Body experiences participation in the ministry of the church – Matt. 28:19-20, 1 Cor. 9, 1 Tom. 5:17
Keeps our eyes on the prize – Rom. 8:23, 1 Cor. 15:20-23
So we will prosper – Prov. 3:9-10, 2 Cor. 9:6, 10-11
Slide 7: Take a day this week, or even a meal, as an individual or as a family to fast and pray. Ask God that He would help you to give Him the firstfruits of your lives in 2019.
If You Ain’t First, You’re Last (A Study of Firstfruits)
A Study of Firstfruits
December 30, 2018 • Ritchie Johnson • Genesis 4
United in His Likeness (Easter 2024)
March 31, 2024 • Ritchie Johnson • Romans 6:1–7
Romans 6:1-7 | United in His Likeness (Easter 2024) -- Slides: Theme: To be united with Christ is to take on a new identity. It is a dying to sin and a living to righteousness. The Christian’s relationship to sin has changed: We have died to sin, but it has not died to us. Baptism = immersion or submersion 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? Jesus didn’t come “just” to save you, He came to set you free! Galatians 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. It’s not enough to know the facts of the Gospel, you must be united with Jesus through it.
Fear
March 17, 2024 • Jeff Richardson • Exodus 20:18–20
Exodus 20:18-20 | Fear -- Slides: Theme: The fear of the Lord that Scripture teaches and the Gospel produces is not being afraid of God, but the right fear of the Lord is an overwhelming love for God that draws us more and more towards Him. Jas 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. Gen 3:9-10 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." Jer 32:38-40 "They shall be My people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for [the good of] their children after them. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. Jer 33:6, 8-9 'Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth... 'I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. 'It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.' Deut 6:1-2, 4-6, 13 "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God..."Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.... "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him… Isa 11:1-3a Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD… 1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. What does the fear of the Lord cultivate in us? -True Sanctification Exod 20:20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." 2Co 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Isaiah 11:3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD… What does the fear of the Lord cultivate in us? -True Sanctification -Zealous Worship Psalm 47:1-2 Oh clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth. Exodus 15:11 Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? The biblical theme of the fear of God helps us to see the sort of love toward God that is fitting. It shows us that God does not want passionless performance or a vague preference for him. To encounter the living, holy, and all-gracious God truly means that we cannot contain ourselves. He is not a truth to be known unaffectedly, or a good to be received listlessly. Seen clearly, the dazzling beauty and splendor of God must cause our hearts to quake. - Reeves What does the fear of the Lord cultivate in us? -True Sanctification -Zealous Worship -Peace From Other Fears Isaiah 8:11-13 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. Psalm 115:11, 13 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield... He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great. Luke 1:50-52 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.” How do we cultivate a right fear of the Lord? -Come to the cross. -Psalm 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. Fear toward the Lord, and toward his goodness. This fear leans toward the Lord. When you really know God, you would be thrice happy if you would run toward Him, falling down before Him, worshiping Him with bowed head yet glad heart, all the while fearing toward him, and not away from him. Blessed is the man whose heart is filled with that holy fear. - Spurgeon