LOW COST LIVING

Turn on any TV or radio news lately and there’s bound to be a story about the current “cost of living crisis”. We all feel it. Initially most people accepted the widespread price-rises were caused by 2020-21 pandemic lockdowns. But whatever the reasons for the rapid price hikes over the past two years, every time we go to the supermarket we feel it again. While governments are striving to curb the impact of this cost of living crisis, there remains a way to enjoy low cost living. The key to this is recognising that the most valuable things in life are literally priceless. The path to enjoying low-cost living is to be found in Christ, and what He taught — and it begins with treasure.

 

‘TREASURE’ IS BOTH A VERB AND A NOUN

If you remember your Primary School English lessons, you might recall that a verb is a “doing” word (I run, I am running), or a “being” word (“I am.” “You are.”) and a noun is a person, place, or thing. Some words, depending on how they are used, such as run can be both a verb (“I run.”) or a noun (“I am going to the run hosted by Parkrun.”). Treasure is another such verb/noun word. We treasure something as an action or feeling (a verb); or, we can store our treasure (as a noun). Jesus taught that it was necessary for His followers to understand how to treat our treasure, and why it was even important to know what to treasure:

¶“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21 

Jesus taught that true treasure is not anything we can have or achieve in this life – but it is something we must do. We should store up real, lasting treasure in heaven by treasuring the will God for our lives. It is in seeking to do the will of God, which begins with loving God and loving our neighbour as ourself, that we discover that real treasure are literally priceless. We were created to seek this treasure. To love the Source of all love and to share His love as our own by sacrificially loving others with our hearts, our time, our talents, and our temporal treasures. When you find someone doing this, you have found someone who has discovered the kind of treasure that Jesus was talking about in this Matthew 6 passage. Jesus stunned His original audience by stating that this treasure literally out-values all earthly treasures! Take a seat, close your eyes for a minute to still your soul, and drink in these shocking words by Jesus:

¶ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.
Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Matthew 13:44

The man in this parable is prepared to forego everything he has to enter into a relationship with Jesus – the Ultimate Treasure! This man was not buying this Ultimate Treasure, or even exchanging all his wealth and possessions for it – because God the Father offers it freely to all who will repent and trust Christ! This is the essence of low cost living! Someone else has paid the debt we all owe to God and then offered us riches beyond measure. In essence, this Matthew 13:44 parable is about trust. The man who sold all that he had to buy the field where the Kingdom of God’s Treasure was, was actually relinquishing his trust in himself. The who one who turns to Christ as their Ultimate Source of salvation, hope, and provision, is declaring their total trust in Christ.   

 

WHO WANTS TO BE RICH AND FAMOUS?

For many people, being rich and famous is their very purpose of life. For many other people the purpose of their life is to be happy and healthy. I think both groups of people are misguided. Both groups may be sincerely pursuing noble things, but they not pursuing the Ultimate Purpose for their existence.

And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Mark 4:18-19

Jesus warned that making money or fame your life’s purpose (your idol) in which you religiously trust to give you purpose and meaning was a recipe for spiritual death. Ironically, the purpose who seeks Him first often ends up in this life and in the next having more than enough and even plenty to share with others, being truly happy and respected by the few who get to know them.

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ¶ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:31-34

 

THE MAP TO LOW COST LIVING

Down through the centuries millions of Christians have been martyred for their faithful witness to Christ’s Lordship. After Jesus raised Lazarus from dead I wonder if Lazarus ever experienced any fear again? Athanasius tells us of the Christians who had been recently martyred in his era and states that through their faith in Christ and God the Father’s gift of eternal life, these early Christians were fearless witnesses. Their persecutors often remarked that their threats of torture and death rarely dissuaded these Christians from preaching about and sharing Christ with others. Today, during this temporary cost-of-living crisis, we need to be reminded that the value of our lives is not measured by the size of our bank account, how many social media followers we have, what type of car we drive, the postcode of our house, or our list of achievements. The value of our lives in measured by what, or in Whom, we are trusting to give us our purpose, meaning, laws for life. If it is anything or anyone other than Jesus the Christ, Lord of Heaven and Earth, our souls are bankrupt and broken. But if it that we have turned our lives over to Christ as the Saviour and God in Whom we trust are committed to living a focused life in which we lay up in heaven treasure that will last forever. Such a believer makes Christ and His Church their priority. Such a believer is able to do this at relatively low cost despite these temporary cost of living crises that we seem to be all experiencing at the moment!

Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
First Timothy 4:7b-8

 Amen.  

Your Pastor,

Andrew

A CHURCH'S FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

 A CHURCH'S FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY

In Writers’ School they teach you to catch your reader’s attention with an eye-catching, enticing, interesting title that leads him or her to want to read what you have written. My Creative Writing professor would have rolled his eyes at the title of this post just before giving me an “F”. And probably deservedly so. After all, who even knows what the word fiduciary means let alone uses it in a title? Not only do I need to use this precise word in the title – I also need to help you understand why I needed to use it. And if you love Christ and His Church I hope that you too will come to recognise why a local church has a sacred fiduciary responsibility.

There may be some who come from a banking or accounting background who will already be familiar with one aspect of how this mysterious word fiduciary is used. But when used of a local church, it has a much broader application than its application to banking or accounting. For those who have a slight grasp of Latin it will be obvious to them that this word’s first syllable, fid, comes from the Latin fidere which means ‘to trust’. Technically, it is a Latin word – fiduciarius, from fiducia ‘trust’ which has been anglicised (translated into English) as fiduciary. For a banker or an accountant it means that someone is trusting them with their finances. But for a church it means much, much more because it involves being trusted with things worth much more than finances. 

He [Jesus] charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
Mark 6:8-11

 

WHAT FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY MEANS FOR A CHURCH

In my previous post on the topic of the Church, I wrote how Christ has entrusted to His Church a sacred mission with eternal ramifications. Just as in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, if Christ was depicted as the ‘Good Samaritan’ and with wounded and beaten man left to die on the side of the road was depicted as those trying to live outside of God’s Kingdom who end up being hurt and broken by the way the world treats its own, then we, the Church, were depicted as the inn-keeper – the ones that Christ has entrusted to look after those He has rescued and redeemed.

And just as the Good Shepherd in this parable entrusted to the Inn-Keeper all the resources he needed to care for the one who had been rescued, Christ entrusts to His Church the resources that we need to fulfil our sacred mission – and it is much more valuable than silver or gold or money.

And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying,
‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Luke 10:35

WE HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THE WEALTH AND RICHES OF CHRIST IN ORDER TO FULFIL OUR SACRED MISSION FROM HIM

In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you,
what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints
Ephesians 1:7-8

While it is certainly true that Christ provides financially for His Church (for which we in particular have greatly experienced) there are riches that He possesses which are far more valuable than coin to which He has primarily entrusted us. He has entrusted to us His Word (Jn. 17:14). The Bibles that we have (and often take for granted) have been delivered to under the supervision and preservation of the Holy Spirit working through our forefathers who guarded their copies of the Bible at the risk and sacrifice of their lives. We should never underestimate the inestimable value of the riches of God’s Word. There are many churches around the world where no one in those churches has even seen a Bible. Secondly, something else also of inestimable worth has also been entrusted to us by Christ for the accomplishment of our sacred mission: those Christ has redeemed!

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Luke 12:24

THE ENTRUSTING OF MONEY TO A CHURCH

Money is an emblem of a person’s life. Most of us work a job in which we exchange time for money. The time we give our employer is a portion of our life. Thus, as an act of worship, God calls people to honour Him with the first of their wealth (Prov. 3:9). Jesus warned His followers against thinking their money was their true treasure – and instead, regard worship of and obedient service to God as developing the kind of heart that would store up true treasure for eternity. Thus, He was saying, how we gave of our money in service of His Word revealed what was really in our heart (Matt. 6:19-21). Similarly, how a church would then entrust the finances that God’s people would give it was also an act of worship of God by that Church. Jesus said that how we treated and valued our money was an indication of how we would treat and value His true riches (Luke 16:11).

If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth,
who will entrust to you the true riches?
Luke 16:11

The true riches that Christ has entrusted to us includes (i) His Word, and (ii) those He has redeemed. In addition to these true riches He supplements a church with less valuable things like money, property and possessions to steward (manage) so that their sacred mission can be fulfilled. We see this almost from the outset of the Church’s birth where people generously gave to the Church. But even then as the Church grew and expanded it required greater care and diligence on the part of the Church’s leadership to steward Christ’s provisions more wisely which included the appointment of the seven deacons.

 

THE USE OF MONEY BY A CHURCH

The early Church’s first organisational change was linked to how they managed their finances. As the Church grew rather rapidly the need to restructure the church became necessary. We have seen that there were many Hellenists who were in Jerusalem at this time who had become dependant upon the Church for their relief (Act 6:1-2). What I did not discuss in a previous post was that many people gave very generously as the Church was being established. In a typical biblical writing style, characters are introduced and then who will reappear later more prominently in the narrative. Joseph the Levite, nicknamed Barnabas by the apostles (Acts 4:36), is such a character. He sold land and gave the proceeds to the apostles (Acts 4:37). We see from the record in Acts that the money was used to supply relief to those in need. In case anyone could think that this money which was given to the apostles and was used for the personal benefit of the apostles, we read in Acts 3:6-7 an admission by Peter:

But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Acts 3:6-7

We have seen that the Church grew and spread as a result of the persecution it experienced. Believers were scattered and led by the Holy Spirit to go where Christ had instructed (Acts 1: 6). This included Phillip, the deacon, going to Samaria. After his successful mission there, he called for Peter and John to come and assist. When Simon the sorcerer witnessed the importation of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the apostles he offered money to Peter to also be able to do the same. Peter strongly rebuked the sorcerer for thinking that the gifts and the offices of the Holy Spirit could be bought.

Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. ¶ Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
Acts 8:13-23

This episode later gave rise to the name of a sin which unfortunately became prevalent during the Medieval period known as Simony (paying money to buy a leadership role within the church – such as “Bishop” or “Archbishop”). This practice was condemned by the reformers as the sought to restore the Biblical standard for leadership (which included “not be greedy for [financial] gain” Titus 1:7). 

 

WHY WE REGARD STEWARDING CHRIST’S PROVISIONS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE AS A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY

When people give to a church, that church appoints certain people to steward that money on their behalf. This stewardship is used to: (i) support those who “labour in teaching the Word” and those staff who serve in the church (1Tim. 5:17); (ii) pay the bills that are incurred by the church (Rom. 13:7); (iii) support missionary efforts largely unreached parts of the world; (iv) evangelistic efforts. Just as those who teach the Word will be subject to “stricter judgment” (James 3:1) by the Lord, also those who misuse the finances given to a church will also be subject to the Lord’s judgment (1Cor. 3:17). This is why we regard the handling and expenditure of monies given faithfully by the church family to be a sacred trust and thus a fiduciary responsibility because it is actually God’s money after all. We pray two things regarding it: (i) that those who have given will be especially blessed, and (ii) that what is given will be used wisely for both immediate and long-term benefit to God’s kingdom.

 

WE ARE ALL STEWARDS AND SERVANTS OF CHRIST’S CHURCH

Some see their position within a church as giving them power or status. Certainly Church history bears out that many false shepherds (Christ called them “hirelings” – people who are only there because they are paid, John 10:12-13) had snuck into what was once Christ’s Church and abused their positions for their own glory, comfort, and enrichment. In the darkest days of the Medieval period many (not all) of the Church’s leaders were ungodly, greedy, and highly political scoundrels who wore the robes priests – but did not even know the Lord! As I have also noted in another post within this series, God then set about to reform the Church by once again illuminating His Word to those who would become known as reformers. These reformers were actually mostly unsuccessful at reforming the established Church – but highly successful at reforming many within it to realise what Christ had called His Church to be. This realisation led to the establishment of the original denominations – Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist (then later, Methodist, Congregational, Brethren, and Pentecostal). These reformers have bequeathed to us a legacy of understanding that Christ’s Church is not merely about grand buildings, elaborate artwork, a professional clergy class, or a bureaucracy. But a church that is to be served by Christ-worshiping leaders who have a shepherd’s heart for God’s people. These leaders were to accept their call to shepherd – not because they were to be paid – but because they willingly desired to be obedient to Christ’s call to do so. Thus true shepherds don’t run when it gets “hot in the kitchen” but they take their stand to shepherd Christ’s flock and accept that one of His greatest gifts to them is their responsibility to care for and lovingly steward God’s people.  

 

CHRIST’S CHURCH EXISTS TO KNOW HIM AND MAKE HIM KNOWN

I am not after a position, a title, or an accolade. I am a nobody. I am not anyone special. I have not done anything extraordinary. But I know Somebody who is really, really, special. He continually does the extraordinary and the remarkable. While I have no claim to fame, He is the most famous person in the world. What is outstanding about Him is that He is simultaneously the most loving person in the world yet the most hated by it (Jn. 7:7). While I can’t speak more highly of Him, especially after what He has done for me, there are many who deride and denounce Him, and speak of Him with scorn. It is my hope that such people will meet Christ in a God-honour local church that exalts Jesus and reveals to them who He really is and what He is really like.

Christ is often misrepresented, misquoted, and misunderstood. Despite all this. He still cares deeply for even for those who treat Him so poorly. One other thing about Him that I need to tell you: He knows more about everything than literally anyone else. But His infinite knowledge is not merely a bottomless reservoir of data – no! – His knowledge is soaked in wisdom. He not only knows most, He knows best. In any circumstance He not only knows what could be done – He knows what should be done. In the vastness of this knowledge and wisdom, the has decreed that He should be represented by two things: (1) His written Word, and (ii)  His body of loyal followers (whom the often refers to as disciples, servants, and lately as friends).

And it is to His body of believers/followers/worshipers that He has commanded that they gather at least once a week to do sacred things together. In doing so they can know Him better and also be better empowered to make Him known. The local church is therefore, as has been said many times, the hope of the world – not because we are its hope, but because we make known to the world its True Hope – Jesus. While we deliver this life-giving water of the gospel to our hurting world for free, someone has to pay for the plumbing. And when that someone does we as a church have a fiduciary responsibility to faithfully oversee it.

Pastor at Large,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

“LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF IT!”

“LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF IT!”

Earlier this week, the Australian Federal Government announced that they had downgraded their projected 2019 budget surplus by two billion dollars. And with the Tasmanian government’s announcement that they are considering spending $40,000,000 on upgrading the Derwent Entertainment Centre to be able to host a Tasmanian based NBL team, there were some locals who claimed that this was a waste of tax-payers’ dollars. These two news items got me thinking. What would our economy look like if our governments ran their operations like not-for-profit organisations have to run theirs? If you’re not familiar with how we not-for-profits have to run our organisations, let me enlighten you.

Not-for-profits strive to do the following –

+ Make every dollar stretch

+ Keep wastage to a bare minimum

+ Depend on the help of unpaid volunteers

+ Pay staff minimum wages

+ Give generously to those in need of their time and resources  

I’m sure that there are probably many small business owners who can also identify with these. (I wonder how different Government services would look if they were run the way that not-for-profits were run?) Having been involved in the not-for-profit sector for the past four decades in various capacities – churches, a community radio station, a Theological College, and a media production ministry — there are 5 key things that I have learned that make running a not-for-profit enterprise different to either a for-profit business, or a government enterprise, and I think these principles might help you personally as well. 

WHAT YOU REALLY NEED, IS PROBABLY ALREADY IN YOUR HAND!

The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”
Exodus 4:2

When God was about to tell Moses to return to Egypt and deliver Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh, He seems to have anticipated Moses’ unspoken question, “What with?” God’s question to Moses is the question I have to continually consider. What do you have? Like Moses, often my answer to this question seems grossly inadequate to the task at hand. But jumping ahead in the story, Moses did deliver Israel from Egypt (and his staff was with him through the whole process!). Often times we limit ourselves by waiting until we are fully ready or have all of the resources we need to complete the task. God told Moses to start with what he already had. After Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the rest of their journey follows this same principle. For example, when they constructed the Tabernacle, the Israelites contributed what they had. Interestingly, God had ensured that during the night of the Exodus the Hebrews were paid their unpaid wages (plus backpay) which included much bronze, silver, gold, and fine linens. When we read through the latter chapters of Exodus, we are struck by just how much bronze, silver, and gold the Hebrews contributed to the Tabernacle’s construction.

Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his   and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.” The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.
Exodus 11:2; 12:35

Later in Israel’s history, the Bible describes Israel’s occupiers, the Philistines, having vastly superior weaponry, and far greater numbers of soldiers. Their oppression of the Hebrews was cruel. Their situation seemed hopeless. But Jonathan used this principle of provision that we have seen with Moses and the Hebrews of the Exodus — he used what he had rather than sulk about what he didn’t! He and armour-bearer realised that they couldn’t single-handedly defeat all of the Philistines, but they could defeat some! 

And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.
First Samuel 14:12-13

WHAT GOD CAN DO WITH A LITTLE

This principle should not be thought of as merely an Old Testament phenomena. Spare a thought for the young boy who brought a few small fish and few small loaves of bread along to the local gathering of townsfolk where Jesus was speaking. When the time came for supper, Jesus told His disciples to feed the 15,000 or so people who had come out and spent the day listening to Him. Again, the task seemed overwhelming — and the resources seemed grossly inadequate.

But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” [“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” (Jn. 6:9)] They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
Luke 9:13-16

It’s not actually the point I’m trying to make, but it’s interesting what Jesus did to the meagre resources He was given to feed some 15,000 people. (i) He organised the people in readiness for provision; (ii) He thanked the Father for what He had already provided; (iii) He prayed a blessing over the loaves and fish; (iv) He broke the loaves and fish; (v) He organised the disciples to distribute the provision.

Jesus did this same miracle a second time, but this time He started with more loaves and fishes (Matt. 15:34) and ended up with far less leftovers (compare Matthew 14:20 with Matthew 15:37). He then quizzed His disciples about whether they understood the point of the two miracles. The point that Christ was making was that God is often able to do far more with less to start with!

When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
Mark 8:19-21

WE CAN’T HELP EVERYONE, BUT EVERYONE CAN HELP SOMEONE!

Over the years I’ve tried to pastor people through tight financial seasons. This involves setting financial priorities. But occasionally someone will tell me that they can not live within these priority principles because ‘they cannot afford to’. Invariably, their situations rarely improve. On the other hand, I have had the opportunity to pastor some believers who have committed to live within the Biblical principles of finance. The foundation of their approach to handling their finances is the same principle that I’ve been highlighting: start with what you’ve got and be a faithful steward of it. ‘Stewardship’ means management, or more precisely, management of another’s property. One of the last parables that Jesus told before He was crucified, was the parable of the stewards (Matthew 25:14-28). Each of the businessman’s managers are given an extraordinary amount of money (a ‘talent’ is a measure of weight which equates to 25kg). At the end of the parable we hear Christ reiterate the principle that we’ve been pondering. If we were to paraphrase it, it might sound like, “Start with what you have and use it for God’s glory!”

¶ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Matthew 14:14-27

Some of the Care Christmas Hampers that our Care Team have put together for distributing around our community

Start with what you have, and be faithful with it! As a church, we have learned to stretch finances. One of the comments we hear a lot is – “You guys punch above your weight!” People may think we are flush with money because they misinterpret what we have and what we do with it, but the reality is quite different. While we have some staff, we are dependant on volunteers. And while we don’t make a song and dance about it, our church generously gives to needy causes that help people in need within our community.  Added to this, there is much after-hours care that assists people where we can. But we can’t help everyone; but everyone can help someone. And that’s what we try to do. While there’s a lot more we wish we could do, and at time we don’t think we have that much to offer, let’s make the most of it!

¶ Two things I ask of you;
  deny them not to me before I die:
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
  give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
  lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
  or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:7-9

Pastor Andrew.