Give, THEN Celebrate (Deuteronomy 26:1-11)
Delivered on February 21, 2010 to Smith Chapel UMC
What I Didn't Say
First Fruits Giving--This obviously takes a little faith. I learned about this early in my Christian journey and put it into practice immediately. It was a good time to do this because my income was so small, the first fruits were miniscule. It was pretty easy to write that check. Now that I'm a rich preacher, it's a tad harder. Some of those checks these days are pretty hefty. My story is like many other people. My wife and I give away more money than we ever thought we'd make, let alone give away.
Celebrate!--I believe life is a celebration. Within that celebration a lot of smaller celebrations are couched...sandwiched in between the more mundane elements of our existence. I celebrate in a lot of different ways...riding my Harley, going out to dinner, attending a ballgame or a concert, and feeding a lot of other expensive habits. But what I've learned is that I can immensely enjoy all these things when my responsibilities have first been met. The first of these responsibilities is my responsibility to the Kingdom of God.
