Money:  the mere mention of the word makes many people cringe.  The mention of money in the context of the church makes most groan audibly! And given the current economic climate, many Christians have stopped or reduced their tithing.  Yet there are clear commands of Scripture to honor the Lord with our tithe.  While I realize that preaching about tithing is often misused by television evangelists, I believe that as Bible believing Christians we are to examine God’s Word concerning our stewardship.   Do we tithe out of obligation to God, seeking to obey the Law?  No.  Jesus was clear that He came to fulfill the law, and did so in a way that we never could.  So if we don't have to tithe (under the law), then why bother?  Can't I just use my money for other stuff in my life?  The foundational principle upon which tithing is based is not that we obey the law, but that we recognize Who has given us what we have.  God is the one who owns it all, and so our tithes, our offerings, our gifts are merely a means of tangible thanksgiving by which we acknowledge that without the grace of God, we could not have any of what we have.  When we adopt this perspective, then we give out of gratitude to the One who has given us so much, whom we could never repay.  May we as Christians be a people who honor God with all of our resources, and use those resources to make Him known in our communities and around our world.  Come visit New Canaan Baptist Church this Sunday as we hear about a sermon on tithing, as we continue our sermon series "Why We Do What We Do."

This Sunday, January 23, we are asking the question "Why do I have to join the church?"  With a lack of specific biblical command to be a member of the local church, many people in our culture believe that they no longer need to join the local church.  This has led to the phenomena among Christians of irregular (at best) church attendance and church-hopping, always looking for the next best thing.  While I agree that there are many churches out there that are not doing things well, if every church that you attend cannot meet up with your expectations, then perhaps the problem lies not with the churches, but within yourself.  Perhaps our love of self makes it impossible, apart from the grace of Christ, to actually love the local church.  Perhaps we need to spend less time critiquing the church and more time repenting of our own selfishness.  Join us at New Canaan Baptist Church in Dallas, Georgia, this coming Sunday as we examine this very important issue in the life of the Christian.