(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

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breath save me forever Keep just over in the glory land Just over in the glory land I'll join a happy agent I'm just over in the glory land Just over in the glory land And the mighty hostel stand Just over in the glory land On the last with blood washed stone I will shout and sing Just over in the glory land God will send us to Passover and keep Just over in the glory land Just over in the glory land I'll join a happy agent Just over in the glory land Just over in the glory land I'll join a happy agent Just over in the glory land We pray that you would meet with us this morning and that you would allow us to leave here different than we came. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're doing a song 315. Song 315. Take my life and let it be. 315 on the first. Take my life and let it be Consecrated Lord to Thee Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of my love At the impulse of my love Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for me Take my voice and let me sing Always only for my King Take my silver and my gold Let out my word I withhold Take my moments and my days Let them flow in Jesus' face Let them flow in Jesus' face Take my will and make it mine It shall be no longer mine Take my heart it is my home It shall be my royal throne It shall be my royal throne Amen. All right, well, let's take our bulletins this morning and we'll look at some announcements. If you did not receive a bulletin on your way in, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can get one for you. If you need a bulletin, just put your hand up and we will get one for you. The verse this week, 1 Corinthians 29, 14, the Bible says, But who am I and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee and of thine own have we given thee. And that's a good verse there. If you open up your bullets and you'll see our service time Sunday morning service 10 30 a.m. We're glad you're with us, of course, on Sunday morning on the Lord's Day for Church. We do invite you to be back tonight at 6 p.m. for the evening service. The evening service is different than the morning service. Different songs that are sung, different sermon that's preached. Just one more opportunity to be in God's house with God's people under the preaching of the word of God. And then, of course, our Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m. And we'd love you to join us on Wednesday night for the midweek service. If you look at our sowing times, our main sowing times on Saturday mornings at 10 a.m. And then, of course, we have additional sowing times on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 2 p.m. So if you'd like to go sowing, there'll be an opportunity for you to be able to do that today. And if you are a first time guest, if it's your first time here at Verity Baptist Church, we're glad you're with us. We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building this morning. If you go on our main foyer or if you go out our secondary foyer, you'll see a little table set up. And on that table, you'll see these little gift bags. Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest this morning. There are several resources, of course, that we'd like you to have in this bag. But the one I'd like to highlight is this documentary that our church made. It's called Being Baptist. It's very well made, very interesting. We think you'll like it. And we want to give this to you as a gift. So please make sure you don't leave here this morning without grabbing one of these gift bags on your way out. And if you are a guest, we'd ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card, which is inserted in your bulletin. If you need a pen, just raise your hand and one of our ushers can bring you by Verity Baptist Church Pen. You're welcome to keep the pen as a gift from us as well. And we would just like to have a record of your attendance. And we're not going to do anything odd with your info. We actually would like to just send you a little gift. But we need your information to do that. So please take a moment to fill the card out. When we're done with the announcement, we're going to sing a song. And when we're done singing, we're going to receive the offering. As the offering plate goes by, you can drop that card in the offering plate or you can hand it to me after the service. I'll be standing at the main door, greeting people on the way out. If you look at our announcements there, we, of course, are a family integrated church. What that means is that children and infants are always welcome in the church service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason. However, we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience. So if you have a child that's being distracting during the service or if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to please use the mother baby rooms and the daddy rooms as needed. If you're not sure where those are at, you can look at the back of the bulletin and you'll see a layout of our church building. It'll show you where the mother baby rooms are, where the daddy room is, and it'll show you where the restrooms are. If you need to be baptized, please let us know. We'd love to baptize you. On your communication card on the back, you can check off that you'd like information about baptism and we'll follow up with you and talk to you about that and help you with that. If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, we are in our journey with Jesus, our verse by verse gospel through Luke. We'll be continuing that. And then we just want to let you know for the musicians, we have a music ministry dinner and training. And we need all of the song leaders, orchestra members and pianists to come to this dinner and training. That is this Friday, December 2nd at 6 p.m. We're rolling out a lot of new stuff for the musicians, so we really need you there so you can all be aware and be on the same page. You can RSVP on your communication card or you should have received the text from us. You can do it on the text as well. All the ladies are invited to a baby shower for Miss Katie Rosenberg. That is on Saturday, December 10th at 3 p.m. And they don't know what they're having. It's a surprise, but she is registered on Amazon and it is a potluck. So if you can, please bring a dish to share. If you'd like to attend, you can sign up on your communication card. And of course, we have choir today at 5 p.m. here in the main auditorium for the adult choir practicing for Christmas and then children's choir at 515 in the playroom. They're also practicing for Christmas. I want you to notice that we have our holiday schedule out and we just want you to be aware. This is, of course, for the end of the month of December, but we just want you to be aware of this well in advance so you can make plans. And this year, Christmas falls on a Sunday. And unfortunately, for most Christians, they skip church when Christmas falls on a Sunday, which makes no sense to me, but that's just the way it goes. And so we just want you to be aware that we will be having a special Christmas Day service and also a New Year's Day service because Christmas falls on a Sunday and New Year's Day. So not New Year's Eve, but New Year's Day, January 1st falls on a Sunday. So we're we're not canceling church and we don't want you to skip church, but we're trying to make it as easy for you as possible. So for the last for those two Sundays on the 25th and on the first, we're going to start a little later, about half an hour later than we normally do at 11 a.m. So that'll give you some extra time on Sunday morning to do whatever you need to do on Christmas Day, open up your gifts or whatever. And then on on the first as well, you'll probably be up from the night before. So it'll give you a little extra time. And then what we're going to do on those two days, we're not canceling the evening service, but we're moving it up to an afternoon service. So we're going to provide a quick lunch in the fellowship hall for anyone who is staying for the second service. And the key word there is staying. All right. If you're staying for the second service, we'll provide lunch for you. If you're not staying for the second service, you can provide lunch for yourself. So and we're not putting on just I just want to be clear about some of these things. We are not putting on some Christmas dinner for you. OK, it's we're having sandwiches and just a quick lunch in the fellowship hall. And then we're going to have our second service for the day at one fifteen p.m. And we'll have a short second service at one fifteen. That way we can be done around two. And you can have the rest of the day for your Christmas dinner or whatever you got to do. So we're just trying to help you not skip church, but try to help you and make it as easy for you as possible. So just be aware of that. Remain the bulletin the whole month. You can make plans and attend for that homeschool group. They've got PE class on Thursday, December 1st. And then Christmas craft is on Thursday, December 8th at 11 a.m. And my wife has a handout for that. So if you're part of our homeschool group, that's a field trip Christmas craft here at the church building. And she can get you the information for that. She has the flyers for that. You can see her after the service. Other things there for you to look at. Please don't forget to turn your cell phones off or place them on silent during the service. So they're not a distraction to anybody. If you look at the back of the bulletin, birthdays and anniversaries for the month of November. Today, November 27th, is Brother Resty Santo's birthday. So happy birthday to Brother Resty. And then, of course, later this week, on November 30th, we are remembering Miss Tara Barrett. And also Brother Andrew Davidson has a birthday on December 2nd. And Jeremiah Johnson also has a birthday on December 2nd. Praise report, money matters. All those things are there for you to look at. I do want you to notice that in your bulletin, you have one of these handouts. And I'd just like to talk about it real quickly. It says Christmas gifts for Jesus. And this is something that we used to do at the church that my wife and I attended years and years ago. And we've never done it here, but we decided to do it this year. And I'll just read this real quickly for you. While you are out and about this holiday season purchasing gifts, you can give a Christmas gift to Jesus by purchasing and donating something of use for the body of Christ. And, of course, the body of Christ is the local New Testament church. So what you have here below is a list of items that you can donate this Christmas season if the Lord lays it on your heart. And I always thought it was funny that it's the birth of Christ. We're celebrating the birth of Christ. And we go around and buy all sorts of gifts for everybody else and ourselves, but nothing for the Lord Jesus Christ. So this is just a way for you to be able to give something to the body of Christ, the local New Testament church. And we didn't want to make it a big deal, but there are some items here, things that our church uses on a regular basis. And while you're out and about, if the Lord lays it on your heart, if you want to purchase, pick up some of these things, you can, in the month of December, donate these things to the church. And what we're going to do is this week, when you come back next week, in the main foyer, there'll be a table set up and there'll be a signed Christmas gift for Jesus drop off. And whatever you purchase, if you'd like to purchase, you don't have to purchase, you don't have to do anything. But if you'd like to help with some of these things, as you purchase them, we'd like you to drop them off there. And then we will open all that stuff up and use it for the church, of course, after Christmas and into the coming New Year. So hopefully you can get excited about that. And if you have any questions, of course, let us know. But we're doing a Christmas gifts for Jesus program here so you can help us with that if you'd like as you are out and about. I think that's it for all of the announcements. So let's go ahead and take the chorus of the week. And that's the other insert in your bulletin. And we'll sing He's Able as we prepare to receive the offering this morning. And let's go ahead and sing it out on the first. He's able, He's able, I know, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He's able, He's able, I know, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. He healed the broken hearted and set the captive free. He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. He's able, He's able, I know, He's able, I know my Lord is able to carry me through. Amen. Good singing. We'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time. And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we do thank you for allowing us to gather together today. Today, Lord, we pray that you bless the offering, the gift and the giver. Lord, we ask that you would meet with us as we take time to open up your word and study a portion of scripture together. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. If you do not have a Bible, raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. Luke chapter 21. We will read the entire chapter as is our custom. Luke chapter 21. Just keep your hands up and an usher will bring you a Bible. Luke chapter 21, the Bible reads, And he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, and he saw also a certain poor widow casting into their two mites. And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these of their abundance cast into the offerings of God, but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall all these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and the time draweth near. Go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these things must first come to pass, but the end is not by and by. Then he said unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences, and fearful sights, and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake, and it shall turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but there shall not a hair of your head perish, and your patience possess ye your souls. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter thereunto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sign, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth the stress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable. Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven or earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall I come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him. Let's pray. Father God Almighty, thank you for this day. Thank you for this opportunity to come together. Please bless Pastor and the message. Let it bring glory and honor to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. Amen. Alright, we're there in Luke, chapter number 21. And of course we've been making our way through the Gospel of Luke in our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Luke. And we've been calling it our journey with Jesus. And we find ourselves in Luke chapter 21 this morning. And this morning we're going to just focus in on a very well-known story here in the first part of the chapter. Just the first four verses. And it is the story normally referred to as the widow's mite. And in Luke 21 and verse 1 the Bible says, And he, this is of course Jesus, looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in hitherto mites. And he said of a truth, I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. All these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God. But she of her punery hath cast in all the living that she had. And of course this is a very well-known story. This is a story that's often referenced in Scripture. And what we have is the Lord Jesus Christ really just watching as people are giving. We see there in verse 1 the Bible says, And he looked up and saw the rich men casting their gifts. And the way that the Bible seems to indicate that they would receive their offerings in the synagogues is different than maybe how you're used to us having received the offering here at church. We receive an offering. We have ushers come forward and take the plates and pass them around so that people can give. But in this context what they would do is that they would have a box or an area where somebody could maybe as they were on their way out of the building drop off an offering. Of course in those days they did not have cash. They did not have checks. So the offerings would be given in coins. And as people would drop off these offerings it would be very apparent who was giving a lot and who was not given a lot by the sound that these coins would make as they were dropped off. And it was a very visual thing and a very formal thing. And here we have Jesus looking and watching as he saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And then he also saw this poor widow. And Jesus uses this opportunity to teach and to highlight some things regarding the philosophy or the teaching, the biblical doctrine of giving. And this morning I'm going to preach to you of course from the story about the widow's mite and I'm going to be speaking on the subject of giving. And let me just say this for those of you that are part of our church you know this but maybe if you're newer to our church or if you're a first time guest you don't know this. Preaching on giving is not something that I do a lot of. And if you're here for the first time you think, oh I came to church and of course the pastor is preaching on giving. You just happen to be here. We've literally been going verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the Gospel of Luke for over a year. And you just happen to come at Luke 21 when we're here with the widow's mite. So it's not something I normally preach on but it's not something that I shy away from either because it's in the Word of God. The Bible teaches it. And if Jesus took the time to teach on it then he must want us to learn about it. So I want you to notice this, a few things in regards to giving regarding this poor widow and the widow's mite. And what I'd like to do this morning is give you three thoughts regarding giving from the story of this poor widow. And when you read the story and you look again at verse 1, the Bible says that he looked up and saw the rich men. And when you consider that he is sitting there watching, I think Jesus is interesting, he's just standing there, the Bible seems to indicate we get more details in another gospel. We'll look at it in a little bit. He's just sitting there watching people as they're putting money in the offering. And you might think, well that was rude or that's not something that should be done. And maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. It's hard to know all of the customs and context of the first century world. But I know this, that he's the Lord, he's God, it's his house and it's his offering. And he is watching as people are giving and he saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. And when you read that, that's something you would expect. I mean wouldn't you expect that if a special offering is being taken or if an offering is being taken that rich men would be casting their gifts into the treasury. But in verse 2 we read that he also saw a certain poor widow. And of course a widow is a woman whose husband has passed, whose husband has died. And in our context when we think of the word widow, we might think of an older lady who is lonely and maybe her husband has passed and that's true of a widow in the first century. But in the first century if you would have heard of a widow, you would have thought someone who's poor. In fact Jesus highlights that by saying a poor widow. And of course we know that in the first century the way that these women were protected and provided for was by their husbands. So if a woman found herself and her husband had passed, oftentimes she found herself unprotected and unprovided for if there were no children or grandchildren to step in and help. Now in this widow we're not given a lot of details but it seems as though she's all alone because she's not only a widow, she is poor. She doesn't have much. And she walks up to this location to give right with the rich men and she casts in, the Bible says, casting in hitherto might. And when you read that you almost want to ask the question, why? Why are you doing this? Nobody, if there's anybody that would be maybe expected not to give, you would think it would be this poor widow. But this highlights for us the first thing that I want you to learn, I want us to learn, I think that Jesus wants us to learn the reason he gave us the story. And it is this, and if you're taking notes maybe you can jot this down. Here's the first observation or the first point that I'd like you to notice. And it is this, the poor widow had a right obligation to give. The poor widow had a right obligation to give. You and I would think that if anybody would be excluded, if anybody would be encouraged to not get in line, don't worry about it. We don't expect you to give. We know you're poor, we know you're a widow, let the rich men give and don't you worry about it. If anybody would have been acceptable to maybe go out the back door, skip the main entrance and not put money in the offering plate while everybody was watching, it would have been this poor widow. But this poor widow had an obligation internally, nobody was forcing her. She had an obligation to give, she wanted to give, and I want to highlight for you that she had the right obligation to give. It was right of her to participate in the giving and in the offerings of the Lord's work. Now you're there in Luke chapter 21, keep your place there, that's our text for this morning. But go with me if you would to the book of 2 Corinthians chapter number 8. 2 Corinthians, you're there in Luke, if you go past the book of John, past the book of Acts, past the book of Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter number 8, 2 Corinthians chapter number 8. I'd like you to notice that the poor widow had a right obligation to give. As we walk through this text this morning and as we highlight some things, I want you to notice some things that I believe this poor widow understood. Some things this poor widow understood about giving and some things this poor widow understood about generosity. And one is this, the poor widow understood that being poor did not excuse her from participating in giving. She understood that being poor was not an excuse to say, I don't need to participate. In fact, the fact that she got up there right along with and right behind the rich men, and Jesus says that he looked up and he saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury, and then when they got done he saw, the Bible says, and he saw also a certain poor widow casting in hitherto might, tells us that this lady had a right obligation, a righteous obligation to give in her mind. She understood, yes I'm poor and yes I'm a widow, but being poor and being a widow does not excuse me from participating in giving. Are you there in 2 Corinthians 8? Look at verse number 1, 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse number 1, 2 Corinthians 8. If there's any poor widows out there, I'd appreciate an amen every once in a while because some of these other guys aren't going to do it. 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 1, I'm just kidding, of course. Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit. Notice that little phrase there, to wit. The word wit means to know or become aware of. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, 2 Corinthians 8, 1. He says, moreover, brethren, we do you to wit. He said, I want you to know, I want you to become aware of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. Now, the churches of Macedonia, we're going to see here in verse 2, were poor churches. In fact, notice there, 2 Corinthians 8, 2, he says, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and I want you to notice this. These were poor people, but they were joyful people. Notice that money does not always produce joy. Resources do not always produce contentment. Here we're told that in a great trial of affliction, though they were going through a trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and notice this wording, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. Now, I just want you to notice these words, poverty. Poverty means being poor, being broke, not having much. Notice this word at the end of verse 2, liberality. The word liberality, the word that you and I would use today in our modern vernacular would be generosity. When you see the word liberality there, it is a reference to their generosity. Today we have politically people who call themselves liberal or known as liberals, and the problem with the liberals of today is not that they're generous, it's that they're generous with other people's money. But in the Bible, when somebody is liberal or has liberality, if they're doing it with their own money, out of their own heart, with their own accord, then that's a positive thing. And here the Bible says how that in a great trial of afflictions, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto riches of their liberality. Here's what Paul is saying. Paul is saying, he's talking to the church in Corinth about the churches in Macedonia. The church in Corinth is the church that's doing well financially. Churches in Macedonia are not doing well. And he says, let me tell you about the churches in Macedonia. Let me do you to wit, he says, and make you aware of the churches that though they had a great trial of affliction, they also had an abundance of joy, and out of that trial of afflictions, an abundance of joy, and out of their deep poverty, their deep poorness, their deep brokenness, they somehow managed, he says, they abounded unto the riches of their liberality. He said they managed to be generous. What is it that Paul is saying? Paul is saying this, that poor people can still be generous people. And the poor widow that we read about here in Luke understood that being poor did not excuse her from participating in giving. Do me a favor, keep your place there in 2 Corinthians. We're going to come back to it. You have your place in Luke in 2 Corinthians. And go with me to the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, Proverbs chapter number 3. If you open your Bible just right in the center, you'll more than likely fall in the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms you have the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter number 3. Here's the point, and I think this is what Jesus is highlighting really, that if this poor widow can give, if this poor widow living in the first century, so what does that mean? That means there's no welfare. That means there's no retirement plans. That means there's no 401Ks. That means there's no pension plans. If this poor widow who was a female, which would in the first century, a world where might means right, and where often what's done is done because people make it happen and are stronger than others, a woman who the Bible calls a weaker vessel, probably elderly, left alone in this world, poor widow, and what Jesus is highlighting is this, if she can give, then the application for you and I is this, you and I can give. You say, well I'm poor, probably not as poor as this woman. I'm weak, probably not as weak as this woman. I'm disadvantaged. You probably were not as disadvantaged as this poor widow, but Jesus highlights this poor widow because this poor widow understood that though she was poor and hopeless and helpless, this did not excuse her from participating in giving. You and I often will create these thoughts and we'll have these, we'll do these mental calculations to dismiss why it is that we cannot and we should not and it's not responsible to, but the truth is this, if she could give, so can we. Proverbs 3 and verse 5. Notice what the Bible says. Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5, the Bible says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. And by the way, let me just say this. You're going to see here in a minute that the context of Proverbs 3 and verse 5, because these are verses that are read a lot, quoted a lot, the context has to do with giving. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, notice these words, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Don't lean on your own understanding. Say, well the way I see things, the way I understand things, forget about that. Forget about how you see things and just worry about how God sees things. Worry about what the Bible says and do that. Lean not unto thine own understanding. Notice, in all, in all, even in our finances? Yes, even in our finances. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise, notice he says it again, be not wise in thine own eyes. Here's what he's saying, stop thinking, stop thinking about it, stop rationalizing, stop trying to make all these plans. He says, lean not unto thine own understanding, be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, depart from evil, it shall be health to thine navel and marrow to thy bones. Notice the context, verse 9, honor the Lord with thy substance. The word substance has to do or means goods or money or finances. Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits, that term first fruits literally means tithes. With the tithes of all thine increase. So what is it that this poor widow understood? She understood that though she was poor, that being poor did not excuse her from participating in giving. Go to Matthew chapter number 6. If you kept your place in Luke, you go backwards, you have the book of Mark and then the book of Matthew, or it's the first book in the New Testament, should be fairly easy to find. Go to Matthew chapter 6. Not only did the poor widow understand that being poor did not excuse her from participating in giving, I also believe that this poor widow understood that we must all put God first, no matter how poor you are, including financially, even if we're poor. Or even if you think you're poor. Or even if you consider yourself poor. I want you to notice how consistent the Bible is, because we just saw in Proverbs a passage on giving, and before the Proverbs got to honor the Lord with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thine increase, he says, lean not unto thine own understanding, be not wise in thine own eyes. In Matthew 6, Jesus is teaching on giving, and here's what he says, Matthew 6, 31, Therefore take no thought. You say, what does that mean? That means, lean not unto thine own understanding. That means, be not wise in thine own eyes. That means exactly what it means. Take no thought. Stop thinking. You're not good at it. Just stop it. Just do what God tells you to do. By the way, that's just a great rule of life. You want to be successful in life, just do what God tells you to do. You say, well, it doesn't seem right, it doesn't sound right, it doesn't go with what... It doesn't matter. Just do what God said. It'll be fine. Therefore take no thought, he says, saying... Now notice the context. What are they taking thought about? What are they concerned about? What are they worried about? What we shall eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? He says, for after all these things that the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Notice what he says, verse 33, but seek ye first, but seek ye first, but seek ye first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness, notice, and all these things, and all what things? What ye shall eat, what ye shall drink, wherewithal shall ye be clothed, all these things shall be added unto you. And then, just for emphasis, he says it again, verse 34. Take therefore no thought. He says, take therefore no thought for the morrow. For the morrow shall take thought of the things of itself, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. And here's what he's saying. He's saying, look, when it comes to giving, we can take a lesson from this poor widow and realize that being poor does not excuse us from participating in giving. And we must all, no matter how poor you are, we must all put God first, including in our finances. In fact, when we have that great verse, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, it's within the context of giving. When we have the great verse, trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, it's within the context of giving. You say, why does God talk about giving in such a way? I think he does it for a couple reasons. First of all, it's really easy for us to understand the concept of giving. Also, because Jesus says that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And I think God understands that if he can get your wallet, he can get your heart. So he says, just stop thinking. Realize that you have an obligation spiritually to participate in giving. And this poor widow had a right obligation, though you and I would have excused her. You and I would have said, it's okay. Don't worry about it. You don't have to participate. You don't have to give. Let these rich men give. They've got their health. They've got their wealth. They've got everything. This poor widow said, no, I'm going to participate. I'm going to give. Go back to Luke chapter 21. So I said, number one, the poor widow had a right obligation to giving. But number two, I'd like you to notice, I'd like you to write this down and just notice this, because the second point kind of balances out the first point, and it is this. The poor widow had a right obligation to giving. That's observation number one. Observation number two is that the poor widow had a right objective in giving. So what do you mean by that? Well, an objective is a goal. It's something towards which effort is directed. It's an aim, a goal, an end to an action, the purpose for achieving something. See, this poor widow did not only understand her obligation to give, but she understood the objective in giving, the point of giving, the purpose in giving, the goal in giving. You say, what was the point? What was she trying to do? Look at it again, Luke 21, verse 2. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in hither to might, and he said of a truth, I say unto you that this poor widow, notice the words, notice what Jesus says, notice what Jesus highlights. He says, this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. Now that statement should have, anyone who heard Jesus say that, it should have thrown them for a loo. They should have said, what? What do you mean? Because here they are at their quote-unquote church service, synagogue service, making their way out the front door, everybody casting coins into probably some sort of a metal container, rich people dropping in all sorts of coins and all sorts of noise, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling, cling And Jesus so much we can even tell by the sound of the clink that the coins weren't even that big to begin with. This poor widow have cast in only these two mites and Jesus says hold on a minute stop pause let me make a comment here let me explain something to you this poor widow have cast in more than they all. And people would say she didn't give much. Didn't you hear the clinks? Didn't you hear the clinks? the sound? Didn't you see what she put in? Didn't you see the other man with the bags and the pouring in? And look at me and look how amazing I am! Jesus lets us in on a little secret about God's economy, a secret that this poor widow apparently already knew. And it is this, the poor widow understood that giving in God's economy is not based on the amount but on sacrifice. He says this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. And everyone there would have stopped and said, what do you mean? How can that be? We can pull the coins out. We can count them. There's no way she gave more. And then Jesus explains in verse 4, He says, for all these, all these rich people, all these rich men, for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God. But she of her punyry, that word means extreme poverty, she of her punyry hath cast in all the living that she had. See this poor widow understood something that Jesus understood and it is this, that giving in God's economy is not based on the amount that you give but on the sacrifice. Because what Jesus understood is that when you give a large amount, when you pull out a large amount to give to God, to the church, to the work of God, and you pull it out of vast resources, that is different in God's economy than when you pull out a small amount but you pull it out of very small resources. In fact this woman had such small resources that she just pulled it all out. She just gave it all. And Jesus says when you measure it by weight, when you measure it by value, when you measure it by cost, when you measure it numerically, yes these poor, these rich men gave more than this widow, but when you measure it by sacrifice, this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. Because the poor widow understood that giving in God's economy is not based on amount but on sacrifice. Go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 if you would. I asked you to keep your place there, 2nd Corinthians 8. Remember Paul is making the point to the Corinthian Church which are the rich men about the churches of Macedonia and who are like the poor widow. He says that out of the abundance and the poverty they exercise great liberality. And then in verse 3 he says this, for to their power, that word power means ability, to their power, to their ability, Paul says, he's telling the church at Corinth about the church in Macedonia, for to their power I bear record. He says and beyond their power. He says beyond what they maybe, what we would think they should have been able to do. So what does that little phrase beyond their power means? It means they stretch themselves. Means they did more than they normally could have. They did more than they normally would have. He says for to their power I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves. He said these poor Macedonians were willing to give to their power and beyond their power because they understood what the poor widow understood which is this that giving in God's economy is not based on amount but on sacrifice. See, like in the synagogue in our story, Jesus is watching as you and I give. And he sees how much but he sees also how much it hurts. How much it inconveniences you. How much of a sacrifice it truly is. So this poor widow understood that giving in God's economy is not based on amount but on sacrifice. And here's what this poor widow also understood, and I think it's what the churches in Macedonia understood, and it's this, that though she could not give as much as others, she could sacrifice as much as others. Notice there in verse 12, 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 12, notice what Paul says about the church in Corinth. He says, for if there be first a willing mind, a willing mind meaning they're willing to sacrifice, they want to sacrifice. And by the way, let me just say this, I'm not preaching on giving because of any other reason than it's just where we happen to find ourselves in Luke at this time. And like I said, I'm gonna give the disclaimer that it's not something we talk a lot about, but I'm also not gonna apologize for it because it's in the Word of God and we should learn it. But let me just say this, if you're offended by me preaching on giving, let me just give you this permission. Keep your money. We don't want it. God doesn't need your money. It's not about money. It's about your heart. It's about your willingness. And if you're going, the Bible says that God loved a cheerful giver, and if you're gonna, well now I gotta give because pastors are preaching about it, and set up that container at the front entrance and everybody's watching. If your attitude is wrong, hey, keep your money. My God doesn't need it. It's about willingness and about what your sacrifice shows in your heart, not to anybody, but to God. He says, for if there be first a willing mind, Paul says, it is accepted according to that, notice what he said, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. What is Paul referring to? Paul is referring to the fact that there are two types of people in this world, the haves, you want to use the King James verbiage, the haves and the hath not. He says, look, I realize there are the haves and the have nots. I realize some people have more than others. I realize that it's not equally dispersed in an economy, in a church. There are some people that make more, have more, have more resources for whatever reason. Maybe they're harder workers, maybe they won the lottery, who knows? But he realizes that they have more than other people, and Paul says, I'm not talking about measuring your willingness based off what you have and what you have not. He says, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not, verse 13. Here's the point that he's making. He's saying, God does not expect you to give what you don't have. God does expect you to sacrifice off of what you have. And if you happen to have more than others, then God expects you to sacrifice more than others. See, the thing is this, that when it comes to giving, poor people tend to make the excuse to say, I don't have much, so I can't give. And the response to that, the response to that, verse 12, for if there be first a willing mind, if you're willing to give, it is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. That's in answer to the poor man. The poor man says, I don't have enough to give, and Paul says, well you're only expected to give not from what you don't have, but from what you have. But Paul says, here's what I know, you have something, if the poor widow had something, you have something, and there's an expectation to give. Then in verse 13 he says, for I mean not, and that now he is going to talk to the rich people. He talked to the poor people in verse 12. In verse 13 he talks to the rich people. He says, for I mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened. What is he talking about? He's talking about the fact that when we come together as a church and we receive an offering, like we do every service here at Lady Baptist Church, and we should, it's a Christian discipline, it's part of discipleship, but even when we take special offerings like our vision offering in the spring every year, or this Christmas season we're doing this special Christmas gifts for Jesus offering. What he's saying is this, that he says it's not right that someone who makes a million dollars a year gives ten thousand dollars, and we think that's a lot of that's really impressive, wow, but that is, it doesn't hurt them the same as someone who makes ten thousand a year and gives a thousand dollars, or two thousand dollars. He says, look, I don't want equal giving. He says, I want equal sacrifice, verse 13, for I mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened, verse 14, but by an equality. See that word equality there? That now this time your abundance may be supplied for their wants, that their abundance may also be a supply for your wants, that there may be equality, and here's what he's saying, it's not going to be equal giving, it never should be. That's why tithing, the beautiful thing about tithing, the way that God is way better at running governments than men is, for sure than the US government, the beautiful thing about tithing is that it's a percentage. It's a percentage of what you make. You say, I don't make much, but you only have to give ten percent of what? Of that not much. And if you make a lot, you say, well I'm expected to write this big old check, I'm expected to give a lot. Well you make a lot. Which one would you rather have? Would you rather have the blessing of writing small checks because you make little, or writing big checks as you make a lot? What he's saying is this, that though the poor widow understood that giving in God's economy is not based on amount but on sacrifice, and she understood this, that though she could not give as much, though the Church of Macedonia may not have been able to give as much, they could sacrifice as much as anyone else. And poor people need to make sure that they sacrifice by not making excuses and saying, well I'm poor so I'm not going to try. And rich people need to make sure they sacrifice by not having this idea, well I'm giving a lot, so that should be good enough, when you know that what you're giving a lot doesn't hurt you. Not really a sacrifice. It's really nothing in comparison to what you made. Go to Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12. The poor widow had the right obligation to give. The poor widow had a right objective in giving. Let me give you the third observation. And it is this, that the poor widow had a right outlook on giving. Not only does she have the right obligation, not only does she have the right objective, but she also had a right outlook. A right outlook on giving. The way she saw giving, the way she perceived giving, the way she understood giving, she had the right outlook. Then what was the poor widow's outlook? Well look at Mark 12. In Mark 12 we have the same story. It's a parallel passage, the same story, Mark 12 verse 41. And Jesus had over against the Treasury. I love that. I just love how Jesus, you know, I don't know. He just goes, I mean I imagine he just, there's this big canister and he just pulls up a chair and he's just in there watching. Really Mr. Big Bucks? That's all? Everybody else is impressed, but I know how much you made last year. And Jesus had over against the Treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the Treasury and many that were rich cast in much. That's expected. And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in, notice what we're told. Notice what she threw in. She threw in two mites. Two mites. And the Bible tells us which makes a farthing. She threw in two mites that make a farthing. Say, what does that mean? Here's what it means. Not much. She gave two mites. You say, what is that? Go to Matthew. Matthew chapter 10. Now obviously you could open up a commentary and open up all sorts of books and people are gonna tell you the equivalent of this and that. Let me tell you something. Nobody knows. This was 2,000 years ago. It's hard to really understand sometimes the economy and what the actual worth of something was. But the Bible itself gives us evidence to the fact that whatever this was, it wasn't a lot. Because in Matthew 10.29, Jesus is talking about and teaching the disciples about how much value they have. And He says, look, my Heavenly Father, He takes notice when even a sparrow falls from the sky. So if He notices when a sparrow dies, don't you think He knows what you're going through? It's the point that Jesus is making. And in Matthew 10.29, here's what He says, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father. And one of them does not fall on the ground without your father's knowledge, without your father in heaven being aware of it. And He says, two sparrows are sold for a farthing. And we don't know a lot about what the Bible refers to or what they refer to as sparrows in these days. We do know that it was a very inexpensive bird. Obviously that's the point that Jesus is making. What we understand from historical accounts is that it was a very small bird. In fact, it was small enough to eat whole in one bite. So you can get two sparrows for one farthing and you have two mites make up a farthing. So a mite is less than a farthing and a farthing gets you two pretty small and cheap sparrows. The point is this, it's not a lot. Look at Luke 12. You're there in Matthew. Go past Mark into the book of Luke. Luke chapter 12. Luke 12 58. Matthew Mark Luke. Luke 12 58. I'm just making a point to you that there's not a lot of money. Here's another example where Jesus is talking to people about solving their issues before they go to the judge. Luke 12 58, when thou goes with an adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him. Lest he hail thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee thou shalt not depart thence. Jesus telling, it's better to just, what he's saying is, it's better to settle out of court than to take your chances with a judge and then the judge will come down hard on you. And this is the example that Jesus is giving. Verse 59, I tell thee that thou shalt not depart thence till thou has paid the very last mite. And I want you to notice, so notice he's using a mite. It seems to indicate that it's the smallest piece of money. It would be like us telling somebody, I'm gonna make you pay the very last penny to the very last dime. It's a very small amount of money. In fact the mite was probably the smallest piece of money in their economy. Two mites made up a farthing. A farthing would purchase you two sparrows, very inexpensive birds. The point is this, this woman, go back to Mark chapter 12 verse 42, and there was a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites which make a farthing. She didn't put much. It wasn't a lot financially. It wasn't a lot. So what is the point that you're making? Here's the point that I'm making. The poor widow had a right outlook on giving. Why does she have a right outlook on giving? Here's why. The poor widow understood that she didn't have much. She didn't have much to give. And here's what she understood. Since I don't have a lot, what's the point of keeping it? She said, I don't have a lot. These two mites is all I've got. The Bible says, Jesus says that she cast in all her living. Everything she had was those two mites. She said, all I've got is these two mites. It's not a lot. It's not gonna buy me a stake. It's not gonna buy me a house. It's not gonna do much. It's not gonna accomplish much. And here's what she understood. Since I don't have much, what's the point of keeping it? Here's what she understood. The poor widow understood that since she didn't have much, she might as well just give it all. Mark 12 43. He called unto him his disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast of their abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had, notice, even all her living. And he said, well Pastor Jimenez, you know, I don't understand. Are you telling us that God wants us to give it all, give it all up? I don't like these sermons on finances. I don't like these sermons on giving. Okay, well let me explain something to you. You don't like the preaching on giving? Good. I'm not preaching about giving money. The purpose, please understand this, you say, but the widow, she gave it all. And Jesus highlights and says, hey, this is good. You should do what she did. Give it all. Please understand something that God does not want your money. God wants you. He doesn't want your money. He wants your life. This is why Paul said, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present, not your wallets, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. He doesn't want your money. He wants your life. Now obviously when you give him your life, your money will come with that because where your treasure is, that where your heart be also. But he doesn't want your money. He doesn't, God wants all of my money. No, no, it's worse. It's worse than that. He doesn't want all of your money. He wants all of your life. He wants all of you. He wants you to give yourself completely to God. He wants you to stop withholding, stop saying, well, God, you can have this, but not this. You can have that, but not that. Stop negotiating and just give it all. So all my paycheck know all of you. Go to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. 1st Corinthians chapter 1. William Booth was the man who started the Salvation Army. I don't know a lot about William Booth, and I'm not necessarily saying that I endorse everything about him, but I know that when the Salvation Army began it was not what we know it as today. Today I think it's just like a donation center or a thrift store. The Salvation Army was actually an organization where he was training an army of people to go out into the highways and hedges and help people that were having issues and having problems in life and to get them saved and disciple them and to help them transform their lives. I don't know how accurate that is. But William Booth had a lot of success in his ministry when he began, and somebody asked him, what is the secret to your success? And he said, the secret to my success is this, that Jesus Christ has all of William Booth. And I often wonder what would happen in a church like this and a place like this, if a group of people decided, I'm just gonna give it all to God. All the money? I'm not talking about your money. Just give all of it, all of it, your heart, your soul, your mind. Just say, God, you can have it all. No matter what you want, no matter what you ask, no matter what you prompt us, no matter what you tell us, no matter what your word says, no matter how hard, I'm just gonna give it all. See, this widow had given it all, but there's a secret in this story as to why. Why it is that there are some people that can say, you can have it all. My mind, my soul, my heart, my treasure, my talent, you can have it all. And then there are others, and there are mostly others, who say, you can have Sunday morning. You can have this, and you can have that, but I'm not gonna give you that, and don't ask for this, and this is mine, God. You say, what is the difference between the person who can throw it all in and the person who says, no, no, I'll throw some in, but I'll keep some for myself. What is the difference? The difference is this, that this poor widow understood, I don't have much, so I might as well just give it all. Y'all know why some people give themselves completely to God? It's because they realize that they don't have much. It's easy to give your life completely to God when you say, the widow, she said, there's not much I can do with these two mites. They're not gonna, it's not gonna do a lot anyway, so if I can't do much with it anyway, I might as well just give it to God. Let's see what God can do. Let's see what God does with this offering, and the problem is that we, as people, need to understand that when we understand, when we humble ourselves to the place, to realize that I don't have much to give God anyway. There's not much I can do with this anyway. Why don't I just give it to God and see what God can do? So what about the people who don't give to God? The people who don't give themselves completely to God is that they think too highly of themselves. This is why Paul said in 1st Corinthians 1 and verse 26, For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, he says, not many wise men, not many mighty men, not many noble are called. You say, then who is called? But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and the things of the world and the base things of the world and the things which are despised have God chosen, yea, and the things which are not to bring to naught the things that are. Notice here's the point, verse 29, that no flesh of glory in his presence. What I've learned is the people who are mightily used of God are people who have this realization that I'm not much. There's not a lot I can do anyway. There's not there's not a lot here. It's just two mites. It's just two loaves of bread. It's just a few fishes. Let me just give it to God and see what God can do. This poor widow understood that she didn't have much. So since she didn't have much, she might as well just give it all to God. And please understand, go to Romans. Romans chapter number 12. Please understand, I'm not talking about your money. I'm talking about you. What are you holding back? What are you saying, God? I'll give it all to you, but not this. Not this, God. This one sin. This one thing. This one. This is mine, God. Say, Pastor, are you trying to push some big offering? I'm trying to push some big offering of you. I'm trying to get you to throw yourself in the plate. I quoted this verse for you, but I want you to see the context. Romans chapter 12, verse 1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your body as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is a good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It is your reasonable service to give yourself completely to God. You say, I'm gonna give myself completely to God. A living sacrifice. Okay, well, once you've given yourself completely to God, remember we saw this in Luke already. At that point, once you've given everything to God, you can look up to heaven and say, we are unprofitable servants, because it is your reasonable service. It is your reasonable service to give your life completely to God based off what God has done for us. Here's the context, and here's the problem. Verse 3. For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Here's the problem. Some people just think too highly of themselves. I can do so much. I can accomplish so much. I got so much going for me. I can't give it to God. And God says, you are two mites. You are nothing. That's how you should see yourself. I'm a sinner saved by grace. By the grace of God, I am what I am. And since I don't have much, might as well just give it all to Him. This poor widow had a right outlook on giving because she understood that though she did not have much, and because she did not have much, she could give what she had to God. Go back to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. Let's look at the verses again. I'll make a couple applications and we'll finish up. Luke 21 one. And he looked up and saw the rich man casting their gifts into the treasury. And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in hitherto mites. And he said of a truth, I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God, but she of her punery hath cast in all the living that she had. Obviously this passage is about financial giving. And I want to encourage you, if you're not giving, if you don't have a plan set up to give purposefully, proportionally to the work of God, then you should. And you say, well that's new to me. I don't know. You know, let us help you ease in. There's a Christmas gift for Jesus program that we're running. And here's the thing, you're gonna run around spending money anyway. You're gonna run around buying a bunch of gifts for people you don't like anyway. So if you're going to buy gifts for people you don't like, why don't you buy a gift for someone you really do like? The Lord Jesus Christ. We're not asking for a lot because it's not about equal giving. It's about equal sacrifice. Some of these things are very inexpensive. Mapkins, toilet paper, paper towels. There's some things that are a little more expensive. But these are things that the church could use on a regular basis that they're not perishable. They're not gonna go to waste. And while you're out and about, the Lord lays it on your heart to give. You could pick some of these things up and donate them. There'll be a place for you to drop them off in the main fellowship hall next week. And we can show our appreciation for the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that he really is the reason for the season. You look at this and say, Pastor Jimenez, you know the truth is that I'm one of those rich people and none of this even affects me. Well don't let me stop you from writing a check. You can write a check and put Christmas gift for Jesus or put cash in an envelope and say Christmas gift for Jesus and give. The Bible says it is more blessed to give than to receive. But if you say, I don't know about this whole giving thing, okay, forget about that. How about this? Cast in, forget about the money, just cast in all your living. Say, all my money? No, no, no, all of you. Give yourself completely to God. See yourself as you really should. Not think too highly of yourself and say, God I'm not much, but I am. I'll give it to you. That's Bow your heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this passage of scripture. Four little verses about a widow and her might, but there are some powerful lessons here for us. I pray you'd help us to remember them. I pray you'd help us to realize the obligation we have to giving, that no matter how rich or poor we are, we are not exempt from giving. We should participate. Help us to remember the objective in giving. It's not about the amount, it's not about equal amounts, it's about equal sacrifice. Lord, help us to have the proper outlook towards giving. Everything I have came from you and everything I have is really not much, so let me just go ahead and give it all back to you. And I'm not talking about people's paychecks. I'm talking about people's lives. I pray, Lord, that you would help us this Christmas season to give ourselves back to you a reasonable service. We love you. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen. We're gonna have Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. Just want to give you a couple of reminders. First of all, of course, we've been talking about the Christmas gifts for Jesus, and if you would like to purchase some of those things on that list, then we would love for you to bring that. There'll be a place for you to drop it off in the main foyer. And don't worry about, you know, well, if I buy this, if somebody else is gonna buy it. There are things that we use a lot of, and we will use it all the time, so it doesn't matter if we, you know, if we get just a million rolls of toilet paper, we'll just be ready for the next COVID or whatever. So just, if you could help us with that, the Lord lays it on your heart. And if he doesn't, you say, you know, I'm not interested, hey, that's between you and God. But if you can help us with that, we'd appreciate your help. And I want to encourage you to be back tonight, 6 p.m. for the evening service. Last Sunday night, if you remember, I started a little mini-series on seven biblical principles for recovery. We covered the first three, and tonight we're gonna cover the next two. So we're gonna do two tonight and then two next Sunday night. So I want to encourage you to be here and be a part of it. You may know someone that's struggling with drugs or alcohol, and these things could help them. But honestly, these principles will help any Christian, anytime, anywhere. They're just good biblical principles. So I encourage you to be back. We will be recording tonight, so please help us with that, with the cameras and making sure the kids aren't messing with them or anything like that. But I'll have a great service tonight. We'd love for you to join us. I call it the most exciting service of the week, the Sunday evening service. We'll have favorites. We'll have a special time, of course, a fellowship on the Sunday night, and then, of course, the preaching. So we'd love for you to come back, 6 p.m. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. And of course, every week I want to encourage you to bring somebody with you, invite someone with you next week to come back to church. Next Sunday morning, we're starting a brand new series. We're gonna take a break from Journey with Jesus on Sunday mornings. We're gonna start a brand new series called The Spirit of Christmas, and we're gonna be talking about some of the things that Christmas is about and some of the things that our attitude and our spirit should be about. So we'd love for you to join us, of course, for that. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know, while Brother Matt come up and lead us in a final song. I really haven't done this before, but go to song number 315. We're gonna sing that again. Just so you know, I chose these songs like way in advance, so I had no idea. So maybe the Lord wants us to know something. Turn to song 315. 315, let's sing it out on the first. Take my fear and let them be, Swift and beautiful for me, Take my voice and let me see, Always on the call of King, Always on the call of King. Take my silver and my gold, Not am I good, I withhold, Take my moments and my days, Let them fall in season's rain, Let them fall in season's cream, Take my silver and my gold, Not am I good, I withhold, Take my moments and my days, Let them fall in season's rain, Let them fall in season's cream, Take my will and make it mine, It shall be no longer mine, Take my heart in is and all, It shall be mine for you for all, It shall be no royal crown. Amen. Good singing. Before we leave here, if anybody has questions about salvation, church membership, or baptism, the pastor will be at the door. He'd love to talk to you or direct you to someone who's trained to talk about that. I'm going to ask Brother Matt to close a prayer for us. Amen. Amen.