Commitment Sunday is Coming 10/27!
“All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own, have we given thee.”
When we step back for a moment, we all know this to be true. God is indeed the creator of all things and the giver of every good gift. And so that means when we give our offerings to God, it is simply returning a portion of what was already God's in the first place.
God of course doesn't need any money, just as God doesn't need our worship and prayers. God will still be God whether or not we come to church and whether or not we give back to God. The reason we worship, the reason we give of our time and money to God, isn't for God's benefit, but for ours. When we worship God and when we give of our time and resources back to God, we are reminded of God's great love for us and that all things have been given to us by God.
As we prepare for this spiritual decision, I ask that we all take some time to turn off the TV, put down the phone, and spend some time in prayer, asking the question: "What percentage of my income is God calling me to give to God's work through this parish.” When we think about what we give to the church as a percentage of our income, it helps remind us of that essential truth that all things come from God. Throughout scripture the ideal percentage of one's income set forth is one-tenth, also known as a tithe.
If you've been thinking about tithing for while, but just haven't done it yet, consider this year the time to start. Perhaps you'd like to tithe some day, but you're just not quite ready, that's fine, but I encourage you to start somewhere, maybe it's 5%, 6%, or 4%.
I pray that this process may benefit us all spiritually, deepening our faith and relationship with God.
Peace,
Fr Adler+
“Dominion” Extra Credit
Last week’s chapter was primarily focused on the person of St. Paul the Apostle.
Here is a podcast the Bible Project did with Bishop N.T. Wright talking about St. Paul:
Here is a video from the Bible Project covering Acts 8-12, which focuses on Paul:
https://youtu.be/oiVAbkINtRU?si=IT9Of-koLMcYKQfC
Here is the Bible Project video that covers Acts 13-20, the missionary journeys of Paul:
https://youtu.be/fglsbcGSr3A?si=aiZvpGaOxT3wOpnE
Here are the links to view recordings of the Sunday morning class:
9/29 - Ch. 1: Athens
10/6 - Ch. 2: Jerusalem
10/13 - Ch. 3: Mission