2. OLD TESTAMENT
“Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh
kernels on that day until you bring this offering
to your God. This is a permanent law for you,
and it must be observed from generation to
generation wherever you live.”
Leviticus 23:14)
3.
4. NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament, the firstfruits offering is
mentioned seven times, always symbolically.
The firstfruits offering is never directly applied to
Christian giving in the New Testament.
However, Paul taught the Corinthian
believers to set aside a collection “on the first day of
the week” (1 Corinthians 16:2).
And, just as the offering of firstfruits was an
occasion of thanksgiving, so the Christian is to give
with gladness.
5. In summary, firstfruits symbolizes God’s harvest
of souls, it illustrates giving to God from a
grateful heart, and it sets a pattern of giving
back to Him the first (and the best) of what He
has given us.
Not being under the Old Testament Law, the
Christian is under no further obligation than to
give cheerfully and liberally
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
12. Concluding the May Series:
”NEXT”
What will we leave behind?
we will have Character studies of the lives of …
Paul and Timothy
Naomi and Ruth
Moses and Joshua
Jesus and 12 Disciples
13. Paul and Timothy
“Inter-generational collaboration”
Text: 2 Timothy 2:2, “You have heard me teach things
that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.
Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people
who will be able to pass them on to others.” (NLT)
14. Moses and Joshua
Passing the Baton
Text: Joshua 1:1-18
The transition from Moses’ to Joshua’s
leadership constitutes one of the greatest
examples of succession in the Bible.
15. MAIN TEXT: PSALM 145: 4-6 NLT
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty
acts; let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful
goodness; they will sing with joy about
your righteousness.
16. MAIN TEXT: PSALM 145: 4-6 NLT
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty
acts; let them proclaim your power.
5 I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim your greatness.
7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful
goodness; they will sing with joy about
your righteousness.
17.
18. Jesus was quite clear about the cost of following
Him. Discipleship requires a totally committed
life: Jesus said;
Luke 14:33
“Any of you who does not give up
everything he has cannot be my
disciple”
19. Matthew 16:24
“If anyone would come after me, he
must deny himself and take up his cross
and follow me”
20. The REASON why
I DO NOT CHOOSE the BEST
to create a TEAM is simple ...
21. 1 -- Jesus chose ORDINARY and
unlisted men (except one) ...
They are not other worldly, they are not
nearly divine, they are not the cream of
the crop among men. They're not the
highest and the noblest and the best.
They're not the most educated, the most
highly skilled, the most gifted, humanly
speaking. The truth is, they basically are
distinguished by one thing, that is they
are ordinary. They have that in common.*
22. They are perfectly ordinary men in every
way. Not one of them is renowned for
scholarship. Not one of them is renowned
for erudition. None of them had a track
record as an orator or some kind of
theologian.
They were outsiders, total outsiders from
the religious establishment of Jesus' day.
They didn't have any particular natural
talents. They don't appear to have any
particular intellectual talents. They
weren't highly educated.
23. They were, on the other hand, prone
to mistakes and misjudgments and
misunderstandings and bad attitudes
and lapses of faith and bitter failure
and argumentativeness and no more
so than their leader, Peter. And Jesus
remarked that they were slow learners,
they were spiritually dense. They were
blockheads.*
24. As far as the world was concerned, these
Twelve people didn't even exist!
As far as the religious establishment of
Israel was concerned, they certainly didn't
matter as who the Lord chose.
And they knew that. Acts 4:13, the elite in
Israel looked at Him and said, “What in
the world is this, these untrained,
uneducated, unskilled people from
Galilee.”*
25. 2 -- Observation/s from CHURCH
HEALTH experts ... (from SiMPLEchurch BOOK by
Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger):
Herb Brooks carefully selected players to be on
the team. He looked for players who would be
more committed to the name on the front of
the jersey (USA) than the name on the back.
After he chose his team, some insisted that
the best players were missing. His response,
as depicted in "MIRACLE", is a classic line. He
said, "I am not looking for the best players. I
am looking for the right ones."
26. Brooks was looking for players who would
align to the same approach to hockey.
The right players are vital. Without the
right leaders, the church will never be
aligned. People follow leadership, and if
leadership is not moving in the same
direction, then people are scattered.
Leaders are responsible to establish and
reinforce the culture of the church.
Consequently, if the leaders are not
aligned, the church will not enjoy unity.
Sometimes the BEST PLAYERS are NOT the
RIGHT PLAYERS.
27. 3 -- The BEST and the EXPERTS tend to be...
wanting to be FOLLOWED versus to be LED.
doing things INDIVIDUALLY because they believe in "THEM" versus they
believe in "US".
Can you imagine if we have 7 EXPERTS???
disaster in the making!
They cannot believe in "US" ... they only believe in "THEMSELVES".
They cannot do "TEAM".
------------
you still WILL not BELIEVE?
PLEASE read below ...
29. Dear Sir:
Thank you for submitting the resumes of the
twelve men you have picked for managerial
positions in your new organization. All of them
have now taken our battery of tests; and we
have not only run the results through our
computer, but also arranged personal
interviews for each of them with our
psychologist and vocational aptitude
consultant.
The profiles of all tests are included, and you
will want to study each of them carefully.
30. As part of our service, we make some general
comments for your guidance, much as an
auditor will include some general statements.
This is given as a result of staff consultation,
and comes without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your
nominees are lacking in background,
education and vocational aptitude for the type
of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not
have the team concept. We would recommend
that you continue your search for persons of
experience in managerial ability and proven
capability.
31. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given
to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no
qualities of leadership. The two brothers,
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place
personal interest above company loyalty.
Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude
that would tend to undermine morale. We feel
that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had
been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem
Better Business Bureau; James, the son of
Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have
radical leanings, and they both registered a
high score on the manic-depressive scale.
32. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential.
He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets
people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts
in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and
responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your
controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles
are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture.
Sincerely,
Jordan Management Consultants
[borrowed illustration]
33. PRAYER:
LORD Jesus I thank YOU for your
mercies, grace and power ... you chose
the worst! For you to show forth THY
grace.
34. JESUS & 12
this is
“ORTHOPRAXY”
practicing things and methods
JESUS did!
seeing principles and patterns he did
for us to serve, lead and influence the
world!
35. Life Group Leader
Life* Group* Leader*
L* -- LIFE is shared, contributed, given,
welcomed, created and anticipated.
[REMEMBER there are so many things
that are done that seems good but leads
to “death”
G* -- GROUP … its about UNITY, Synergy, Family
and more!
L* -- LEADER (basically fulfilling the PURPOSE
of MAN --- he is to take dominion and
“earth-world” influencer!
36. song
We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call
Nobody stood and applauded them
So they knew from the start
This road would not lead to fame
All they really knew for sure
Was Jesus had called to them
He said "come follow Me" and they came
With reckless abandon, they came
37. Empty nets lying there at the water's edge
Told a story that few could believe
And none could explain
How some crazy fisherman agreed to go where Jesus
went
With no thought to what they would gain
For Jesus had called them by name
And they answered
We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die for the sake of the call
The sake of the call
38. Drawn like the rivers are drawn to the sea
There's no turning back, for the water cannot help but flow
Once we hear the Savior's call, we'll follow wherever He leads
Because of the love He has shown
And because He has called us to go
We will answer
We will abandon it all for the sake of the call
No other reason at all but the sake of the call
Wholly devoted to live and to die
Not for the sake of a creed or a cause
Not for a dream or a promise
Simply because it is Jesus who called
And if we believe we'll obey
