Every time someone joins this church, they make five promises: prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Over five weeks we take them one at a time, through the big stories of Genesis and Exodus.
Week five is gifts, and the order at Sinai is the whole point. God's first words to Israel at the mountain are about what God has already done: you saw what I did to the Egyptians, and how I lifted you up on eagles' wings. Every verb is past tense. Only then does verse 5 turn and ask anything at all.
A first-fruits gift works the same way. You are not buying standing with God. You already have it, and the gift is how you say thank you.
October 11 also opens Go and Grow, our commitment season for the ministry of this church, running through November 8.
