Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Matthew 18:20 Lissa's opening prayer, wherever two or more are gathered he is there in the midst
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
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Keep this verse
John 8:36
whom the Son sets free is free indeed, closing prayer before worship
36 If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
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Luke 6:38
Brian quotes Jesus, give and you will receive, pressed down shaken together running over, to connect with the principle of sowing and reaping
38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
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Genesis 14:14-20
primary Old Testament text, Abram rescues Lot and gives Melchizedek a tenth of the recovered goods
14 When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.
15 He divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16 He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative, Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the other people.
17 The king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High.
19 He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
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Mark 12:41-44
opening passage read aloud by a congregation member, the poor widow who gave two small coins
41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.
42 A poor widow came, and she cast in two small brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,
44 for they all gave out of their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, gave all that she had to live on.”
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Luke 14:33
Brian quotes Jesus, you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own
33 So therefore whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.
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1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Brian reads Paul, you do not belong to yourself, God bought you with a high price so honor God with your body
19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
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Matthew 6:24
congregation member connects the tithing and trust theme, no one can serve two masters, you cannot serve God and be enslaved to money
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Brian walked the church through what the Bible actually says about tithing, why Jesus talked about money more than most people realize, and what our instinct to hold on to what we have reveals about where our trust really sits. The conversation was interactive throughout, with the congregation adding observations and connections as the teaching moved from Genesis to the Gospels. The central idea was simple: the test of tithing is really a test of trust.
What was said
Brian opened by naming the awkwardness directly. Talking about money at church lands on people roughly the same way a stranger asking about your bank balance does. He noted that Tribe almost never addresses it, partly because the congregation is already mature and generous, and partly because the Bible makes the principle clear enough on its own. But back in the spring, he said, the Lord had asked him to cover three things this summer: worship, the word, and tithing. The first two had already come and gone. This was the third.
The word "tithe" itself just means a tenth in Hebrew. To get to the first time it appears in Scripture, Brian took the church to Genesis 14, where Abram, fresh off rescuing his nephew Lot, meets Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God most high. Abram gives him a tenth of everything recovered. The congregation noted that Melchizedek is later connected in the New Testament to Jesus, which means the very first tithe in the Bible is given to a figure who points forward to Christ.
From there, Brian applied a filter he comes back to often: when something from the Old Testament comes forward into the New Covenant, the cross either confirms it, modifies it, or deletes it. Animal sacrifice is deleted. Worship is confirmed. Tithing is modified, because nobody is bringing livestock anymore. The underlying principle holds, but it gets reframed by what Jesus actually says about money and following him.
That reframing came from Luke 14:33, where Jesus says you cannot become his disciple without giving up everything you own. Brian sat with that verse for a while, inviting people to say what they would tell a friend who pulled that quote out and asked what it meant. The responses built on each other: it is a posture of holding things loosely, of keeping an open hand, of training yourself to listen and obey however God is asking you to use your time, talent, and treasure. The congregation largely agreed that finances tend to be the sharpest test of that posture, the place where it is easiest to discover what you are actually gripping.
Brian brought that point home with Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6 that you do not belong to yourself, that God bought you with a high price, and that the appropriate response is to honor him with your whole life. He was careful to say that this is not primarily about Tribe's budget or his paycheck. God, he said, is the source. The church is just one of many channels.
He landed the whole thing with an image of M and M's at a movie theater. A father buys his child a bag of candy, then asks the child for some. The child's first reaction to that request is the whole point. It is not that God needs the candy. It is that how we respond when he asks reveals the actual condition of our trust. The test of tithing, Brian said, proves the truth of trusting.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- If you have been carrying a financial worry, write it on the back of a connect card and drop it in the box at the back so the staff can pray over it this week.
- Set a specific time with God this week, put it in your calendar like any other appointment, and keep it.
- Come to the town square at 5 PM this Sunday, find a Jewish community member who is there, and ask them why they are standing there.
- Pick one area of your life where you have been gripping tightly rather than holding with an open hand, and tell God out loud that it belongs to him.
- If you are a young adult or know one who needs community, show up to or spread the word about Tuesday night young adult service at the TMC.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian talked about how asking 'where do you go to church?' in Jackson feels as intrusive as asking someone what's in their bank account. Why do you think conversations about faith and money both tend to make people uncomfortable, and how have you experienced that in your own life?
- The first tithe in scripture shows Abram giving a tenth of everything to Melchizedek after a military victory. What stood out to you about the circumstances of that first tithe, and what does it tell you about what giving is meant to be a response to?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
Brian comenzó hablando de que el tema del dinero y los diezmos incomoda a mucha gente, pero que Dios mismo le había pedido que lo tratara este verano, junto con la adoración y la Palabra. Explicó que la palabra "diezmo" viene del hebreo y simplemente significa "una décima parte", y que la primera vez que aparece en la Biblia es cuando Abram le da a Melquisedec la décima parte de todo lo que recuperó en batalla. Lo que hace ese momento especial es que Melquisedec es reconocido en el Nuevo Testamento como un tipo y sombra de Jesús, así que el primer diezmo registrado en la Biblia va dirigido a él.
La conversación fue muy participativa. Varios miembros de la congregación ayudaron a explorar la idea de que Jesús, en el Nuevo Testamento, lleva el diezmo más lejos que la ley del Antiguo Testamento: no se trata solo de un diez por ciento, sino de rendirle todo a él. Brian usó la imagen de un niño en el cine con sus dulces. El papá le compró esos dulces, pero cuando el papá le pide uno, el niño lo agarra fuerte porque siente que son suyos. Así actuamos nosotros con el dinero y los recursos que Dios nos ha dado. La idea central fue esta: el diezmo no es para enriquecer a la iglesia ni al pastor, sino para revelar el estado del corazón. Dar es un ejercicio de confianza en Dios.
Brian resumió el mensaje con esta frase: "La prueba del diezmo demuestra la verdad de confiar." Cuanto más nos aferramos a lo que tenemos, más difícil nos resulta confiar en Dios como fuente de todo. Y cuanto más vivimos con las manos abiertas, más libertad encontramos.
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Pasajes bíblicos mencionados
- Marcos 12:41-44 - la viuda y sus dos monedas
- Génesis 14:14-20 - Abram y Melquisedec, el primer diezmo
- Lucas 6:38 - "Dad, y se os dará"
- Lucas 14:33 - no se puede ser discípulo sin entregarlo todo
- 1 Corintios 6:19-20 - no son suyos propios, fueron comprados por precio
- Mateo 6:24 - no se puede servir a Dios y al dinero (mencionado por un miembro de la congregación)
Read the full transcript 10,592 words
The together and worship. That the enemy has to flee, that no darkness can be in your presence. So right now we're believing, we're believing this morning for breakthrough, for miracles, for healing, for all the things that are possible in your presence. That's what we're believing for today. So let our expectations rise of what what is happening in this place, this room as we gather today.
You may have just been invited by a friend or just out of routine come, but let's just take a second and just acknowledge that the king of kings and the lord of lords is here present in this room today. His word says that wherever two or more are gathered, he is there in the midst. Let your expectation rise today as we worship him. What is it that you've been praying for or longing for? Press into his presence and let him take care of it today.
In Jesus' name, Lord. Let's just thank him this morning.
I am washed, I am washed, I am drenched in love.
Let's sing this together. How priceless
how priceless how precious there's power in the blood of Jesus how priceless how precious there's power in blood of Jesus how priceless
Listen to this verse. Maddie, is this verse... We never do it, but the very last verse of this song, I was buried deep. It's in there.
I don't know why.
I always skip this one, but today I'm just like, let's let's press into this. Think about these words. I was
buried deep with Christ my Lord.
Now
washed. Washed. Am washed. I I I am washed. We are just take
a minute and just thank him this morning holy thank you Jesus thank you that these are not just words to songs they are true but nothing could separate Nothing could separate us. Just thank him for his great love this morning.
Jesus sing
highest praise Let's worship him this morning. Just tell him thank you this morning.
Oh, you're so worthy. Oh, you're so worthy worthy of our praise today. Of this time right now. Oh, we praise you. We praise slain for me.
You're the lamb that that was was was slain slain me. Paid it all. Oh, you paid it all for me. Worthy worthy you are worthy worthy Jesus you are worthy yes you are let's sing that together you worthy Jesus you are worthy worthy worthy
you
you deserve the glory. Come on.
Let's lift this. Sing it out. You're worthy.
You deserve the glory. One more time. Sing it to him. You deserve the glory.
Lord, let these not just be words from our lips, but our actions, the cry of our hearts, that you deserve it all, that we would hold nothing back from you. Every area of our lives, Lord, this morning, we lay down again. We surrender again. Anything that you've set us free from, and we in our flesh have picked up and are dragging behind us again. Remind us this morning that we are free indeed.
Whom the sun sets free is free indeed. So Lord, thank you for that truth. Thank you that we can come like this and sing your praises at the top of our lungs. Thank you for that freedom. We do not take it lightly.
We tell you we love you and that you're worthy this morning. Thank you for this group crammed in this space. Come to lift your name on high. We praise you and we give you all the glory. You are worthy of it all in Jesus name and everybody said.
Amen. Alright. Don't move too much because you have very little space, but turn around and greet somebody. We'll make some more room in here.
We have the lax back. And with that... But this is awesome. So great to see all of y'all here today. Can you get out?
Yeah. I'm gonna
have you with
your sound. Okay. It's a little warm.
Ruben's worship heated it up in here.
Yeah. It's your your your guys' fault. I'm so glad that y'all found us here at the TMC. And if you're new, you were like, I'd like to come check out Tribe. Little did you know you'd be literally on the front row, but you can handle it.
Welcome.
You can tune the time even if you're in
the back row. If you just lean forward, you're like on the worship team. And so welcome. I'm so glad that you found us. I'm glad that you're joining us here today.
And there's already been several new things introduced to you if you're new to Tribe. The venue is is not like what you are probably familiar with. Although I would suggest that historically, the church has looked more like this than it's looked like perhaps the church that you've come from. So we're retro, old school. And there's something else.
Well, there's several other unique distinctives. Another unique distinctive about our Tribe fam is the format for how we do service. And I really want this to be interactive between us. And what that means is, yes, you will get to hear from me. My name is Brian.
I'm the lead pastor here at Tribe. But I really want to hear from you. I wanna hear from you. I want us to engage in a conversation together. And this venue really lends itself to this format because it is like we're all squeezed in here into a living room.
And it would be... Let's be honest. It would be weird if I just sat up here with all of you in this close of proximity to each other and to me, and I just did all of the talking. And so what I would like for us to do today is have this be a team effort. And what that means is if you have a question, a comment, or a connection, all you have to do is raise your hand and let's talk about it.
Remember that old Saturday Night Live skit with Mike Myers, and he was like... It was like coffee talk? Okay. Yes. Yes.
Let's have coffee. Let's open up our bibles. Let's talk. And so if you have a question, a comment, or a connection, all you have to do is raise your hand. We have a mic, and the mic will come to you.
Ella's running the mic around today. And with the... Even within this small room, I know that we could hear your contribution, but there are a lot of families that are out of town and traveling and away for this week and, you know, every other week. And so they still get to participate in our service today when we get to hear your comment. And so the mic, not so much for us in this room, but for folks that are watching the livestream.
So don't be scared when the mic gets put in your face. Just let it rip. Okay? One... Two other things.
Number one, there are connect cards in your seat. They're probably under your biscuits right now. If you would take a moment, if you're visiting, we'd love to have a record of your visit. If you are looking for a church home in Jackson or while you're visiting Jackson, we would love it if you called tribe home. Obviously, everybody does their pre church shopping online today.
Like, used to, the first impression was made at the parking lot or in the lobby. Now it's in the comfort of your own home with your thumbs as you are looking for a church to come to. And so if you are visiting us today, we would love to have a record of your visit. There's also opportunity for you to write down any prayer request. You can put that.
Just leave it in your seat, or there's a little box back there by the picture frame. Ella is now making an eloquent gesture towards that box. You can you can put it right there if you would like. If they didn't get the SNL joke, they might not get the Vanna White joke. Okay.
Okay. Alright. You got the Vanna White joke. Alright. Alright.
I'll I'll see what I can do. So the other thing is this. If you're familiar with the news, they're down around the San Antonio area of the great state Texas. They're just really going through it. And Lisa and I were in children's ministry for almost ten years at a large church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And so doing children's ministry, there's a special place in our heart, and I'm sure in all of your hearts, for the children that reported are missing from the flash flood that that swept through that area recently. And so why don't I pray for those families and for those children, for our first responders, and we'll join our faith together. Okay? So, I'm going to be still for just a moment. Lord Jesus, we lift up this situation in Texas to you.
Absolutely nothing ever is hidden from your sight. You know where every single unaccounted person is right now. God, we ask for miracles to happen that you would give discernment and supernatural insight to rescuers, volunteer personnel, fire, EMS, search and rescue, sheriff's department, in their efforts to recover folks from this flash flood, that you would help them, guide them. God, we ask for your mercy. We beseech your clemency and ask you, Lord, that the lives of those missing children would be spared and that they would be recovered and returned into their arms of their mommy and their daddy and that you would bring healing to that area of the great state of Texas.
And that Jesus, you would bring peace and comfort to those families that have lost loved ones and that you would reign over that situation. We pray these things in Jesus' name and all who agree. Say Amen. Amen. Let's jump right into reading a passage from God's word this morning.
And if you have your bibles, we're gonna turn to Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12, and I'm gonna go there myself. We're going to read just a few verses, and why don't we give somebody an opportunity to read? And would somebody please read Mark chapter 12 verse 41 through 44. I'll give you a second for that page to load.
Once you're there, you can just raise your hand and Ella will give you the mic, and we'd love to hear your voice this morning.
Jesus
sat down near the collection box in the temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts, then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their worth surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.
Woah. So this summer, we have been in perhaps unbeknownst to you, but but but to me, I've been I've been trying to stay in a series of several small meaning, like we don't spend weeks and weeks on them. Three different conversations, but they all kind of like are woven together thematically. And so this is the third conversation that we're going to begin today in our, so far, summer series of conversations. And just to give you a recap of where we've been, we spent a couple of weeks talking about worship and the importance of worship, and you can go back and listen to that and what worship does for the heart, what worship does for the environment around you, what worship does to change and shift the atmosphere.
And so we spent several weeks talking about worship. And then what goes right along with worship is talking about the importance of God's word and burying God's word deep into your heart. So we've talked about worship. We talked about being rooted in the word and the value and importance of that. And back in, oh, maybe it was April or May, I was visiting with the Lord.
That's not like the last time I was visiting with him. But we were talking about like, hey, what do you wanna do this summer? And he's like, I want you to talk about these three things, and then after that, then we'll we'll... I'll tell you the next things next. And I said, alright.
What are we gonna talk about? What three things do you wanna talk about? And he said, I want you to talk about worship. I want you to talk about the word. And then today, we're going to talk about the third aspect of this kind of summer long conversation that we've been having, and we're gonna talk about tithing and our finances.
Now, let that sink in. Tithe... Yeah. Here's a couple of reasons that that this topic often either makes people squirmy or gets an eye roll. And number one, people are sensitive when talking about money.
And it's it's not the same as, but it gets into the realm and the arena of a stranger asking you like, hey, how much money is in your bank account? What a weird offensive question that would be. You just like, where... Well, what are you doing? Where are you going with this?
So Lisa and I came... Like, we got serious about our walk with Jesus here in Wyoming. I had gotten saved in high school, but was like like lukewarm at best. And then God grabbed a halt of my life while I was here in Jackson. Lissa got saved here in Jackson.
And we... So this was our first exposure to like real authentic Christianity, and it was here in the West. And then in 2007, God invited us to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma. And we spent seven wonderful years in Tulsa. And when we got to Tulsa, if any of you from the Bible Belt, you're like, well, yeah.
That's just what you do. But remember, we are coming from a mountain state, Intermountain Region Christianity context, culture. Like like like, nobody follows Jesus here. It's just it's just the way of the mountains. They're busy following the mountains and all of the other gods that seem to flock here vying for people's affections of their hearts.
So we get down to Oklahoma, and we're meeting people, and they were like, hi. What's your name? Second question, also, where do you work? And then what's the third question, all my southern people? Yeah.
Where do you go to church? And I can remember the first like 100 times people asked that. I was like like easy now like...
It was like what's in your bank account?
Yeah. That's how it felt like like like the the question was so abrupt, not abrasive, but like so intense. So where do you go to church? I'm like, how do you even know I'm... Like, dude, you...
Like a great way to lose all of your friends in Jackson is lead with those three questions. See, you're laughing because you know how true it is if you're from Jackson. Can you imagine asking a a new friend that you meet in Jackson or in the Intermountain region? Like, yeah, they would look at you like you dropped out of another planet. But in the South, it's very culturally acceptable.
And we love Jesus. We were on staff at a church, and we still felt like like it caught our breath for you to ask, where do you go to church? And we weren't ashamed of it. It was just like, that's a lot. And I feel like many people respond that same way when we talk about tithing at church.
There's another kind of, I wouldn't say cringe factor, but another like a barrier to overcome in order to hear what God may have to say in the conversation whenever the conversation of tithing comes up. And it's the fact that I am, as the leader of this organization and the lead pastor of Tribe, am talking about it. But I'm talking about it today. So in my notes, I literally I literally said, but those are silly reasons for not talking about money. I haven't talked about money.
For those of you who have been a part of Tribe since we've, like like, started, how many conversations have we had about tithing?
Before this.
Well, you have to refresh my memory. That's less than one a year. So we don't talk about tithing too much here. I don't talk about it too much because, number one, our tribe fam is mature and generous with their finances, just in general. Number two, it's so abundantly clear in God's word that that that you can't escape seeing it in the bible and if you walk with Jesus.
Number two, I also wanna be, like, sensitive. Like, in my mind, there are other things that perhaps the Lord would have us talk about and spend time on. Nonetheless, all the way back in May, he's like, I want you to talk about worship, the word, and also tithing. So here we are. That was our starting passage, Mark chapter 12.
If you are taking notes, you can write at the title. You can write at the top of your notes the title of the conversation that we're gonna have this morning, and it's called the tithing test.
Or the test of tithing.
That's exactly what I meant. The test of tithing. So you're paying attention. Good. The test of tithing.
Did you know this? Maybe you did. Jesus in the bible, he talks way more about money and finances than he ever does about hell. That's a good spot to go, heat, hell, A g double hockey sticks. In the in the gospels, Jesus talks a lot more about money and finances than he ever does talk about hell.
It's interesting. So let's define terms. Maybe you're brand new to this idea or concept or word or principle of tithing. Let's let's strip it down to the basics, and the best way to begin is by defining terms. So that word tithe, how many of you have ever heard of that word used outside of a church context?
The New Age community about it
a lot. The New Age community talks about... I wanna hear from you, but, Renee, would you crank that window open? Like, it's something's gotta help. And then Logan, it might be a little bit...
I apologize if it's a little bit distracting for you with the highway noise, but if you crack that sucker open a little bit, just don't fall out the window. I know that... And maybe and maybe like after a little bit close it because I know that it can be distracting. Okay. Tithing in the new age thing.
Well, let me hear about that.
Yeah. A lot of like gurus will talk about tithing. But like... So after... For those of you who don't know me, have a long history in new age before I became a Christian.
But a lot of like what I have learned since being a Christian was in the new age just slightly twisted. Mhmm. Like, because the enemy can't create anything new. Right? So he just corrupts what's in the bible.
So... Thank you, Amanda. But they talk... Of a gurus talk about tithing, but like that it's, you know, it's like a manifesting thing. Like if you give 10% of what you make, and they use 10%, but if you give 10% of what you make to a charity, to your yogi, your cult leader, whatever, that that you will then receive from the universe that multiplied.
Alright. Let's... This is really interesting. Let's talk about any validity or truth to what demon worshiping yogis say. Is there any truth to that?
No. Well, a little. Alright. All truth is God's truth. He is the author and the source of truth.
Objectively truth... And in this world, like, even that is almost offensive to even dare declare that there is such a thing as objective truth. Objective truth means that it is true outside outside of our opinions and perspectives and even our knowledge and understanding of it. There is such a thing as objective truth in the universe. All truth is from God.
And sometimes people stumble upon these truths disconnected from the source of truth and preach it as if it's a new revelation from them, but they're just copycatting without citing, without proper citation at the bottom of their paper of the source of that truth. What about the principle of... This is a good tangent because this is helpful. What about the the principle of yin and yang? Is that true?
Like, well, okay. We'd have to define yin and yang. But that you get what you put out. I mean, is that not what Jesus talked about? That what a man sows that he shall reap.
Chris. That's great perspective, Gretchen. Thank you.
I doubt I'm the first person who thought of the verse that when Gretchen kinda laid that out, but in Luke six verse 38, Jesus said, give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
Jesus, not cult leading yogi. Alright. Tithe. Tithe is a Hebrew word, and the Hebrew word means... Does anybody know?
A tenth. There's nothing fancy about it. The word tithe is just a Hebrew word, and it means a tenth. And in the bible, God established the concept and the idea of giving a tithe. Let's go to...
Let's go right to the fountainhead. Let's go to the source. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis. I'm gonna go there too. Genesis 14.
Ella, could I trouble you for a little glass of water, please? Genesis chapter 14. The title of that chapter says, Abraham rescues Lot. In my little handwritten notes, I titled that one... I titled chapter...
Genesis chapter 14, the first world war. You can dive into Genesis 14 and discover that on your own. Thank you so much. So this guy, Abram, he has a nephew named Lot. And there are there are a tribe of raiders that come and kidnap Lot, and this whole region, this whole valley.
Everyone and all the possessions get carted off. Abram hears about it, and he goes, oh, that's where my nephew Lot is living. Well, I can't stand for that. And in verse 14, Abram rallies 318 trained men who had been born into his household, and I'm gonna keep... Well, I'll I'll just start reading in verse 14, or maybe if he wanted to read.
The bible wanted to read.
Maybe the bible app wanted to just jump in. That's funny. Verse 14. I know it says 17 up there, but it's okay. When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized 318 trained men who had been born into his household.
Then he pursued Kenil Amrara's army until he caught up with them at Dan. There, he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer's army fled, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram recovered all of the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with all of his possessions and all of the women and other captives. After Abram returned from his victory over that guy and all of his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley Of Shaveh.
That is the king's valley. Verse 18. Now there's... We see this interesting character in the Bible, Melchizedek, the king of Salem. In Hebrew, that means peace.
Jerusalem means the city of peace. And a priest of God most high brought Abram some bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing, and it's so cool that we have it recorded. Blessed be Abraham by God most high, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has defeated your enemies for you. Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth, there's that Hebrew word tithe, of all of the goods he had recovered.
So there's there's... In the Bible, there is... When studying the Bible, if you come across a word or a theme or perhaps a a a phrase, if you want to discover more about that, you can apply a principle of a bible study tool of first instance. So the bible study tool of first instance is we can see tithe in offerings and things like that, Leviticus and Exodus, other places throughout the bible. But if you're like, I wanna know more about this, the best thing to do is go back and look at when is the very first time that phrase or word or theme is used.
And this is... We're at the principle of first instance. This is the very first occurrence of a tithe. Now you may be thinking, well, what about Cain and Abel? That's different.
That is an offering, and we're gonna talk about that next week. This is the tithe. You may have thought those words were synonyms to each other. Tithes and offering. Tithes and offerings.
They go hand in hand, but they are different. They are not equal. They are not synonyms. This week, tithes. Next week, offering.
Okay? So the first instance of this word is used right here in verse 20. Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all of the goods that he had recovered. Okay. Throughout the Old Testament...
Wait. This is a good spot. Let me check-in with you. Thoughts? Questions?
Maybe an observation from the text that we just read? Sometimes I can like get carried away and keep talking. Chris. Thank you.
One small observation was the fact that Salem, king of Salem, name being Melchizedek. He's a king and yet Abram still gave a tenth of everything that he recovered from that victory, which I thought was significant being like, he doesn't need it. The king didn't need his his offering of that tenth.
Because he's a king. Kings don't Not need
from the peasants.
Right. Not from Abram, is a, like, essentially a a... What do you call those people that move with the seasons? Nomad. And did you tell me another word?
They're... They have a nomadic lifestyle following herds and flocks and seasons. Yes. Nomad. Great.
Yeah. Nomads don't have anything to offer a king. That's great. That's a great observation.
Well, one thing is just that I know Melchizedek is mentioned later in the New Testament as a type and shadow of Jesus. And so the first tithe goes to the first, like, or the type and shadow of Jesus.
That's a great that's a great connection. So following the principle of first mention as a bible study tool, the first place that tithing is mentioned, a person gives a tithe to a king, the king of Salem, Melchizedek, and we know from reading our bible that there is a hyperlink between Melchizedek that's in the New Testament that ties Melchizedek to Jesus. So the first person to receive a tithe is Jesus. With every head bowed and every eye closed, that is beautiful. So what does specifically...
What does Abram give to Melchizedek? A tenth of all the goods they recovered. So that predominantly had to do with livestock. There were there were objects and things and clothing and trunks and chests, know, whatever you can imagine. But it primarily had to do with livestock because that was a livelihood because of the nomadic herding agrarian lifestyle that they were living.
And so today, we don't give animals. I mean, guess you could, but we don't really have any place to keep them because of all of you that are in here. So we're gonna
Freezer's too
small. Freezer's too small. But listen, if you take the principle of tithing, which is established in the Old Testament, you've heard me talk about this many, many times, we have to take... This is part of the old covenant. You have to take it into the new covenant because we live under the new covenant.
You're not bringing animals. You're not sacrificing animals. You're not spilling the blood of an innocent ram or anything like that because we are under or a part of the new covenant. But here's what here's what I want... The the picture that I want you to get into your mind is when we take things that we see in the old covenant, we have to bring them into the new covenant, but with a filter.
And that filter is the cross of Jesus because Jesus established and confirmed a new covenant. Look what else is... Speaking of new covenant, look what else is in that little passage that we read. What does Melchizedek bring to Abram? Bread and wine.
Let's have communion together. Let's fellowship together. And Abraham's like, you can have a tenth of everything. Here you go. So the cross acts as a filter to filter out the the things that were established in the old covenant, and then we go into the new covenant.
And the cross does one of three things. It confirms the law in the old covenant. It modifies it. Or the third thing is it deletes it. Okay?
So let's take tithing. Tithing through, as we filter it through the cross of the new covenant, what happens to... Let's start simple. Animal sacrifice through the new covenant. What?
Deleted. Deleted. How about worship? We're commanded in the old covenant to worship. Put that through the cross.
Confirmed. Maybe modified a a little bit, but for the most part, confirmed. How about thou shalt not murder, old covenant? Filter that through the cross. Confirmed.
Modified.
Well, because then Jesus talks Yeah. About He talks about, like
You have heard it say... Okay. Okay. Well, bible point star. You're gonna have your turn up here in a moment.
Alright. So when it comes to when it comes to tithing, it is modified because we don't bring our animals. We don't live in an agrarian society any any longer, and we're not commanded to bring the best of our herds or flocks. So it gets modified. So, let's go into the New Testament and see a little bit better about what Jesus is talking about.
Two more verses and then we're going to land the plane. Luke chapter 14. Yes. We're on the fourteenth today. So in the Old Testament, the command was a tenth.
When you bring a tenth to the temple or to the Lord, the other... What's the math? 90. 90. Those glasses.
The other 90% is completely yours whatever you wanna do with it. It's all yours. Not one person living under the old covenant ever had one thought about considering the Lord with the other 90% of their entire personal economy. 10% to the Lord, the other 90% all mine. We can see that Jesus modifies the tithe in the New Testament with this verse right here.
Luke chapter 14 verse 33. You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. If you're gonna get your nose tickled, let the word of God do the nose tickling that may cause you to sneeze with uncomfortability. These are Jesus' words. Not mine.
Not the church's. These are Jesus' words. You cannot be my disciple. You cannot follow me with any kind of dedication. You can follow him casually.
You can follow him from a distance. You can think he has some nice ideas. You can think that he could have some solutions for maybe problems that you're facing in your life. You could think that like, oh, he has... He's a good moral example, but you cannot follow him with any amount of seriousness or endurance, that's what it means to be a disciple, without giving up everything you own.
That's a great question. Now let's... I I like to do this mental exercise. When it comes to, like, alright. I think I understand what Jesus is talking about.
I often like to take a verse or or or something that's challenging that he says. They're like, I mean, I know what he's talking about, but but but what does that leave us? And I like to put it in the context of, let's say, that you are meeting with a friend from work who knows nothing about God, and they came across this verse somehow, someway, and they're like, hey, can we meet at Pearl Street Bagel? I have a question for you. Okay.
Sure. Great. You sit down at Pearl Street Bagel, and you've got all that, like, delicious, like, honey walnut cream cheese on your salted bagel and a cold sport tea, and, the sun is out. Everything is perfect, right, in Jackson. And then they say, I read a verse from the bible, And I think Jesus is talking.
And he says, you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own. They ask you this question. Do you follow Jesus? And you say, yes, I follow Jesus. And they say, what does that verse mean?
What would you say? How do you answer that question? All the way in the corner, Renee. It's cooled off in here a little bit. Right?
Feels alright?
Yeah. I'll try to answer this question.
Mhmm.
Yeah. I feel like this is a mind shift so that you know in your heart that everything you own is the Lord's. It's from the Lord. It's his to use however he wants it. And he doesn't mean, you know, go live on the street.
He means if I call you to use your car to go give your friend a ride to the airport, give a ride to the airport.
There you go.
Your time, that's probably one of our most valuable things here in Jackson. It's the same thing. Like, go visit the person in the hospital or,
you know,
drop what you're doing, your main objective, and sacrifice it for him.
I like it. Who would wanna add additional contribution to that. With a quick stop at Joy.
Piggy piggybacking on Renee, the idea of like going and giving a friend a ride to the airport with it is...
And if you're not from Jackson, that is a huge sacrifice because...
Fuck. Yeah. It is.
Park traffic...
Fight your way through that traffic, unless you live like East End or North of town and be like, yeah, I'll give you a ride. From LA. Or you're from LA. You're like, this is nothing. For us locally, that's a huge sacrifice in the summer.
Alright. Continue.
I think it's I think it's that principle of holding things loosely like this is all yours and the the step before that is you've gotta continually listen. You've gotta have that relationship with God so that you recognize his voice when he's prompting you to help a friend with a ride or give a little... I think he's saying like the numbers as far as, like, the tithe part. The numbers are irrelevant in the sense of, are you constantly listening and obeying what I'm telling you to do regardless of how much it costs you, time, talent, or treasure. I think that's more of the heart posture that he's getting at, like Bernie was saying.
Yes. That's an important ingredient as a Christian, you have surrendered everything so that if he says, hey. I'd like you to, like like, give a great sacrifice and fight this traffic and give a ride to your friend to the airport. A key component of that is being able to hear the voice of the Lord that would prompt you to do it in the first place. Craig, Joy.
Corey. Joy. Corey.
So the problem with doing life with somebody so closely is that they can repeat regurgitate basically everything that you say. So time, talent, and treasure was a big point of of what I was gonna talk about. So, anyway, it just came back back up to me, and Joy got it too. So...
So so what what you're saying is included in what would be the old testament would be like livestock. We take through the New Testament like, well, I don't have livestock. Yes, but your time, your talent, and your treasure are all acceptable things that the Lord would receive as a tithe. Your time, your talent, and your treasure. Your treasure includes finances.
Yeah. Okay.
I had a thought along the lines of what Renee was sharing with... She was saying how hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit and his leadership involves giving up the amount of focus that you need to be able to follow him. Focus. Give up bandwidth in your life that you may feel with other things of this world or things that the Lord isn't calling you to, and then the obedience to follow in the same vein of if you live with an open hand with everything that that you know he's given you, you're much more willing to be obedient to use your life for his glory, not for your own selfish purposes.
I love it. Living life with an open hand. Oh, yeah. Lisa and then Jay, I'll... This is this is great.
Great contributions.
Just to go off of what Renee was saying with the mindset shift, just being honest, like, you know, finances, I think, for all of us can be, like, the most stressful area of most of our lives. Like, it's maybe even easier, at least for, you know, me, it used to be like, Lord, I'll go anywhere. I'll go to Mongolia. I'll go whatever. I'll go and do the things.
But if you ask me to, like, give all that I have, like, like, you... I think you find out real quickly where you're holding on to is if you were to think about God asking for that. Mhmm. And I remember Brian helped me make a mindset shift. We were living in Tulsa and times were rough and we hadn't sold our house here and we're paying rent there and the kids were little and Brian was in school full time and we're like, lord, I thought you called us here like, where is the provision?
Where is the provision? Like, we're turning diapers inside out and we have... And, you know, I went to reach to call my parents for help and the holy spirit was like,.
And
we took all of our checkbooks at the time you used checks, and we put them in a box and we took anything that represented our finances. We went out in the driveway with our kids. I'll never forget it. And we lifted it up and we said, Lord, our name is on these checks and our name is on these accounts, but these are yours. We give them to you.
They're yours. We are like the conduit that you're gonna pour resources in through. And I've... And so let us be good stewards now with the little that we think we have which we were abundantly rich even though times are tough and we just said, lord, because we would love to be trusted with your resources down the road. So we just gave it to him.
And I remember my mind shifting like, oh, it's his responsibility. I
just have
to be obedient. He'll bring in resources however he wants, and we just need to understand that it's not ours so that we can be trusted with it. So I remember that was just a huge shift for me. It may be our names on the check or on the account but it's all his and if we keep it thinking of it that way then I never start to cling onto it as if it's mine.
Mhmm.
To either give away or to, you know, be a a good steward or save, which are both from the Lord. It's all his. Lord, what do you wanna do with it?
And all the way back to Jay, in the bible, there's... The bible talks about seed, and he says some of the seed needs to go into the barn. Some of the seed needs
to go back into the field. K. Just... When I think about being a disciple, I think about, like, if if Jesus was like a celebrity artist in our day and he was like going on tour, right, there's a big difference between being like on his like tour, like with his team versus being like a Jesus fan. So, like, being a Jesus, like, let's say I'm a fan of Jesus.
I listen to his music, and, like, when he comes into town, I, like, wanna go to his concert. It's, like, convenient for me to, like, be there with him. And so when I think about being a disciple, you're not just being with him or listening to him when it's convenient or when you want to. You literally follow him everywhere he goes. You think about the disciples in the Old Testament.
When Jesus asked him to follow, he didn't tell him... Like, he just said, follow me. Like, you literally and physically gave up everything to follow him. And so when I translate that to today, what does it look like to physically follow and be a disciple of a messiah that may not currently be physical... Physically present with us, that's that's what I think about is how do
we
physically follow him and be his disciple with everything that we have.
I love it. Ella, right up here. So much great discussion.
Alright. One more thing. But I think especially in the Old Testament, like numbers are really important, and every number coordinates to like a Hebrew meaning. Mhmm. So I looked up 10 Mhmm.
Because it's a tenth. It could have been 20, it could have been 15, but they decided a tenth. Tenth. And 10 goes with the Hebrew letter Yud, which means complete wholeness and oneness with God. And so it's like that is a representation of everything that everyone is saying.
Like, you have to listen and obey. Jay, you have to follow with everything that you do. Like, you have to be in complete oneness with the Lord and give him all of that.
Alright. Alright. This is good. This is good.
Can I say one of those things? Sure. In saying all this, I'm saying it anyway whether he told me I could
or not. Clay's not here to nudge You can be Clay and nudge her.
You can nudge me if want. I I... Anyway, in saying all this, how we need to be in one with God, this morning as I was driving in, was like, Lord, let your spirit fill this room, but I want to know, you know, sometimes you feel things drop in your spirit and he's like, was that really god? And then Clay called me and said a friend had just shared with him. Cory Tenboom had said, make an appointment with god and keep that appointment and if we will do that and spend that quality time with him, we know if it's him.
We know what's real.
Yes.
So, make an appointment with him and keep it just like we do all the other appointments. Sure. You know, why is he not the most important?
That's great. So... Thank you. Listening to the Listening to the voice of the Lord of how to give your time, talent, talent, and treasure is important. When it comes...
I I wanna make this note. Do we need to pray about if we should commit robbery? Do we need to pray about... I really need to hear the voice of the Lord. No.
You don't need to pray about that. Do we need to pray about committing murder? Ugh. I mean, with their little barcodes and their windows and their... Okay.
No. No. No. Rental cars. You don't need to pray you don't need to pray about that.
Do we need to pray about should we give? No. Much There you go. That's a better, more intel... A more mature question.
You never need to pray, Lord, should I give a portion of my finances? Now in in in... I mean this sweetly and fatherly to you. In immaturity, you may pray that. And in God's graciousness, he will answer and talk to you about that.
But as you grow in maturity, you realize or you come to greater and greater and greater understanding of giving back to the Lord, specifically finances, is a part of following Jesus. One more verse. First Corinthians chapter six verse nineteen and twenty.
Not 14?
Not 14. Sorry. First Corinthians six nineteen through 20. Paul is speaking. He says, you don't belong to yourself.
Man, how many people would just absolutely choke on those words in our modern world and society. And what's the famous quote? I am master of my own fate, captain of my own destiny. But Paul speaks truth by saying, you do not belong to yourself. How many of you willed your own birth?
If you did, you might be able to to argue with this statement. Okay. Notetakers. You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. And what was that price, y'all?
The precious blood of Jesus, purchasing sinners from captivity, paying the ransom price to take them, to buy them from the marketplace of sin and slavery, to take them out of captivity and bondage. And then here's something incredible about Jesus. He said, you're free to go. He doesn't buy us and then say, I bought you. Now you're my property.
He buys us and then gives us this incredible gift of free will, giving us the choice whether to follow him or not. You have been bought with a high price. Therefore, or it only makes sense to honor God with your body. Your physical body, yes, of course. But like what Renee was saying, by being willing to surrender everything.
This is why I talk a lot about making Jesus the leader of your life or the boss of your life. I use those two phrases a lot, like at Easter and Christmas, whenever I'm talking about the gospel to lost folks. Because when you say, has Jesus become your personal Lord and Savior, Very poignant and theologically accurate and powerful. But that phraseology gets lost on a lot of people. But when you ask, is Jesus the boss of your life?
People can connect with that better. Is Jesus the leader of your whole life? Oh, that helps the rubber meet the road. And that's what Paul is talking about here. So honor God with your body.
And what he's saying with your body is your whole entire life. Tithing. Last thing. Where are you going?
I'm gonna grab this guitar.
Okay. Stay. Stay. If you leave, everyone else will. Dang it.
Well, you win. Okay. Gretchen, come help me. Show everybody your t shirt. Stand up.
Okay. Instagram got me. Jesus
would have wanted me to buy this shirt. Okay. Stand up. And sorry, my voice is... Ask me for some M and M's.
Can I have some M M's, please, sir?
Yes. Yes. Okay. Okay. Those are your M and M's.
Now this played out in various forms all throughout Selah and Kai's childhood at the movie theater. When our two kids were little, know, we'd go see Cars or Shrek or whatever. And they would always like stock up on all the snacks. Big thing of popcorn, M and M's, whatever. And then during the...
Some point during the movie, I would ask them, hey, can I have some of your m and m's? And what was... What would a typical child's reaction?
They're mine.
Who bought Segla and Kai those snacks? Who's one? I went to Segla Seeds. So we are not too unsimilar to a child with m and m's in the movie theater. The few m and m's that we have, what is our tendency?
Keep it We wanna keep it in sacred. The Lord asks, can I have some of your m and m's? And what is our typical first response? It's It's mine. I don't ever know.
Some people may even go so far as to think, but like, look at all of the M and M's that he has. Why does he want my M and M's? These are my M and M's. We somehow seem to forget how those M and M's got into our cup in the first place. That money in your bank account, it might have come by the calluses on your hands or your business savvy, but who gave you the ability to work with your hands?
Who gave you those brilliant ideas? Well, went to school and I... You just haven't traced it back far enough. And you are... If I can be honest, you're committing willful, intellectual ignorance.
The very best thing that you can do is acknowledge the source. Every single good thing that you have in your life comes from God, creator and father. And he loves to give abundantly more than we could ask for or dream of. But why, after having given out the m and m's, you can continue to enjoy if you'd like. He's been waiting.
Why is the last thing I'm gonna say? Why does God ask for some of our M and M's? Why he do that? To keep our mind right. There's there's one more slide.
Can you put that up here? The test of tithing proves the truth of trusting. How much do we trust him? So I have given my child some m and m's, and they're enjoying those m and m's. And then as the father, I invite my child to give back to me.
I don't demand. I don't... Certainly don't need them. But when I ask for m and m's, the first reaction is what reveals the child's heart. And I'll say this about my son, Kai.
He's like 20... Well, 20. He's 20 now. When he was a baby, anytime you would hand him a cookie, fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, the first thing he would do is break the cookie in half, find the bigger half, and hand it to his little sister... To his big sister, Selah.
And he would go, here, Lela. Lela. And he would just give. He's a very generous boy, he's a fine, generous young man who I love very much. But
your
first reaction when there's an invitation to tithe, to give, is not because he needs it. It's not because tribe needs your finances. You are not the source of tribe's finances. You're not the source. You are...
You are not the source of Lisa and I's paycheck. Tribe pays our paycheck, but you're not the source. God is our source. You're not giving to tribe for the sake of giving to tribe. You're not giving to tribe for, like like, for us.
You're you're invited to give to reveal the condition and posture of your heart. The test of tithing proves the truth of trusting. Can I have some m and m's? Thank you so much. So let's just invite the Holy Spirit to just whisper to our hearts for a moment about all that we've talked about.
I love how much conversation there's been today regarding this topic. Holy Spirit, just speak to us about what it means to follow, to make you the leader of our life. Holy Spirit, speak to us about how we use our time, talent, and treasure.
You just have to sing this one more time? Would you just I just need to space your mind when we just grip on to the things we think we can control or our eyes?
Would you just hold your
hands open beforehand? We want you to sing this. It just as a symbol, just that we give him everything when we sing this.
That last line of truth or of trusting God, of the tithing being about trusting God brought a hyperlink in my brain to Matthew six twenty four. Saying, no one can serve two masters. We will hate one and love the other. And it goes on to say, you cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. There is more reason to this than just God being like, I'm just doing it just to do it.
So many of the commands he gives us in the Bible, if we obey them, we receive blessing. And this goes deeper than just like, well, if you give him 10%, he's just gonna multiply it and you'll have a lot of money. Like, that's not always the case. Sometimes you're just gonna keep giving and giving and giving and he's gonna provide in other ways.
That's right.
And that season of, like, cutting it close paycheck to paycheck might last longer than just, like, the giving one time. But knowing that God knows our hearts and our patterns as human beings, and so he calls us to be able... Or to do these things to avoid being enslaved to this resource that we all need to operate so that we can operate in that freedom like Brian said. So join me in praying as we pray over the tithe and the offering. Father god, we give everything that we have to you because everything that we have is from you, god.
There's a a line from a song that says, sure, you made it with no handouts, but you actually didn't because it was God's hand. God God has handed us so much. Lord, you've handed us so much. We pray that you use the things that you've given us for your glory, God. We lay it at your feet for your purposes, or we've got a phone number that you can do for text to give.
It changed if you were on the old one. But this is a new one. It's super easy to just throw it in your phone as a contact and just have it be typing. And all you do is text the word give and any dollar amount. And if it's the first time, it'll have you do some setup.
But after that, it's just as easy as texting a friend. Few announcements. As Brian said, the connect parts, that were all around the room. Great. If you're new, so that we can have a record of your visit, get connected with you, especially if you wanna come on a regular basis, put you on a text blast that we can tell all the events to you and tell...
Sometimes our schedule changes, and so good to keep you in the loop. But on the backside of that too, there are spaces for prayer requests and our staff gets to pray over that every week and we love getting to join with you in prayer to love and support you guys. And so whether you're new or you've coming for a long time, throw some prayer requests on that... On the back of that. Throw it in the brown box in the back.
We would love to pray with you guys. We'll also have some prayer after service as well back in the... We call it the VIP section. So if you need some prayer, wander back there and we'll do some prayer. We're gonna be starting working with the Good Samaritan service here, and we will be helping serve meals and worship nights.
Just... It's been on our heart to be involved with serving in the community on a super regular basis. We've been really good with mission trips and serving Wind River pretty regularly, but we wanna be like face in the community, tangible boots on the ground here, super local. So if you're interested in that, we'll be talking more about that in the weeks to come. We've got sign ups for Sunday goodies time to bring that stuff.
And then Tuesday nights, we have a young adult service that meets here. There's a huge young adult population that needs Jesus out here, all the seasonal people. And so we've actually got a lot of those meal sign ups filled right now. Praise God. But if you're interested in serving the young adults that come with just cooking or picking up takeout, we would love that.
That is a huge, huge help and huge pull to get people here. Just saying that there's free food for a bunch of poor young adults. That's pretty great. I think that's all I got. If you wanna come up.
Thank you.
While Brian comes, can I just share one thing that I think is really cool and unique about Tribe is, you know, I think if you've been a part of a church for any length of time, there's like a thing where you look at people or the cross section of your church and you you kind of assume who are your like big givers kind of a thing, you know? It's like, you just know people at the stage of life they're at or whatever. I'm gonna get choked up just saying that. Our biggest givers, we don't run and I don't look at who gives and who gives what. That's our board does that but our biggest givers, we do know at Tribe are our young adults.
They're in the early 20s learning how to tithe to the lord and it's just ugh, you know, when we go to spend a dime, we think, man, that did not come easy like there's all this money sitting in a savings account. They collect their tips from the village and they put it all in there and it's just, it's so humbling and so awesome to see these young adults learning that at such a young age. So it's really a cool thing we have at Trev. Awesome.
One last thing just before you leave. We have been doing this heartbreakingly for almost two years now. But at the... On the first Sunday of every month, the Jewish community in this town gathers on the town square to once again call the world to remembrance of the almost 50 hostages still unaccounted for that are being held in Gaza. And our tribe family goes to support the Jews that are taking the stand on the town square.
And this is the first Sunday of July twenty twenty five, and so members of the community will be on the town square. And if they are there, I will be there, and I'd like to invite all of you to join with your support for them in what they are doing. And let me just say this, because I know that some of you are either hesitant or cautious or maybe even reluctant. You, of all people, are the most invited. Come.
Have a conversation with a Jew. Talk to him or her. Ask her questions. Get to know, like, ask her why why are you standing here? Not why are you standing here?
You know, it's all about inflection. Help me to understand why you're here. And then you can even ask them why should I be here? Listen to what they say. I promise you are being...
You are listening to some narrative. Why not listen to a narrative from a Jew? And I I I was... Had lunch this week with a a person... A young adult that was like, ugh.
I mean, I I feel a little bit conflicted. I know what the bible says. Those who bless Israel will be blessed. Those who curse Israel will be cursed and those who harm Israel harm the apple of my eye and Christians have not always done a great job of standing with Israel. Some would even think that Christians have replaced Israel.
That is a fallacy. But I understand your I understand your position in feeling reluctant to sympathize with Israel on account of the narrative that you've been fed and what you've seen from certain news sources. But when I was talking to this young man, we had a great conversation. These words came bubbling out of my mouth, and I was like, that's so good. I'm gonna write it down.
So I said this, and I'm a tell you, you can be pro Israel and grieve and even be outraged at the loss of civilian lives in Gaza. You can be pro Israel and grieve the loss of lives of civilians in Gaza. Gaza. Coming to join us on the town square is simply standing in solidarity with our Jewish community who are calling for the release and the return of their loved ones still held in captivity in Gaza. That's why I go.
And if you're if you're all in, great. Come again. So many of you. I see you month after month after month after month on the town square. If you've never been, come this week and check it out.
If you're, like, on the fence and I don't know how I feel, come and investigate. If you're literally on the fence, to me, that would make the most sense for you to come. And you can ask those two questions. Ask why are you here? Ask a Jew, why should I be here?
Hear what they have to say. So it's at 5PM on the town square. It's about the only thing that will get me to the town square in the summer. I come once a month. So on the town square, 5PM, please, all of y'all, come and Lord Jesus, you have given us so many m and m's.
Thank you for all of the incredible M and M's in our life. Help us to live with an attitude of trusting you that our give... The giving of our time, talent, and treasure just exercises our trust muscle in you. We tell you that we love you. Father, I command a blessing over each and every person in our tribe family here today.
Give us a great week. We tell you that we love you. We pray these things in Jesus name, the strong son of God. And everybody said, amen. I love you guys so much.
Have a great week. And remember, you got this.
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