UPDATE 03 - Exciting News!
by Stephen Wood
GOD HAS BROUGHT US TO $1.1MILLION FOR PROJECT SANCTUARY
Hey everyone! I gave this announcement at our worship service at Liberti this morning. Read on!
A few weeks ago, I preached on Exodus 35, when the people give freewill offerings to build the Tabernacle. A similar passage can be found in 1 Chronicles 29, when King David leads the people of Israel to contribute for building the temple. After giving a contribution himself, David calls the people to make a freewill offering. The ones who respond first are the leaders of the people. Their generosity far surpasses David's. The whole people see the leaders giving, and rejoice.
Following the contours of this passage, I have a big update for you all today about Project Sanctuary. Over the past couple of months, Larry Walker and I have been having meetings with a small number of families and leaders in our church about them making three-year pledges in advance for Project Sanctuary. Over the past week, these leaders have been getting back to us with their pledges.
As of today, between gifts and pledges, we have received just over $1.1 million for Project Sanctuary.
I am stunned by this number. David's response to the leaders' generosity seems fitting: he blesses God. "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Who else could have gotten this number into the millions besides God?
I suspect that, for many of these families, this pledge is the biggest gift they have ever given in their lives. Their faith inspires me. As we look towards Pledge Sunday next week, and as I look at the faith of these leaders, I am bold to ask you: would you consider pledging like they have? God has unbelievably crossed us over the halfway point, but we still have a way to go. I invite you to bring the question of making a pledge before the Lord this week.
As we have announced, next Sunday (March 17) will be pledge Sunday. We are going to follow the models of Exodus 35 and 1 Chronicles 29. Instead of passing around a plate, the offering time will include a time for all whom God has led to come forward and place their pledge in a bin at the front of the room. Your pledge can be kept in a privacy envelope, and only one or two elders will see it; on the card, there is even an option only to pray if God is not leading you to pledge financially. There will be extra pledge cards, envelopes, and pens around, so don't feel like you will miss out if you have misplaced yours.
We also hope to involve our kids in the Sunday: we are going to have them with us for the full service. During the offering time, they will be invited to bring forward their contributions too. Since the theme is Sanctuary, we thought we would ask them to bring items from their homes (their sanctuaries) that are precious to them-- toys, books, puzzles, and the like-- and offer them to God. Then, when we are in our new sanctuary, we will bring out their gifts to furnish the kids' spaces in the new sanctuary. Pray and talk with your kids about that this week!
Thanks everyone. I'll end by repeating David's blessing: praise the LORD. This Sanctuary belongs to him.
- Stephen Wood
