Greg Pittman

Occasionally I get asked to write a lesson to be included in the weekly periodical, Christian Standard. If you’re not a regular reader, our church makes them available next to the welcome center. My latest lesson appears in this weeks edition and is from Matthew 15:21-31. Here is the link to Christian Standard if you’re interested.

February 2, 2010

Sunday I talked about five “windows” that tithing opens for us.

1. The window of mutual commitment. Tithing says, “I’m loyal to God and he’s loyal to me. I can trust him to take care of me.”
2. The window of personal provision. Tithing puts us into a position to be blessed by God.
3. The window of financial order. Tithing puts discipline into your spending, protecting you from greed and materialism.
4. The window of spiritual identity. Tithing identifies us as “people of God.”
5. The window of ministry impact. Tithing releases resources to support ministry and ministry activities.

If you’re new to this, tithing refers to the practice of giving at least 10 percent of one’s income back to God to be used in ministry. The Israelites were to give 10 percent of their income or crops making it possible for the priests to feed the poor and receive support for their living expenses. Their gifts were used to support ministry. Malachi 3:10 instructed them to, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…” The storehouse in the Old Testament was the temple. The storehouse in the New Testament is the church. When we tithe into the storehouse of the church, we are releasing funds into the care of church leaders to use those resources to support ministry and ministry activities. For that reason, I believe your tithe should go to the church you attend. Now there may be causes and projects that you are passionate about and want to help fund. The Bible differentiates that as an offering, and it should be given over and beyond our regular tithe.

When it comes to where we give our tithe, Pastor Barry Cameron says, “Remember, we’re to bring the tithe into the storehouse where we are cared for and led. You don’t eat at Burger King and say, ‘I appreciate the food, but I’m going to go down to Taco Bell and give them my money.’ It doesn’t work that way. We’re to bring the tithe, God’s tithe to the storehouse where we’re cared for and led.”

Another conviction I have is that the tithe belongs to God. We are not free to designate it, divide it, or direct it wherever we want. Unfortunately, some people want to say to the church, “Take my tithe and use it for this or apply it to that.” We can’t do that. That’s God’s tithe. In the Old Testament, priests administered the tithes and offerings. Today, Church Elders are charged with that responsibility. They are to take the tithes we bring and prayerfully and carefully direct their use. It’s important for church members to trust their decisions and not try to direct their tithes to their favorite ministries. Not only is that questionable legally, it creates problems for those who track our finances. Now occasionally, there are missions that we support or projects we tackle in which we ask members to consider giving a designated gift, over and above their tithe (like we’re doing now with the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission). But the norm should be to give our tithe to God and trust him for the distribution.

Ultimately, the question of tithing comes down to this, “What do you fear most? Not having enough or not having the involvement of your heavenly father in the realm of your finances.” I hope you’ll take the challenge to start tithing or to grow in your tithing.

Sunday, I also updated you on our current financial situation at Cedar Ridge. For 2009, our giving was about 15 percent down from the previous year. That is a trend many churches are experiencing now. We have certainly been affected by the economy; some members are unemployed or have taken a lesser-paying position. Because of that, we have adjusted expenses accordingly. In crafting our 2010 budget, a 15 percent cut was reflected. Unfortunately since some expenses, like utility costs and mission support, aren’t optional; it means that many of our key ministries took a 40 percent cut in funding. In addition to that, we have cut back our building payments to the minimum amount of principal and interest required by the bank, instead of paying extra on the principal to accelerate our debt reduction.

The good news is that we have not had to lay off staff or cut salaries as many churches have been forced to do. We have not had to cut our mission support. We’re still giving 13 cents of every dollar that’s given, to mission efforts around the world. And God still owns it all. May we be faithful stewards.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com. Don’t forget to read Chapter Three of the book, Rich Toward God, this week.

My son, Kyler and I rode with six other guys from the church this past weekend. We had a great time. Rode up to Talimena Drive where there was heavy fog. Rode Saturday afternoon in the rain.

Sunday, I kicked-off a new series called Rich toward God. I asked you to consider four decisions to help you increase your trust in God when it comes to your finances.

1. Put your greed on notice.
Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Decide that you will keep your greed in check.

2. Recognize your true source.
It wasn’t the rich man and his hard work that produced a good crop. It was the laws of nature that God put into place. 1 Chronicles 29:12 says, “Both riches and honor come from You…” Everything belongs to God. We are just temporary stewards.

3. Do your giving while you’re living.
Don’t do what the rich fool did. He died and his stuff passed on to someone else, without his approval or blessing. He refused to be generous in life, but he had no choice in death. One day, every single one of us will give away everything we have. Are you getting ready…while you have the choice?

4. Make God and His kingdom your top priority.
The problem with the rich man was that he left out God. He was rich toward himself but he wasn’t rich toward God. Jesus said in Luke 12:31, “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com. Don’t forget to read chapter two of the book, Rich toward God, this week.

It’s not too late to sign up for the estate planning seminar, Sunday night at 6:00 pm at our Broken Arrow campus. Over a hundred people already have. There is no cost for the seminar, but you do need a reservation.  Reserve your spot by emailing Janice Wilmoth at jwilmoth@cedarridgecc.com or calling the church office, 254-0621 and register with the receptionist.

Looking forward to celebrating with you this Sunday!

By now you’ve seen and read of the devastation caused by Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. Like most catastrophes, the reports go from bad to worse. Often times we’re left wondering how we can possibly help. Andrea and I just made a contribution through an organization called I.D.E.S. (International Disaster Emergency Services). I.D.E.S. is an organization that works among Independent Christian Churches to help in disaster relief. They partner with existing organizations in an affected area to offer immediate aid to the hurting. The great thing is that gifts designated “Haiti” will be used 100 percent to bring relief, without the overhead costs of so many other organizations. If you’re interested in helping that way, you can give online at www.ides.org.

Church is a verb and this week’s action word is connecting. John Ortberg in his book, “Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them,” references a study done by Harvard social scientists who tracked the lives of 7,000 people over nine years.

Researchers found that the most isolated people were three times more likely to die than people with strong relational connections. People who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use) but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated. In other words, it is better to eat Twinkies with good friends than to eat broccoli alone. Harvard Researcher Robert Putnam notes that if you belong to no groups but decide to join one, “you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half.”

That’s no surprise to God. Romans 12:5 reminds us, “…we belong to each other and each of us needs all the others” (NLT). You need some like-minded, loving, encouraging people in your life who are committed to you. Why not join a Journey Group? It seems Harvard Researchers would agree – join a Journey Group and you’ll live longer. If you missed my sermon on this Sunday, you can always go back and listen anytime at http://cedarridgecc.com/podcasts/.

Thank you for praying for our leadership this past weekend. We had a great series of meetings with a church consultant to help our Staff and Elders lead Cedar Ridge more effectively in the future. Our leaders are on “information overload” right, but I’m sure after some processing we’ll be sharing some of the things learned.

What do you think about the following statement? The church isn’t called to simply be a gathering place, but to be an action-oriented group of believers who recognize their role in God’s redemptive plan of this world and willingly participate in it. I love the idea of associating church with movement. After all, that’s real Christianity. It’s not so much a religion as it is a movement. It is action-oriented. James 2:17, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

That’s exactly what I’m talking about in our current series, Church is a Verb. There are actions we must be about as the Body of Christ; to celebrate…to connect…to contribute. Sunday I talked about the idea of celebrating in worship using King David as our model who said unashamedly, “I will celebrate before the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:21 NIV). In his celebration, David was recognizing God’s activity, he was respecting God’s holiness and he was appreciating God’s presence. He worshiped God passionately. He worshiped God physically. He worshiped God humbly. May we do the same each Sunday morning as we come together to celebrate. If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can always go back and listen anytime at http://cedarridgecc.com/podcasts/.

Would you pray for our Staff and Elders this weekend? We have invited a church consultant to come in and help us think ahead and plan for the future of Cedar Ridge. That is not something our leadership takes lightly and we covet your prayers.

Look forward to seeing you Sunday.

You may not think of New Years as having a lot of spiritual significance, but of all holidays it may most connect with the Christian. The Bible tells us, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)! If you’re glad that this past year (and its hurts and painful memories) is over and are looking forward to the new year (with all its hope and potential), it’s really just a celebration of something bigger going on within us; the truth that we have been “crucified with Christ and no longer live” (Galatians 2:20) so that in Christ we “may live a new life” (Romans 6:4).

I hope you have a Blessed and Happy New Year celebrating the new life you enjoy in Christ Jesus!

December 22, 2009

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas remembering God’s ultimate mission into our world, “to reconcile to himself all things…” (Colossians 1:20). And I can think of no better way to celebrate Christmas than to take on “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18) and bring people together. Look for opportunities where you can be one of “those who work for peace” (Matthew 5:9 NLT) and instead of just “having” Christmas this year, be one who “practices” Christmas.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon from The Born Series, where I can into further detail on this, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com/.

It’s not too late to invite someone to our Christmas Eve Services on Thursday, December 24th, 5:00 and 6:30 pm at our Broken Arrow campus.

Have a Merry Christmas!

We covered The Born Supremacy on Sunday from Colossians 1:15-18. It reminds us that the baby we celebrate at Christmas was destined to wear a crown and be King over all. He rules over all creation. He rules over his new creation, the Church. The question is, “has he been given the kingdom of your life?” Is he your King?

If you’re not sure, let me suggest two test questions…
Test question number one – Is he getting my obedience? Do you regularly do what he says? Are you becoming more loving? Are you regularly expressing forgiveness? Are you giving more generously? Are you truthfully, without excuse, obeying the words of Christ? The honest truth is, if you say, “Jesus is my king,” but don’t do what he tells you to do, than he’s really not your king (1 John 2:3-4).

Test question number two – Is he getting my best? God criticized the priests of Malachi’s day for sacrificing left-overs to him. Instead of presenting God with the choice animals, they were kept for themselves and gave God what was left. And though we might want to blame our lack of generosity to God on “lots of bills”; and our inconsistent worship on a “hectic schedule”; and our lack of prayer on a “preoccupied mind”; the truth is we’re not offering God our best, but left-overs. The Bible, in Malachi 1:8, calls this practice “evil.” If you say, “Jesus is my King,” but don’t give him your best, than he’s really not your king.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon from The Born Series, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com/podcasts.

Don’t forget, I told radio listeners that our church was praying for them to have a Christmas in which they would experience the true miracle of Christmas – God with us. I need you to join me in praying for our community to experience that this season?

You might also want to invite someone to one of our three Candlelight-Communion Services next week: Sunday, December 20th, 6:00 pm at our Sapulpa campus or Thursday, December 24th, 5:00 and 6:30 pm at our Broken Arrow campus.