July Monthly Giving Update
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:48
This summer I have been studying the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first time I have studied it as a whole unit. Typically when I have heard it preached, the preacher is pulling quotes or using sections from the Sermon on the Mount to prove a point.
In Matthew 5, Jesus calls his followers to be the light of the world and calls us to a high ethical standard. This standard is so high that in Matthew 5:48 he says “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 6 then calls us to pray and give to the needy in secret. Jesus is clear that we are not to try to please others with our pious acts. Woven throughout Matthew 5 & 6 we see that Jesus is concerned with our heart rather than the conformity of the rules. Only through a pure motivation to glorify God, can our good works be counted as righteousness.
I am overwhelmed by this calling. My sinful heart could never attain this standard. But Jesus does not leave me there, wandering in my incompetence. He then teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-15. Through our humble prayers, the Holy Spirit can complete the work in our hearts so that we can be a righteous people set apart for his good works.
Melissa Kruger summarizes this well, “God wants more than our outward conformity to the laws – he wants our hearts. So he invites us to pray.”
Please join me in prayer for our church. That God would make us righteous and the light of the world.
-Karissa
| July giving: | $65,585.24 |
| July budget need: | $65,384.67 |
| July giving balance: | $200.57 |
| Yearly giving through July 31: | $476,904.60 |
| Budget need through July 31: | $457,692.69 |
| Year to July 31 giving balance: | $22,211.91 |