Live by faith in the God you cannot see, instead of by fear because of the weakness of the gods you do see. You see the failure of money, and it makes you anxious. Don’t waste your time pursuing those things. Pursue something better, something greater, seek God’s kingdom first.

The Lord has a funny way of encouraging people to live by faith – he says jump and I will catch you. You know I’m strong enough, you know I care enough, so jump and I will catch you.

We have distributed pledge cards to the congregation, and we will email them out again if you did not get one. Before you write your number on the card, ask yourself, does it require faith? Am I trusting God to catch me?

Jesus says seek his kingdom first. Why first? Because you will never get around to what is second.

A lot of you believe that if you made just a little more money, then you would have enough to give to the Lord. You believed that back when you made 20% less than you make today, and you still believe it now. When will you realize that if you do not seek God’s kingdom first, you will never seek it at all?

A farmer had a cow who produced twins. He decided he would keep the proceeds from one calf for himself and give one to the church. One day he walked in with a sad look on his face, the Lord’s calf had died.

It is always the Lord’s calf that dies.

Redeemer in NYC has had two seasons of great giving. First during the aftermath of 9/11 and the other after the 2008 financial crisis. People were losing 30 – 40 % of their income and realizing they actually still had the extra money to give to those in need. The deacons could not find enough needy people to give it all away.

Is there anyway that someone could look at your giving and say you are seeking God’s kingdom first?

You are worried, anxious, cynical and bitter because you are investing your life in a kingdom that is eroding and dying. Invest in something guaranteed to last forever.