Giving God The First Day Of The Week

Giving God the 1st day of the week

Hebrews 10:23-25

A Preacher told this story:

• Of something that happened during his week

• He had the undivided attention of his congregation when

• he related the following incident:

He said “I stopped:

? in a coffee shop the other day and

? sat at the counter next

? to a man reading the newspaper.

He glanced at my apparel:

? and then wanted to know

? where my church was.

When I pointed:

? in the direction of the

? Methodist church on the corner...

He said:

“Why that’s the church I go to myself.”

“Isn’t that strange?” I replied:

? “I’ve been preaching there for five years and

? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you.”

“Come on now, preacher,” he shot back. “I didn’t say I was a fanatic.”

-------------------------

Another minister stood:

- at the church door one Easter Sunday morning,

? speaking to the people as they left the service.

? A man came by who hadn’t been to church in a long time.

“Good morning, Brother Zeek,”:

? the minister said,

? “I do wish we could see you more regularly.”

“What do you mean regularly” said the man angrily, “I come EVERY Easter!”

How we spend our time:

- reflects what is important to us

- after all time is what makes up our life

What does your calendar say about you?

- you are a hard worker? Great

- you love your family? Terrific

- You have a clean house - wonderful

- you like sports? Good

As you may know already:

? This year ACC’s theme is “I surrender all”.

? To surrender to God means

? We give up our rights and accept God’s commands.

Surrendering ALL to God:

- means putting Him first in everything everyday

- means God gets His way every time

We have already committed that:

“Jesus is Lord of my life….and I surrender ALL to Him”

Surrender to God also means:

- God gets priority in my weekly calendar

- God is not an after thought

- we don’t “have to worship God” we “Want to”

We are on week two of the sermon series called…

“God first”

Last 1. Give God the first part of every day.

2. Give God the first day of every week.

3. Give God the first word in every decision.

4. Give God the first portion of your income.

5. Give God the first place in your heart.

6. Give God’s Church the priority in your schedule.

7. Give God’s Son your first love.

Today we are talking about “Giving God the 1st day of the week.”

- starting the week off in the right direction

- following the pattern of the Bible

- striving to please God in all we do

A Pharisee asked Jesus:

- what is the greatest commandment of God?

- What does God want most from people?

Here is Jesus’ answer…

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.”

Matthew 22:37 (ESV)

Start the week with God and His Church

1. The Priority of our life…

“Don’t let the urgent take the place of the important in your life.”

Charles E. Hummel, Tyranny of the Urgent

Every minute of every day:

- presents us with a nearly unlimited

- array of options of how to spend our life

We choose what:

- what we really want to do,

- what other people expect from me,

- what is required, and what is optional

Deciding what is MOST IMPORTANT NOW can be a grueling decision.

But the reality is that we made that decision when we became a Christian

Ryan Blair said:

“If it's important you'll find a way. If it's not, you'll find an excuse.”

Is putting God first important to you?

- then move everything else to a lower position

- God gets first pick in our lives

- He gets the first word, the position of highest priority

“In everything you do, put God first, and

he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”

Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)

C.S. Lewis wrote:

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Start the week with God and His Church

2. The Pattern of the Bible:

“DEAR GOD - IT’S JIM” Poem

For years each day Jim:

o would rise and pray And

o each week in church,

o he’d bow his knee

And meekly say, “Dear God, it’s Jim.”

? And when he’d leave,

? we all could see

? God’s holy presence walked with him.

Someone asked Ol’ Jim one day: