Our tradition of taking up an offering comes from an early Christian practice of churches sending money back help the poor saints in Jerusalem. In this message, Bob says that the early Christians developed a discipline of giving that informs how we can be disciplined about other practices. None of these is more pressing in 2022 than the need to give our time.
The Lord is good and His mercies are NEW every morning. But what about the afternoon slump? The middle of things seems to be the hardest. This new year, let's welcome and be a part of the newness God is bringing and get ready to see that what God brings in January does not wear off in June.
Churches often refer to people within it as members. But sometimes church membership is not entirely different than having a health club membership, where people come, pay, and receive certain benefits and privileges. But this is not what God imagines for the church. Instead, the Bible envisions partners in a global mission. In this message, Bob makes the suggestion that we should refer to one another as partners in the Gospel rather than just members of the church.
Steve Cloer, a new professor at HST, shares his testimony of why he and his family moved to Memphis. The testimony revolves a theological vision of the church as God’s primary instrument to bring healing and redemption to a broken world and a hope that through HST, 500 churches over the next ten years could be strengthened to be churches on mission with God.