{"id":13088,"date":"2025-02-28T09:37:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T14:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?p=13088"},"modified":"2025-02-28T09:37:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T14:37:54","slug":"its-time-to-celebrate-and-bring-our-first-gifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/2025\/02\/its-time-to-celebrate-and-bring-our-first-gifts.html","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Time to Celebrate and Bring Our First Gifts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This Sunday is a special day in the life of our church\u2014a day to celebrate and bring our first gifts toward our It\u2019s Time<\/em> faith commitments! Over the past several weeks, we\u2019ve journeyed through the book of Haggai, hearing God\u2019s call to His people: It\u2019s time to be strong, do the work, and be fearless.<\/em> Now, we have the opportunity to step forward in faith and put those words into action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Moment to Celebrate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Haggai\u2019s time, God\u2019s people had returned from exile, but they had neglected the rebuilding of the Lord\u2019s house. Instead, they focused on their own homes and comforts while God\u2019s temple remained in ruins. Through the prophet, God reminded them of their priorities and called them back to His purpose. The result? A renewed passion for God\u2019s work, a spirit of obedience, and a fresh outpouring of God\u2019s blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like them, we have heard the Lord\u2019s call, and now it\u2019s time to respond with joy! This Sunday is not just about bringing an offering\u2014it\u2019s about celebrating God\u2019s faithfulness, aligning our hearts with His, and taking a tangible step of faith toward the vision He has placed before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Time to Bring Our First Gifts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Haggai 1:8, God gives a clear command: “Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.”<\/em> The people responded by taking action. They didn\u2019t just agree with the message\u2014they acted on it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we bring our first gifts toward our It\u2019s Time<\/em> commitments, we are following in their footsteps. Our giving is an act of worship, obedience, and faith. It\u2019s a way of declaring that we trust God to provide, that we believe in the mission He has given us, and that we are willing to put Him first in every area of our lives\u2014including our finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What This Means for Us<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Be Strong<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Stepping out in faith requires courage. Trust that God will honor your commitment as you take this step.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Do the Work<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Faith is not passive; it moves us to action. Your giving is part of the greater work God is doing in and through our church.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Be Fearless<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 God\u2019s promise in Haggai 2:4-6 is as true today as it was then:\u00a0\u201cBe strong\u2026 work… For I am with you, declares the Lord Almighty. Fear not.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0He is with us in this journey!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This Sunday, come ready to celebrate. Come with expectant hearts. And most of all, come ready to bring your first gifts with joy, knowing that God will use them for His glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s time. Let\u2019s take this step together!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This Sunday is a special day in the life of our church\u2014a day to celebrate and bring our first gifts toward our It\u2019s Time faith commitments! Over the past several weeks, we\u2019ve journeyed through the book of Haggai, hearing God\u2019s call to His people: It\u2019s time to be strong, do the work, and be fearless. Now, we have the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2061,2813],"tags":[2309,2035,2182,2514,2050],"location":[],"class_list":["post-13088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion","category-worship","tag-celebrate","tag-generosity","tag-giving","tag-offering","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/garycombsorg.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Celebrate.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13088"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13093,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13088\/revisions\/13093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13088"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=13088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}