Category Archives: Worship

A Heart To Give

17 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by in Challenge, Christian Habits, Church Planting, Decisions For Christ, mission, purpose driven, seven church, Worship

≈ Leave a comment

Oftentimes, pastors are reluctant to talk about giving because of the way culture has taught us to think about money. Culture talks about giving in manipulative, coercive, and guilt-laying ways. But as many of you know, at Skyline we don’t shy away from hard topics. We’re dedicated to teaching the relevance of Scripture in truth and love.

What does the Bible have to say about giving?

So then, what does the Bible have to say about giving? Let’s throw out the sales pitches and talk simply about what the Bible says about giving and how we view your gifts at Skyline Church. 

Perhaps one of the most popular verses known in the Christian faith is John 3:16. “God so love the world that He gave…” God GAVE His one and only Son for YOU and for me. There has been no greater act of giving than when Jesus went to the cross for all of mankind. And did you know the words “give, gave, and giving” are used over 1,500 times in the Bible? Giving is mentioned more than faith! If we leave out talking about giving we have left out a HUGE portion of the Bible.

Do you know why it is mentioned so often in the Bible? Because you can say you have faith all you want, but if you don’t give, you’re not growing in faith. It’s that simple. Skyline wants to produce followers of Christ that are growing in faith seven days a week. Growing people change. That includes how you view your finances. 2 Corinthians 8:7 is just one verse that teaches us that eventually our faith will be stretched in the area of giving, “But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

A Heart To Give

Giving is always an opportunity. God wants us to grow in giving because that means we’re growing in faith. I remember meeting a visitor at Seven Church (now Skyline Lakeside) years ago that approached me after one of our services. He shared how he went to church three times throughout the year at three different churches, and every time the church was talking about giving. He was fuming and he accused churches of always talking about money. And now he was at our church and guess what we were talking about? Giving. I looked him right in the eye and said, “I think God is trying to tell you something.”

If you get frustrated when a church talks about giving, that’s a tell-tale sign that God is trying to work on that area of your life. And I’ll tell you the same thing I told that man … don’t give. Maybe that’s the first time you heard a pastor tell you not to give but I mean it. God is more interested in your heart than your money. Giving with a reluctant or resentful heart is someone who is giving in vain (2 Corinthians 9:7). God doesn’t want your money if He doesn’t have your life. 
Maybe you’ve been excelling in the knowledge of Scripture, serving, and doing all the “Christian things” you think you ought to like 2 Corinthians 8:7 talks about. But there’s going to come a time where God is going to stretch you in the grace of giving because giving reveals where your heart is. Giving allows us to express appreciation for what He has done in the past. It also allows us to check our heart and our priorities in the present, but most of all, giving allows us to grow in faith in the future. 

Why I Give

Giving allows me to evaluate my priorities and motivations. By nature, we have a tendency to make things all about ourselves. Think of the self-centered man in Luke 12. The wealthy man wondered what he should do with all his excess wealth. He decided that he should figure out how to hold on to more of it. So, he tore down his barns to build bigger ones. He kept all his wealth to himself, only to pass away and never spend the earnings he stored up on Earth. 
I remember the first time this idea of “giving” hit me. I heard a message from David Jeremiah at Shadow Mountain Community Church, and he challenged me. He said if you want to know where your heart is look at your checkbook. Sure enough, he was right. God owns everything. We’re called to be good stewards of all that He has put in our lives… And my spending was all about my interests, not God, not the church, not any kind of generosity. I had to decide if I was willing to live with a heart that only thought of myself.

My wife and I are giving to the 101010 Campaign and making a commitment like we’ve never done before because we want to grow in our faith!  And I know, he who gives little, gets little (2 Corinthians 9:6). This is no small aspiration for us as a church and it requires no small act of giving on our part. But we WANT to GROW in faith as a church!

10/10/10 Campaign

Skyline’s goal of the 101010 Campaign is to see more and more people give their lives to Christ. Truly, we want to light up the scoreboard in Heaven. We want more and more souls to one day call Heaven home. We have an incredible opportunity in front of us.

My goal is to influence as many people as I can to experience Jesus. You have 8-15 people in your Oikos (relational network) right now who don’t know Christ, but they will within the next 10 years! That’s what it’s all about. A church of our size is committed to being a model church in our community. That means stewarding your giving well, devoting ourselves to growth, and teaching the relevance of Scripture. I have no business telling you how much you should give, but I do believe in teaching you about sacrificial giving. Whether you give $5, $500, or 5 Million,  I want to encourage you to ask God what you should do. If you’re wrestling through how to steward your finances, I want to invite you to watch your 10/10/10 series on the idea of giving on the Skyline YouTube page. 

With all of us ALL IN, we will absolutely be able to light up the scoreboard in Heaven!!

The Power of an Hour

06 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by in Church, emergency room, leadership, Politics, Worship

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

According to Christianity Today, 85% of churches are dying. That statistic was given before COVID. Imagine after COVID! We won’t know the full impact of this season for some time but we can see it unfolding before our eyes.

I’ve said it before, “I LOVE THE LOCAL CHURCH.” Yes, all of them (that preach the Word of God). It takes many kinds of churches to reach many kinds of people!

Unfortunately, many churches continue to remain closed or hold services outside or not at all. And frankly, according to national surveys many churches will simply not reopen whenever they may be “allowed” to.

I was talking to a pastor friend of mine (whom I had encouraged to open when we did in June) who, 14 years ago, started his church. He shut down his church as Covid hit and has not reopened. During these past 9 months of closure, he’d been calling some members to see how they were doing and found out most of them have been going to churches that are OPEN! He has just made the difficult decision to close down his church permanently. This is a very common story across the spectrum of churches in the United States.

One thing we know God hasn’t said is, “Church, sit back, relax, wait for this Covid thing to pass, don’t worry about my mandate to meet together, (Hebrews 10:25) just wait until your Governor says it’s OK to meet again. People can go to Hell while you wait for permission to obey my instructions.”  So how can the church actually grow during this season? We have to remember the power of an hour together on Sunday! 

During these unprecedented times, we need to be MORE loving! We need to be MORE courageous as Churches. Learning to love and accept people where they are is how we will grow Christ’s church. People need hope. And, let me tell you, people are looking for churches who will follow God over Government. We cannot forget the power of an hour together on Sunday!

During this Covid season, 199 people have taken the step of outward obedience to Christ and have been baptized at Skyline Church. 

While I continue to receive hate mail, phone calls, and text messages from pastors and their staff whose churches are closed or meeting minimally, I can tell you, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s sad, but when lives are being changed during a season like this, keep the hate mail and calls and texts coming. It’s only affirmation that they may be feeling a sense of conviction from the Lord and perhaps they’ve forgotten the power of an hour together on Sunday.

They’re not going to get me to do what they’re doing, which is, in my opinion essentially hiding. I want them to open fully and do what we’re doing because, as I’ve said before , we all benefit when all churches are open. The kingdom grows when we’re all in it together. 

One pastor told me, “We’re watching you guys, letting you take the hits from the county, you’re the tip of the spear we want to see what happens to you.” Well, bro, we’ve been fully open for six months and I can tell you that what is happening is lives are being changed. 

People need their church to be fully open! Suicides and mental health issues continue to rise. We need to help people. An open church helps people. An online or even outdoor service has minimal to NO effect. I’m not saying if you’re having outdoor services that it’s useless, it’s just not helping as much as some churches may think. It’s a constant reminder to people that things are crazy. People need a sense of calm and even an hour to escape. When they sit outdoors week after week, it’s a reminder of how depressing things are. And this weekend there’s a 90% chance of rain in San Diego. What are you going to do, shut down the church because of rain?  Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday. Go ALL IN.

People need some sense of normalcy even if it’s just an hour on Sunday INSIDE their church building.  The church should be leading, especially in these moments. 

While some churches sit back and wait for their marching orders from “NebuchaNewsome,” we will continue to storm the gates of Hell! THAT gets me fired up! Think about it. Every single one of those 199 people who were baptized experienced Jesus and made a decision not only follow Him, but to announce it when they weren’t supposed to according to the Governor!

Along with that, we’ve had 1,337 decisions for Christ and Commitments to join the church! All during a time when we should be shut down due to a supposed virus that has a survival rate of 99.998%! Are you picking up what I’m putting down? The flu kills more people year in and year out. You’re more likely to die from a lightening strike than Covid. I could go on and on.

Every one of those people who made a decision for Christ has a story that matters to God. We say it all the time, “Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.”

We want them to know that their story matters to us too. And as a church we want to love people BEFORE they make a decision for Christ. Just like you and I, newcomers are NOT perfect. They have fears and concerns and hang ups and habits and need the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When churches are open, they are more likely to receive this love and power. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday!

I can’t imagine missing out on these life-change stories had we listened to the Governmental mandates to not hold services. If you’re a church leader who happens to be reading this, don’t you see how this is the devil’s perfect plan? To have you not hold services, not impact people, not have salvations and baptisms, not give the Word of God in the House of God? 

Remember, Scripture tells us that we are not unaware of the devil’s schemes. He’s always operated with the same game plan. Page one of his playbook has always been to divide and conquer, isolate people, give them a sense of hopelessness, make them feel lonely and depressed, then he can really go to work.  Think about it, if he can get the church to stay closed, his job is so much easier. And, just look at the statistics, he is really going to work on people. 

When we get to Heaven, I’m convinced God is not going to say, “Did you obey your Governor during the 9+ month lockdown while people committed suicide and fell into relapse of drug and alcohol abuse?” Or might He say, “Did you have the courage to continue to follow me and focus on reaching the lost, helping the hurting, and giving people hope during a hopeless time?”  

It has always taken courage to be a pastor, but perhaps never more than in these days and times. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday. 

As we hear about churches shutting down, remaining closed, and struggling to survive during this time of COVID, we grieve the continued lack of understanding of the importance of being FULLY open as a church, regardless of what the Governor might say. 

There are a couple of things that are certain. Churches will not grow if they remain closed during Covid. But, churches may indeed experience growth if they decide to walk in obedience and courage and be fully open. Don’t underestimate the power of an hour together on Sunday!