Thank You Terry Virgo

It was an absolute privilege to have Terry Virgo at Jubilee yesterday. I felt his message was phenomenally important for the church. If you weren't there, you must download the message from our website (click here). It was foundational teaching for every believer. I'm sure I'll go back to it and listen to it several times.

Don't forget to set your clock FORWARD

Remember, we set our clocks forward tonight!!

Giving Part 2: OK, So How Much?

The Old Testament had more specific guidelines about giving than is what is offered in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, firstfruits were to be given unto the Lord, as well as a tithe for the priests and another tithe every three years for the poor. Not to mention the offerings given toward the temple. The New Testament does not offer such specifics, but rather just gives us principles such as be generous, regular and give with a cheerful heart.

Let me give you some Scriptures to look at in the New Testament that have been helpful for Rachel and I as we have prayed about how much to give>


- Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven . . . Woe to you rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke 6:20)

- They are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life. (Luke 8:14)

- The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. (Luke 9:58) (If in Jesus is life abundant, it's possible to live a fulfilling life without an abundance of material goods.)

- A person’s life does not consist in the possessions that he has. (Luke 12:15)

- Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)

- Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

- Seek his kingdom and these other things (food, clothing, shelter) will be yours as well. (Luke 12:31)

- But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:20-21)

- Sell your possessions and give alms; provide yourselves with purses in heaven. (Luke 12:33)

- Whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:33)

- They sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all as any had need. (Acts 2:45)

- No one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. (Acts 4:32)

- In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. (2 Corinthians 8:2)

- The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully [1] will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency [2] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

- We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:7-10)

- You had compassion on the prisoners and joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (Hebrews 10:34)

- If any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)

Stay Connected

You can stay connected with Jubilee City events from the home page of our website. You can either scroll throw the weekly calendar (updated every Monday) or search future events by using the monthly calendar.

Once you do, you'll notice that City events are coded teal and Wentzville events are coded yellow. If it's an event that involves both locations, it will be coded navy blue.

Daylight Savings

I've got great news! You are going to be able to hear Terry Virgo an hour sooner than you may have thought. Daylight Savings is this weekend so don't forget to set your clock forward one hour before you go to bed.

Giving Part 1: Where to Start?

In light of our Gift Days coming up March 2 (this Sunday) and March 9, I felt stirred to do a "blogging series" on giving.

On the surface, giving away your money sounds ridiculous and absurd, especially a substantial amount like 10%. But what if it wasn't your money in the first place? What if instead of you giving away 10%, it was more about you holding on to 90% of what was given to you? Exodus 19:5 says that "The whole earth is mine (God's)." Job 41:11 says, "...Everything under heaven belongs to Me (God)." Even the ability to produce wealth comes from God (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

This biggest reason why people struggle to give is because they think the money in their possession is theirs. They earned it, they deserve it. They think God is a taker. But the reality is God isn't a taker, but a giver. Without Him, we would have nothing. No money, no air to breath, no salvation, no joy...nothing. God is generous and wants us to be generous as well.

So where do you start? You start by understanding that you are a steward of God's possessions and not the owner of them. When you understand that, you will want to steward His resources according to His will. What's His will? That you would give regularly and generously and not under compulsion (feelings of guilt). See 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. How much? Pray about an amount that seems generous to you and continually pray that God would give you faith for more. You'll notice that as you do, joy in giving will increase and so will your faith to expand your giving.

Helping the Poor

I was talking to my good friend Matt Sweetman (also a Church Planting Intern at Jubilee) about ways to help the poor. He wrote the following article that I thought was a really clever idea and wanted to pass along. Here's the link.

You can listen to my message on Remembering the Poor through our website. To download that message, follow this link.