An Offertory Devotional video for Sabbath, December 24, 2022, in your @adventistchurch: vimeo.com/755061170. Putting God first can be difficult. What can we learn from this video that will help us put God first in our lives today?
Also available in #Spanish and #Portuguese.
Put #GodFirst
#StewardshipMinistries
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For more information on the Stewardship Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, you can head over to stewardship.adventist.org/ ______________________________________________
We worship God with our resources because the Royal Baby, Jesus, was born on Planet Earth. The fascination for royal babies has transcended all ages. A search of the name “Archie,” a royal baby born to the Mountbatten-Windsor family in 2019, will give millions of results. The birth of a royal baby often creates a buzz in the media, and people feed on the most minute details out of curiosity and admiration. Likewise, seeing His star, the Magi left everything and everyone behind and embarked on a tiresome, time-consuming, and unsafe journey beyond the boundaries of their homeland. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they disclosed the purpose of their trip: “We have come to worship the King, born of the Jews.” The description that we have of this act of worship deserves attention.
Do you know any Christmas carols that the Magi sang to Baby Jesus? Do you know the prayer that they made to the newborn King? Can you remember the words with which Joseph and Mary addressed them during their visit? Or any souvenir that they brought back home? Nowhere in the Gospels do we find such information. This silence is surprising and possibly significant! The focus was elsewhere: “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matt. 2: 11). They honored the Royal Baby by presenting gifts to Him.
The celebration of the birth of Jesus remains a major event in most countries and for many Christians. This year won’t be an exception. Listening to carols, enjoying favorite seasonal food, blessing ourselves and our loved ones with gifts, and participating in some uplifting church services define Christmas for many of us. This week, as we worship with our tithe and regular offerings, called Promise, let us remember how the Magi worshipped the Royal Baby: by giving of their resources.