Psalm 90:1-2

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

PRAISE HELPS US APPRECIATE OUR PAST: Ephesians 1:13

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,”

1. God has abundantly blessed TCN. Psalm 119:68

“You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.”

2. God has been extremely generous with TCN. Ps. 145:9

“The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

3. TCN should give daily praise to God. Eph. 1:19

“and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,”

“God’s ultimate demonstration of goodness and generosity is found in His grace of salvation.” -Leslie Flynn

FAITH HELPS US FACE TOMORROW: Hebrews 11:7

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

1. Faith in God makes it possible for us to accept what we cannot prove. Ephesians 1:11

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,”

2. Faith in God calls us to build a kingdom that’s often invisible but lasts forever. Matthew 16:18

“ . . . I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which we will never lose.” -Jim Elliot

GIVING FIRSTFRUITS HELPS US SAVE FUTURE GENERATIONS: Exodus 23:19

“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

1. We are the firstfruits of God. James 1:16-18

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.”

2. We have been set apart as God’s best. Hebrews 6:10

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

3. To grow the best trees, you must use the best seed. I Peter 1:3-5

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

4. Always sow the seed in the right places. Eccl. 2:26

“To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

5. Those who give generously will realize the promise. Ephesians 1:11

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”