E-Transfer
Please make it out to Christ's Church Oceanside and send to office@christschurchoceanside.ca
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Cheque
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."
2 Cor. 8:9
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At Christ's Church, we don't want your money. For real. Christ's Church exists to proclaim the Way of Jesus as it truly is, a free gift! What we want more than anything, is for you to receive generously from Jesus. We don't need your money to do that, we don't need it to stay afloat, or to complete our vision and mission. Why? Because we have Jesus for that, and he abundantly provides for us.
We also know that for those that have and are receiving Jesus, generosity naturally follows. So, what we would ask of you is that you prayerfully consider whether your contribution is coming from the right motivations and is consistent with the radical generosity produced by the Way of Jesus.
(St Paul provides us with this vision in 2 Corinthians 8)
2 Cor 8:7&9
Radical Generosity is an act of grace. This means it is the fruit that comes from receiving the supreme generosity of God in Jesus. When a person receives the grace of Jesus their hearts are transformed from that of an orphan who must strive, fight, and compete for their provision into a daughter/son of the good Father who has prepared a great inheritance for them. It is this grace that frees us from fear or selfishness and releases us to live radically generous, knowing that every thing we have and give comes from him, and his grace never runs out.
2 Cor 8:5
Radical generosity is not only from Jesus, it is for Jesus. It is part of how we love him, worship him, serve him, and sacrifice for him. Thanksgiving is the natural response of the heart that has found it's fulfillment and satisfaction. Jesus also teaches us that when we give generously, whether to other members of the church, to the poor and desperate, or to the church itself, we are giving directly to him. This is why we present our financial gifts to Jesus at his Table, every Sunday.
2 Cor 8:4
Radical generosity cannot exist when giving is motivated by guilt, shame, pressure, or manipulation. These attempts to motivate only create obligation rather than generosity and are in complete opposition to the Way of Jesus. Radical generosity must flow from the authentic desires of the heart. Giving out of peer-pressure, fear, or pride is a grievous sin against the Way of Jesus. When sons and daughters give with full, eager, honest, and generous hearts the Father takes great pleasure.
2 Cor 8:3
It has always been the practice of the people of God to set apart a consistent portion or percentage of their income as an offering which symbolizes, to them and to God, that their ultimate point of trust, hand of provision, and source of fulfillment is God. This is often referred to as giving your "first fruits" (tithes) because we give first to him, making all other priorities and all other spending secondary to Jesus; our first love.
2 Cor 8:3
The generosity of Christ's Church is radical because it goes beyond our means and into his. The Way of Jesus calls us to give beyond our comfort, preservation, and planning. When faced with the desperate needs of others, Jesus calls us to give beyond what we feel our means can handle. We do this because we have full access to his inexhaustible means!
2 Cor 8:5
Radical generosity that comes from Jesus, is given to Jesus, comes of your own accord, is according to your means, and goes beyond your means, is not given to the church lightly. It can only be entrusted. Entrusted to a leadership, community, vision, and mission that is faithful to the name of Jesus. Not perfect, but faithful. Faithful in their trustful, committed, reliance upon, and obedience to Jesus. Faithful to the vision to build Christ's Church upon and according to Christ the Cornerstone. Faithful to the mission to express, preach, and spread the Way of Jesus to those who need it most; the poor and the broken. And faithful to not stop until Christ's Church feels, sounds, looks, lives, and acts so much like Jesus that the world would see that he is The Way.
The truth is, we can't say that we are "that church" this side of heaven but we can say that it is the prayer of our hearts that Jesus would make us a church that is. A church worthy of his name.