Song 1 – King of Kings

Hear God call you to worship:

¹⁰ “Praise be to you, Lord God … from everlasting to everlasting. ¹¹ Yours, o Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, o Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. ¹² Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. ¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”

– adapted from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13

Let us worship the Lord!

Song 2 – May the Peoples Praise You

Song 3 – Knowing You, Jesus

Song 4 – My Worth is Not in What I Own

Our welcome team members will pass an offering basket during this song.

For information about giving online, please visit ucclife.fi/give or follow the QR code on the screen. You can also speak to our pastors or leaders for more information about giving and generosity. You can also ask the welcome team for more info. 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
   the Father almighty,
   maker of heaven and earth,
   of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
   begotten from the Father before all ages,
        God from God,
        Light from Light,
        true God from true God,
   begotten, not made;
   of the same essence as the Father.
   Through him all things were made.

   For us and for our salvation
        he came down from heaven;
        he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
        and was made human.
        He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
        he suffered and was buried.
        The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
        He ascended to heaven
        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
        He will come again with glory
        to judge the living and the dead.
        His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
   the Lord, the giver of life.
   He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
   and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
   He spoke through the prophets.
   We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
   We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
   We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
   and to life in the world to come.
Amen.

A special welcome to any visitors joining us today – if you’d like to get connected or find out more about UCC, please see our digital visitors card or speak to us after the service!

Hear the Word of the Lord:

^{” 8:1}We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶ Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. ⁷ But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

⁸ I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness ¹⁴ your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵ As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” “

This is the Word of God. 

Stewardship Sunday: Gospel Giving
– 2  Corinthians 8:1-15

1. The Privilege of Giving
2. The Pattern of Giving
3. The Practice of Giving

Some Diagnostic Questions for Gospel Giving

If you want to do some self-examination regarding how the gospel has gripped your heart in the area of giving, ask yourself these questions:

1. If I give money away, when do I give it: After I’ve paid all of my bills, or before?

• The principal of firstfruits informs us that our faith in God to provide leads us to give to him first (Leviticus 23:9-14; Deuteronomy 18:1-5).
• God had commanded the people to give their firstborn to him as well (Exodus13:1-2).
• Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom of God and trust that all our needs will be taken care of (Matthew 6:33).
• Jesus is considered the firstborn of many brothers (Romans 8:29), the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), and the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). God gave him so that we might be his children, be a new creation, and have new resurrection life.
• If God would do this with his own Son, so that we could have everything, why would we not give back to him?
• God no longer asks us just to give our firstfruits only — he gets it all. The firstfruits principle should inform how we give.

2. Does my giving demonstrate that I believe God is not only trustworthy to take care of me, but generous in how he does it?

• Do I give begrudgingly or with great joy?
• Is giving a privilege or an obligation?
• When I give, do I give what I think I am required to give, or beyond what I believe is required?
• God did not give us what we deserve, but was merciful by not giving us what we deserved: he is gracious by gifting us with much more than we deserve.

3. Does my giving demonstrate that I believe the gospel?

• Do I believe that what I have is mine, or that all I have belongs to God? How is that reflected in my giving?
• We have received unmerited and unearned favour from God. We should also give not because of what we get, but because of what we got.
• The gospel tells us that we are now fully secure in God‘s hands and the most loved and accepted that we could ever be.
• Does having money and things or holding on to my money make me feel more secure or significant?

4. How have I approached the idea of a tithe: (1) legalistically, (2) licentiously or (3) informed and led by the gospel?

• Legalistically — the Old Testament commanded to give 10 per cent to the temple in order to meet the standard of righteousness, so I also tithe with the desire to measure up to the law.
• Licentiously — that was an Old Testament thing and I am no longer required to do that in order to be made righteous, so I give whatever I feel like — it does not really matter.
• Gospel — my righteousness does not come from my obedience to the law, but from Jesus. Therefore I am free from trying to measure up to the law. In fact, when I trust in my ability to tithe as the thing that makes me righteous, I do not believe the gospel. At the same time, I am not my own: I was purchased by Jesus and his death for me, so I realise that all that I have I should give to him. In that case, a tithe is really not enough. So I do not just legalistically give a tithe; I ask the Holy Spirit how much I should give of his money and joyfully give what he tells me. And I let the law be both a tutor, showing me where to begin, and an indicator of my heart, showing me that I still am in need of Jesus to save me from my greed and selfishness. For I still find it hard to give what was once required by the law and now is within my freedom to give in the gospel.

To learn more about the stewardship committee, speak to any committee member or staff member. 

To learn more about our brand new flea market ministry, visit ucclife.fi/fleamarket

All who confess Christ as Lord and Saviour are welcome to the Table. 

Please hold the elements until all have received; we will partake together as one body.  

Song 5 – Your Will Be Done

Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your name;
your kingdom come;
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread. 
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.

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