Tithing Statistics

Posted by Bernard Rosario On 3:06 PM 0 comments




Three Simple Questions

  1. How important is tithing to your spiritual life? And how important is speaking in tongues to your spiritual life?
  2. How often do you hear a sermon on tithing? And how often do you hear a sermon on God's wrath? (Or if you are a preacher, how often do you preach on tithing? And how often do you preach on God's wrath?
  3. How much do you affirmatively discuss tithing? And how much do you affirmatively discuss predestination and election?

With your answers on the questions above, I want you to check out the following graph.


The Graph Explained

  1. Using a free Bible software, words were sought in the English Standard Version New Testament.
  2. The graph above represents the number of occurences of some words that have something to do with one of three subjects: tithing, God's wrath, and predestination.
  3. For TITHING, the words "tithe", "tithes", and "tithing" were used. These appeared in 7 verses in 4 chapters of 3 books. [1]
  4. For SPEAKING IN TONGUES, the word "tongues" should occur in the context of spiritual gifts. It appeared in 17 verses in 7 chapters of 3 books. [2]
  5. For GOD'S WRATH, the words "God" and "wrath" should occur together. These appeared in 19 verses in 15 chapters of 6 books. [3]
  6. For PREDESTINATION / ELECTION, the words "predestined", "chosen", and "elect" were used. These appeared in 19 verses in 11 chapters of 9 books. [4]
  7. Except for tithing, some appearances were not counted due to context inconsistencies. While on tithing, all appearances were counted regardless of context. [This implies that, except for tithing,  the figures should have been higher if context is not considered.]

Now, were your answers above consistent with the graph?

Three Radical Statements (At Least to Tithers)
Once, I opened my Sunday sermon with these three statements:

  1. "Pastor Bernard, your pastor, does not believe in tithing."
  2. "John Wesley, the founding father of your Methodism, also did not believe in tithing." Then I quoted Rev. Wesley in his Sermon 50: The Use of Money, "Do not stint yourself, like a Jew rather than a Christian, to this or that proportion. 'Render unto God,' not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God's... (emphasis mine)"
  3. "Your pastor (and your founder) does not believe in tithing not because 10% is too much but because 10% is too small." I then absurdly rephrase Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength and with 10% of your pocket." It does not fit, does it?

--------------------

[1] Matt. 23:23, Lk. 11:42, Lk. 18:12, Heb. 7:5, Heb. 7:6, Heb. 7:8, Heb. 7:9
[2] Mk. 16:17, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:11, Acts 10:46, Acts 19:6, 1 Cor. 12:10, 1 Cor. 12:28, 1 Cor. 12:30, 1 Cor. 13:1, 1 Cor. 13:8, 1 Cor. 14:5, 1 Cor. 14:6, 1 Cor. 14:18, 1 Cor. 14:21, 1 Cor 14:22, 1 Cor. 14:23, 1 Cor. 14:39
[3] Jn. 3:36, Rom. 1:18, Rom 2:5, Rom. 3:5, Rom. 5:9, Rom. 9:22, Rom. 12:19, Rom. 13:4, Rom. 13:5, Eph. 5:6, Col. 3:6, 1 Thess. 2:16, Rev. 14:10, Rev. 14:19, Rev. 15:1, Rev. 15:7, Rev. 16:1, Rev. 16:19, Rev. 19:15
[4] Matt. 22:14, Matt. 24:22, Matt. 24:24, Matt. 24:31, Mk. 13:20, Mk. 13:22, Mk. 13:27, Lk. 18:7, Acts 4:28, Rom. 8:29, Rom. 8:30, Rom. 8:33, Rom. 11:5, Rom. 11:7, Eph. 1:5, Eph. 1:11, Col. 3:12, 1 Thess. 1:4, 1 Pet. 1:1-2


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I Boast (A Parody of "I'm Yours")

Posted by Bernard Rosario On 10:14 AM 1 comments




I BOAST
(A parody of “I’m Yours”)
Words: Bernard Rosario

Galatians 6:19 ~~ May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ...
Ephesians 2:9 ~~ [You were saved] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Well human like me, man knows that I failed it
I tried to figure out why my heart is so crooked
Even right works I act now my heart is still black

Before a truthful man had written concerning my bestest
And I know Isaiah 64:6 has fine explanation
All righteous deeds are nothing but filthy rags and foul rags

Though I want to stay so close to God
Without the faith, I'm cursed

We'll open up our Bible, read with me
O, hear the truth, it will set you free
It's not through our hands and works we find and come to God

There is a need to pick an alternate for all crimes and sins
Only one lived perfectly
And He's our God, forsaken for ones He love love love love loves

So I won't depend on good works, no more
It's only Him I boast
Since no one can come perfect, each one falls short
It's only Him I boast

I've been spending days too long, seeing my God in great error
Man, heaven never requires us to toil just to be nearer
It's a gift not a reward
Just surrender, accept grace from God

Since just a sec of sinning makes someone no better person
So free yourself of confidence and come only with faith on
Not what we aim to do, not even our virtue

So I won't depend on good works, no more
It's only Him I boast
Open up our Bible, read with me
O, hear the truth, it will set you free
It's not through your hands and works can heaven be yours
So please don't, please don't, please don't
Since no one can come perfect, cause each one falls short
This o' this o' this is our faith
I boast 

Meet Kevince Ferrer who presented this song in our Love Fellowship last February 15, 2013.


The Proverbs -31 Woman (That's Negative!)

Posted by Bernard Rosario On 4:50 PM 0 comments




The Woman of Unprincipled Personality

-10 A woman of unprincipled personality is everywhere
She is as common as the threads of hair
-11 From her, the husband hides his gains
and he’s deprived of everything but pains
-12 She brings him troubles in great waves
until she is positioned to her grave
-13 The man with the kids wear clothes like rags
while her manicured nails she brags
-14 She’s glad when foods are bought nearby
so, from the TV, there needs no goodbye
-15 She wakes up when the sun is already high
she doesn’t care even her fam eats fungi
and payments to servants she does deny
-16 She has no vision that lasts for a long period

for her, investments cannot be charted
-17 To her tasks, she is frequently half-hearted
Her body is habitually frail, lazily bloated
-18 She spends more than 20 while she gains only 10
supplies run out by midnight, and it happens often
-19 She can’t sew, can’t cook, can’t do the laundry
unappealing to her are the works of domesticity
-20 To the poor and needy, she shows no concern
help is withheld from them who can’t pay in return
-21 Because of the things that she can’t and won’t do,
calamities catch the household unprepared too
-22 Because of discomfort, no one loves her bed
awkward when she wears something sophisticated
-23 She damages her husband’s fine reputation
his opinion is discredited when his wife is mentioned
-24 No one is interested with the fruits of her hands
it is of no value, buyers will know without guidance
-25 Mediocrity and inelegance she noticeably wears
she cannot feel secure and the future she fears
-26 She thinks she is wise, she displays her baloney
her tongue is always loose, her teachings are fleshly
-29 She is not concern with the household’s business
she is over-stuffed by the meals of idleness
-28 To her words, her children give no consideration
Her husband cannot mention any commendation
-29 Instead he asks, “Can’t you do something noble?
Can’t you hold your tongue from your babble?”
-30 Her highest priority is having momentary beauty
she barters for red lips over Christ’s supremacy
-31 Nobody will notice when she is already gone
she will hear praise only from men of same mind

Click here for the true Proverbs 31:10-31.

Mohler Shows Water to Preaching Camels

Posted by Bernard Rosario On 3:11 PM 0 comments





Albert Mohler writes, "Preachers need books as camels need water. The preacher knows the experience of needing a particular book at a particular time in order to prepare a message; other than friends and family, books are often the preacher's closest companions."

He then proceeds to a review of some of the more interesting and important titles of 2012 for preachers. I am re-echoing below his list of ten books every preacher should read (with their respective publisher's description).



The Juvenilization of American Christianity. Thomas E. Bergler (Eerdmans)
In The Juvenilization of American Christianity Thomas Bergler traces the way in which, over seventy-five years, youth ministries have breathed new vitality into four major American church traditions -- African American, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic. Bergler shows too how this "juvenilization" of churches has led to widespread spiritual immaturity, consumerism, and self-centeredness, popularizing a feel-good faith with neither intergenerational community nor theological literacy. Bergler's critique further offers constructive suggestions for taming juvenilization.

Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church. Gregg R. Allison (Crossway)
What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison thus explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church's identity and characteristics; its growth through purity, unity, and discipline; its offices and leadership structures; its ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and its ministries. Here is a rich approach to ecclesiology consisting of sustained doctrinal reflection and wise, practical application.

Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction. Jonathan T. Pennington (Baker Academic)
This textbook on how to read the Gospels well can stand on its own as a guide to reading this New Testament genre as Scripture. It is also ideally suited to serve as a supplemental text to more conventional textbooks that discuss each Gospel systematically. Most textbooks tend to introduce students to historical-critical concerns but may be less adequate for showing how the Gospel narratives, read as Scripture within the canonical framework of the entire New Testament and the whole Bible, yield material for theological reflection and moral edification.

Christ-Centered Biblical Theology: Hermeneutical Foundations and Principles. Graeme Goldsworthy (InterVarsity Press)
For fifty years Graeme Goldsworthy has been refining his understanding of biblical theology through his experiences as a student, pastor and teacher. In this valuable complement to his Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics, Goldsworthy defends and refines the rationale for his approach, drawing especially on the work of Australian biblical scholar Donald Robinson.

Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD. Peter Brown (Princeton University Press)
Jesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity.

Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. Charles Murray (Crown Forum)
In Coming Apart, Charles Murray explores the formation of American classes that are different in kind from anything we have ever known, focusing on whites as a way of driving home the fact that the trends he describes do not break along lines of race or ethnicity.

The Intolerance of Tolerance. D.A. Carson (Eerdmans)
Carson examines how the definition of tolerance has changed. It now has less to do with recognizing the right of another to disagree with us, and more to do with not saying that others are wrong. It is impossible to deploy this new tolerance consistently, so that actual practice is often whimsical and arbitrary. Worse, the word "tolerance" has almost become an absolute good, and "intolerance" an absolute bad. Tolerance and intolerance have become merely rhetorical terms of approval and disapproval.

Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics. Ross Douthat (Free Press)
As the youngest-ever op-ed columnist for The New York Times, Ross Douthat has emerged as one of the most provocative and influential voices of his generation. In Bad Religion he offers a masterful and hard-hitting account of how American Christianity has gone off the rails - and why it threatens to take American society with it.

God Is Love: A Biblical and Systematic Theology. Gerald Bray (Crossway)
This volume is unique from others in that Bray traces the common theme of God's love through the Bible categorically--from God's love for himself and his creation to the cross as the ultimate expression of God's love, among other categories. The centrality of God's love in Bray's theology reflects a deep conviction that the Bible shows us God for who he really is. This volume will be of interest to Christians seeking to grow in their faith.

Delighting in the Trinity: an Introduction to the Christian Faith. Michael Reeves (InterVarsity Press)
In this lively book, we find an introduction to Christianity and the Christian life that is from start to finish rooted in our triune God - Father, Son and Spirit. Not only do we understand the person and work of Christ through the Trinity, but also prayer, the church and every aspect of our faith. With wit and clarity, Reeves draws from church history down to the present referencing a wide range of notable teachers and preachers. Here is a rich and enjoyable portrayal of the basic beliefs of Christianity that opens up the profound and life-changing truths of our faith.

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