Communion & Offering

Matthew 6:14-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ~ C.S. Lewis As we come before the Lord, this morning, in communion, hopefully in self examination, we are all guilty before Him, but we have also all been forgiven. We may see our sins as minor offences...white lies...thoughts we don't act on...a little gossip at work...but our sins, regardless of how we perceive them, separate us from God. Sin is a sickness in our soul. Like all sicknesses, some sickness is temporary & some sin is chronic. I can list the usual sins that come to mind specifically or the general sins of lust, greed, pride, envy, etc. I might hit on one of your chronic sins. We know what our private sins are. We know we need to deal with it/them. God tells us today is the day of salvation. Satan says start tomorrow. As we enter into this time of communion, who are we going to listen to?Psalm 4:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,And trust in the Lord.We are called to offer sacrifices. What is a sacrifice?Sacrifice ~surrendering a possession; to suffer loss of, give up, renounce, injure, or destroy especially for an ideal, belief, or endWe suffer a loss for a belief, but whatever our personal suffering at the loss is not as the reward we have in our belief in the greater good God will do with our sacrifice.We are called to offer sacrifices of righteousness. What is righteousness?Righteousness ~acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin; morally right or justifiable; arising from an outraged sense of justice or moralityAre you outraged at your offering? You should be! An outraged sense of justice or morality. This is a sacrifice. This is a loss to us, but this is good! God is good!We are called to offer sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the Lord. What is trust?Trust ~assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone; one in which confidence is placedDo we trust God to be righteous with our sacrifice? We love to tell other people to "Let go & let God" when they come to you for advice. Can you let go & let God when it comes to your finances?