In Luke 21, Jesus witnesses a widow giving two small coins as an offering, and His response to this seemingly insignificant gift should shake the foundations of how we give. The widow gives two small coins that would have seemed paltry to Jesus' wealthier listeners. It is, after all, human nature to pay special attention to the rich man and the more expensive gift. Yet, to the astonishment of every listener, Jesus forgoes commending the rich offerings in the room to honor the tiny offering of worship given out of poverty as an act of worship. You see, even though the woman's offering was small to other people, it was huge in value and meaning to her! Fortunately, God does not look at the abundance of our checkbooks, but the abundance of our hearts.

Too often we give a token gift so we can feel good for a week, or we measure the value of a gift by the contributions of our friends. Jesus paints a different picture. Ironic that the testimony of a widow 2000 years ago can teach us so much about how selfish we can be with our own time and money.

Please thoughtfully consider God's will for your life and for this church. The offering you return to God will make a lasting difference both in the lives of all who call First Baptist Church home and in the many ministries that flow out of our church into the Atlanta area. This has been true since the beginning of First Baptist Church in 1875 and remains true today.

Our prayer is that everyone involved at First Baptist will respond faithfully to whatever God puts in our hearts to give. Far from a burden, we wish our giving to feel like a blessing as we faithfully follow Christ in with our lives.

Any time we make a choice, we end up sacrificing one option to pursue another. Some sacrifices are hardly noticeable, while others are more difficult. For example, to become a parent or buy a home can require a great deal of sacrifice, but we can clearly see a wonderful reward. We can often miss the similarity, but tithing instead of buying a jet ski or seeing a movie often brings both intrinsic and extrinsic blessings we never expected. As a body of believers: it is not about giving as much as the person in the next pew, but the ability to worship by giving generously, and yes, sacrificially, from what we have been blessed with.

The choice looks different for each of us. It involves asking God what he wants us to give, and then responding obediently to His answer. It means asking ourselves, "What am I going to sacrifice in order to bring my tithe into the storehouse?" How can I change my lifestyle in order to be obedient to God's command and experience the joy of obedient giving?" Often God calls us to sacrifice in ways that stretch us beyond our comfort zone.

Have a look at our giving overview to see how easy the process really is. If you still have questions, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 903-796-7925.