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It's a truism, that in many churches the best and most important sermon preached on a Sunday is for the offering!

Conversely, the twin signs of a true conversion are; making amends with those, one has wronged, plus having a generous wallet!

It is true too, that the structure of the church with its emphasis on buildings, paid clergy and programmes is a heavy consumer of financial resources, simply to keep going.

It follows from this then, that most teaching on giving is proclaimed in anticipation of the teacher, whether it is an individual or a church, being the recipient of the gifts! Put harshly, it is simply disguised self-interest.

In the Old Testament, the principle of tithing is established in 6 passages. The most detailed treatment is in Deuteronomy. Interestingly here, it only involves giving the tithe to the Levites and the poor, every third year. In the other two, the tithe is to be taken to the Temple where the tithers themselves are to consume it, giving thanks in front of the Lord.

The New Testament does not mention the tithe. Why? Simply because we have moved from the Age of Law to the Age of Grace. The emphasis in the New Testament therefore, is on giving. Giving comes out of our heart attitude towards God, our desire to bless Him as He has blessed us. It is an 'internal', heart decision under the New Covenant, not an 'external' requirement of the Law of the Old.

For those who follow Jesus fully, the heart response towards giving is likely to be more than 10%! In fact, one rich man was asked to give not 10%, but everything he had! The emphasis too, is always on giving to the poor.

DAVID'S DOUBTS: "But God, I need an aeroplane to be efficient for you!" "If it is that critical David, I will get you there - my way!" "Okay God..."

Worship is a most difficult subject to write about, for we all have our own views! Ask a pastor to itemise the areas of greatest controversy within their church and worship will almost certainly be included. We all have worship styles we enjoy and which we believe take us into God's presence. But they, and we, are all different! Praise the Lord for that!

True worship though, is far greater than our feelings or a desire for a particular music style. For true worship comes from deep within.

Whether it is King David in the Old Testament:

Worship is at the heart of our faith and walk with Jesus. In the Tabernacle of Moses, worship comprised specific ceremony detailed within the Law, as given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. The closest thing to a musical instrument was the shofar (ram's horn trumpet) used to call the people to the most holy, annual Day of Atonement, the time when the High Priest made sacrifice for all the unintentional sins of the people.

Music however, didn't form part of the ritual ceremonies.

Then along came David! King David, that is! A man after God's own heart!

A picture of what Jesus would do when He died on the cross and the Temple curtain was ripped in two, from top to bottom.

Jesus opened up the Holy of Holies to us, which we may now enter through worship. True worship from deep within, from the spirit, and in truth. Not just by singing songs - whether hymns, choruses or full-on pentecostal praise for an hour.

"But God, surely Sunday is enough?" "But you want Me to be with you 24/7, don't you?" "Okay God, I get it!"

as we look at a change of focus required in 2 areas in the church.

Removing an Old Testament mentality from our thinking and behaviour is extremely difficult to do as it is the natural human way of doing things.

But Jesus came to bring a 'new way' of thinking and behaviour that we need to apply if we are to enter a into a deeper relationship with Him.

Ancient Babylonia - Geography

Where is Mesopotamia?

Babylonia was situated in the area known as Mesopotamia (Greek for "between the rivers"). Mesopotamia was in the Near East in roughly the same geographical position as modern Iraq. Two great rivers flowed through this land: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Along these two rivers were many great trading cities such as Ur and Babylon on the Euphrates.