Beyond Sunday part 3

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.

“POURING OUT YOUR LIFE BEFORE A GREAT GOD”

And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing.

(Johnson Bible College Homecoming)

INTRODUCTION

Good Morning, Southpointe! We are in the last message on Beyond Sunday. I want to ask you a very important question about Beyond Sunday, Are you being pour out like a cup of water into a thirsty Soul?

We been talking about living our lives not just in church and around our Christian’s friend but living beyond Sundays.

You can tell a lot about people by what they choose to put on their own tombstone. Thomas Jefferson had written on his headstone declaring that he was the author of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the University of Virginia but doesn’t even mention that he had been the third President of the United States.

Daniel Webster had written on his headstone has just five words: “The Gospel - A divine reality.” Those words speak volumes about his priority.

Winston Churchill reads, “I am ready to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.”

Not all writing on headstone communicate faith. The tombstone of author Robert Keats reads, “Life is a jest and all things show it. I thought so once but now I know it.”

In Crafton Vermont, there is a tombstone that reads, “Gone home below.”

I like one preacher’s writing on his headstone: It reads simply, “Gone to another meeting.”

But My favorite is, “Here lies Solomon Pease. Pease is not, here only the pod. Pease shelled out and went home to God.”

If you were going to write your own what would it say? How would you sum up your life in a sentence? “Faithful unto death”? “My family came first.” “He cared.” “She shopped until she dropped”?

I used to think I wanted mine to read, “He preached the truth in love.”

But in studying for this sermon I’ve changed my mind. I think I would like for it to read: He preached the truth in love and lived beyond Sunday!

The tombstone of the Apostle Paul could read, “Poured out liked a drink offering.” When he came to the end of his life and looked back he summed up his journey by writing:

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.

Paul was referring to :

Paul was referring to where God’s people were commanded to pour fermented wine over the grain offering and the meat offering. As that sacrifice burned it presented an aroma that was pleasing to God. There was one significant difference between the drink offering and the meat offering. After sacrificing an animal, a portion of the remaining meat could be eaten. (It had some benefit for the priests.)

"These are the sacrifices you are to offer regularly on the altar. Each day, offer two lambs that are a year old,

one in the morning and the other in the evening.

With one of them, offer two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of pure oil of pressed olives; also, offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering.

This is where God’s people were commanded to pour fermented wine over the grain offering and the meat offering. As that sacrifice burned it presented an aroma that was pleasing to God.

where God’s people were commanded to pour fermented wine over the grain offering and the meat offering. As that sacrifice burned it presented an aroma that was pleasing to God. There was one significant difference between the drink offering and the meat offering. After sacrificing an animal, a portion of the remaining meat could be eaten. (It had some benefit for the priests.)

There was one significant difference between the drink offering and the meat offering. After sacrificing an animal, a portion of the remaining meat could be eaten. (It had some benefit for the priests.)

But once a drink offering was poured out, there was no retrieving it from the ground. There was no physical benefit to the presenter.

The drink offering was a demonstration to God that they were totally giving up something of value to Him, with no intent of ever recovering it. Living beyond Sunday!

When the Apostle Paul came to the end of his life and looked back he wrote, “My life is poured out like a drink offering to God.”

That’s a legacy that all of us who want our lives to count for the Lord Jesus that we want to be said about our lives.

We are good at let our lives drip out, little by little, while retaining a safe amount for our own consumption.

But our divine challenge is to take our selfish ambitions, our personal pride, our most vital energies and, like Mary’s alabaster jar of expensive perfume, pour them out with reckless abandon in sacrifice to Him.

Are we willing to go beyond the norm of religion and live beyond Sunday.

If we’re willing to passionately pour out our most precious treasures as a drink offering, then our great God promises to honor our ministries and reward our efforts in the end.

Jesus assured us,

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.

The Apostle Paul was Exhibit A of that truth.

He poured out his personal ambitions as a drink offering to God.

If you had met Paul prior to his conversion I don’t think you would have liked him much. He was highly ambitious, egotistical, radical, and ruthless.

Paul wrote in

. We put no confidence in human effort,

though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

Paul wrote in : “…If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”

Paul had all the credentials to be a rapidly rising superstar in the Jewish political arena. But he gave up his personal ambitions when He met Jesus. He said,

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

Paul was a driven, type A personality. He had all the credentials to be a rapidly rising superstar in the Jewish political arena. (He could have been the Barack Obama of his day.) But he gave up his personal ambitions when He met Jesus. He said, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” ().

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

Paul’s ambitions weren’t put on hold temporarily; he poured them out like a drink offering because serving a great God mattered more than his personal goals. Apostle Paul was living beyond Sunday!

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” ().

Paul was never going to be a member of the Sanhedrin. He would never get to wear the phylacteries of power and parade in front of adoring crowds. His ambitions weren’t put on hold temporarily; he poured them out like a drink offering because serving a great God mattered more than his personal goals.

There are people today who pour out their personal ambitions as a drink offering for Jesus Christ.

But I believe that some of the most spiritual, sacrificial believers are not behind the pulpits, but sitting in the pews.

There are thrilling accounts of Christians who get so enamored with Christ they pour out their life-long ambitions for Him.

Are you living beyond Sunday? Do you in your personal life give up your own personal ambitions for the King of Kings and the Lord of lords?

Paul not only poured out his personal ambitions, he also poured out his intellectual pride.

Chris Strickland has. Chris is my favorite tenor singer. He has been offered positions with some of the best-known gospel quartets in the nation. He’s turned them down and works at an unglamorous job because he’s seen too many professional singers lose their families.

Suzie Snyder has. Suzie is a physician with such a keen mind that she is board certified in both internal medicine and pediatrics. I met Suzie, not in a plush, suburban home in the States but on a mission trip to Kenya. Suzie and her husband David, a business administrator, have operated a medical mission in Massai land for over a decade. They live miles from electricity and modern conveniences. In that remote place, they raise their children, minister to the needy, and try to bring Christ to those who need Him so desperately. The world doesn’t understand why. But they are pouring out their ambitions as a drink offering to a great God.

Charlie Vittitow has. Charlie leaves his successful dental practice several months out of each year and does medical mission work in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and other third world Muslim countries that are dangerous destinations. Charlie is not living the safe, comfortable life style of many of his peers. He’s pouring out his life as a drink offering to a great God.

Bob and Kathy Drane have. Bob is a member of the Master’s Men and a very talented interior decorator. The Dranes had a good life but on a short-term mission trip to Ukraine, Kathy and Bob fell in love with an orphan girl and went against reasoned judgment to adopt her and bring her to America—their second child. Bob and Kathy were 48 and 46 years old at the time. That compassionate effort turned into a series of incredible events that led the Dranes to institute an adoption pipeline into the Ukraine that has resulted in an organization called, “Hopeful Hearts,” which has helped Christian couples adopt 186 babies. Now Bob has resigned his business and is dedicating his life full-time to working for SOZO, an international mission organization. Bob and Kathy will tell you they have never been more fulfilled as they pour out their lives to a great God.

My dad was a wonderful Christian, but a very humble man. He was the 17th of 18 children. His mom died when he was three, his dad was an alcoholic and he was passed from one older sister to another. But he met my mom and became a Christian and poured out his life like a drink offering to Christ. For thirty five years he was a blue-collar factory worker who skimped to provide for his wife and six children. But he tithed every paycheck and served as an elder in the church.

Paul was one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. Paul went to the best of schools and later studied under Gamaliel, the most esteemed professor of his era.

When an unscrupulous preacher skipped town, leaving a lot of unpaid bills, my dad went to the bank and borrowed $2500 to pay off the preacher’s bills so the church wouldn’t have a bad reputation in town. Then he took a second job, working in a sawmill three hours a night to pay off the loan.

My mother and dad lived their whole lives giving up self for others. A few years ago my sister wrote inviting the entire family to come to her house for Thanksgiving. She said, there’s not enough room in the driveway for all the cars and we’re not allowed to park on the street, so if the driveway is full when you arrive, drive a half block down the street and park at the grade school.

We arrived at 11:30, no one in the driveway. We thought we were the first ones there. We carried in our casserole and there in the living room sat my mom and dad. I said, “Where’s your car? They said, “Oh we parked down at the grade school and walked so those who came later wouldn’t have to.” (Isn’t that sickening? So I went back out and drove my car down to the school. But that’s what is meant by pouring out our lives as drink offerings for Christ. We consider other people more highly than ourselves in little, every day decisions.

Paul was a great writer. He wrote half the New Testament—he was the C.S. Lewis of his day.

My dad died with very little money twelve years ago. Now an anonymous donor gave $150,000 in his name to be given away to Christian causes. I really hesitate to tell that to this crowd representing so many deserving missions! So lest I get to be overly popular at the end of this message, let me hasten to add, my dad had three parachurch causes that I’ve already determined should be the recipients.

But there’s a businessman out there whom I cannot name, who is pouring out his ambition to make money as a drink offering to God. May his tribe increase!

Paul not only poured out his personal ambitions, he also poured out his intellectual pride. Paul was one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. He was a native of Tarsus, a city renown for its elite educational system. Paul went to the best of schools and later studied under Gamaliel, the most esteemed professor of his era. Paul was a prolific writer. He wrote half the New Testament—he was the C.S. Lewis, the Charles Colson of his day.

Yet he gave up seeking to impress his intellectual peers and focused on communicating the basics of the gospel with simplicity.

God had humbled him on the Damascus Road and he had to admit, as smart as he was, he was dead wrong about Jesus.

Listen to Apostle Paul:

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan.

For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified.

I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling.

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.

I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

“When the professors and the smart intellectuals heard Apostle Paul talk about the resurrection of the dead, many of them sneered,”and very small number of them believed.

When he went to the University town of Athens and began to preach the good news about Jesus’ resurrection, “A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, ‘What is this babbler trying to say?’" (). It had to annoy Paul to be called a babbler by the Philosophers of Athens. But deep down inside they were impressed and invited him to the Aeropagus.

“When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered,” () and only a small remnant believed. First Century scholars sneered at him—dismissed him as shallow for believing in the resurrection from the dead. Even some pseudo-intellectuals in the church, who didn’t have half of Paul’s education or experience, ridiculed him as weak and questioned his authority to lead.

The First Century scholars sneered at him—dismissed him as shallow for believing in the resurrection from the dead.

To be invited to speak to a meeting of the Aeropagus would be like being invited to give a series of lectures at Harvard or being invited to appear on “Meet the Press.” But Paul didn’t spend much time trying to impress them with his intellect or dazzle them with his creativity. He proclaimed the simple truth about the one true God who created them and sent a Messiah to save them and would one day judge them by the One He had raised from the dead.

“When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered,” () and only a small remnant believed. First Century scholars sneered at him—dismissed him as shallow for believing in the resurrection from the dead. Even some pseudo-intellectuals in the church, who didn’t have half of Paul’s education or experience, ridiculed him as weak and questioned his authority to lead.

For Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

If you have a keen mind and are going to serve Jesus Christ you have to give up the desire to impress the intellectuals of our day.

Paul reasoned, Christ sent me, “to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” ().

If you have a keen mind and are going to serve Jesus Christ you have to give up the desire to impress the intellectuals of our day. Christianity has intellectual credibility but it will never appeal to the prideful academic community for one reason—it is accepted, humbly by faith, not discovered by man’s wisdom. Creationism is scoffed at as unscientific. Divine revelation is ridiculed as naive. Absolute truth is considered anathema in postmodern circles.

Christianity has intellectual credibility but it will never appeal to the prideful, it is accepted, humbly by faith, not discovered by man’s wisdom.

Bill Maher, popular host of HBO specials, said, “I’m sorry—I don’t respect anyone who says they believe in God and the Bible. You were taught that as a child but you were also taught about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus but you grew out of it.”

We must live beyond Sunday, in our everyday life, we would like for people to think highly of us, that we are very intellect people and we are not back in the stone age.

But Christians have to be more interested in proclaiming the truth we’ve received than trying to impress with new ideas we’ve invented.

Pour out your pride anyway…because it’s not about you—it’s about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There are few servants more powerful than those who are brilliant but continue to humbly stay with the basics.

Pour out your pride anyway…because it’s not about you—it’s about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There are few servants more powerful than those who are brilliant but continue to humbly stay with the basics.

The Apostle Paul poured out his intellectual pride to communicate that truth, not with eloquent words or human wisdom, but with simplicity and power.

This series of lectures that I asked him to do was his specialty and that night he was especially animated and dynamic. I noticed that my five-year old son on the front row was soaking it up. On the way home, I asked, “Rusty, how did you like that talk?” He said, “Dad, that was great! I liked it all. You know, Dad, I was thinking, maybe you should preach a little more like that. Even the little children could understand it.”

I was convicted, and that week I wrote down that the gospel is so simple that it can be communicated in one-syllable words. God made man and loved him. Man sinned and fell from God’s grace. But God in His great love sent His son to die for our sins. Then He raised Him from the dead. Now if we turn from our sins and trust His grace, He will cleanse our sin, set us free, and give us life that will not end.”

The Apostle Paul poured out his intellectual pride to communicate that truth, not with eloquent words or human wisdom, but with simplicity and power.

Paul also poured out his secondary interests like a drink offering. Have you ever wondered how Paul could accomplish so much in just one lifetime? He was about 30 years old when struck down on the road to Damascus.

After that he spent almost a decade training in private, probably re-reading the Scripture, developing spiritual maturity and compassion. He was about forty when he took his first missionary journey and he must have died in his mid sixties or so.

In that twenty-five year span he took four major missionary journeys that we know about, planted dozens of new churches, and revisited many.

He had a three-year ministry in Ephesus and a lengthy stay in Corinth. He wrote half the New Testament by hand or by dictation.

For two years he was in prison in Caesarea and there was another prolonged imprisonment in Rome. He accomplished all that without a cell phone, lap top, or minivan!

Paul described his personal sacrifice in

Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served Him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.

Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

There’s only one way to describe the life of Paul: totally focused, totally surrendered to Christ. He was willing to suffer hardships, go unmarried, and work part-time as a tentmaker to supplement his income. He was one who Live beyond Sunday!

like this, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”

There’s only one way to describe the life of Paul: totally focused, totally surrendered to Christ. He was willing to suffer hardships, go unmarried, and work part-time as a tentmaker to supplement his income. When a man says, “This one thing I do,” it’s amazing what can be accomplished in a lifetime. He advises us, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” ().

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in a lifetime.

This is Apostle Paul’s advise:

So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise.

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

When a man says, “This one thing I do,” it’s amazing what can be accomplished in a lifetime. He advises us, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” ().

You see, We make the most of our opportunities only when we pour out secondary concerns as a drink offering to God.

We make the most of our opportunities only when we pour out secondary concerns as a drink offering to God. A man from Ohio called me a few years ago and said, “Bob, your radio ministry has been such a blessing to me; I want to say thanks in a tangible way. Once a year I play Augusta National Golf Course where they host the Masters. I’d like to take you with me this year. Can you go? What a question! That’s every golfer’s dream! Great golfers have offered $15,000 to play and not been able to get on the course.

The real pouring out of our lives is usually daily, unnoticed decisions.

I said, “Sure I’d like to play. Let me check the date.” I checked it and my heart sank. I had agreed to deliver the commencement address for Portland Christian School that night. I could tell them I had to cancel…after all, there were only nine graduates. Surely they would understand. But I’d already sent in my topic titled, “A Time for Integrity.” What to do? I called the man in Ohio back and said, “This is killing me. But I can’t go. I’ve already got a speaking engagement—maybe some other time.”

“Great occasions to serve God come seldom. Little ones surround us daily.”

Sometimes there are dramatic sacrifices of secondary interests that we are called upon to make, but they are rare. The real pouring out of our lives is usually daily, unnoticed decisions. My secretary had a plaque over her desk that read, “Great occasions to serve God come seldom. Little ones surround us daily.”

The most practical way that you can pour out your life as a drink offering to God is not in the dramatic sacrifices that come on occasion, but the little daily choices that go unnoticed by most and seem almost insignificant at the time.

Somehow I realized I was forming disciplines that would stay with me a long time. So I determined that if I was not in the small study we had in the home by 8:00 a.m. I was late. I went into the study and began writing a sermon for the next Sunday. When in Bible College, preaching on the weekend, I prepared sermons in 3-4 hours, while sitting in class. So, by Wednesday of that first week I was finished. I had my Scripture, three point outline, and the illustrations. I decided to read some more and then include those ideas in the sermon. Within a few weeks I was writing a manuscript and then reading it aloud five times. That habit of spending every morning, five days a week, studying for a sermon for the coming week stayed with me for over forty years.

What little I contributed in ministry was not determined by what I did at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning—but 8:00 to noon ever day of the week. The most practical way that you can pour out your life as a drink offering to God is not in the dramatic sacrifices that come on occasion, but the little daily choices that go unnoticed by most and seem almost insignificant at the time.

Do you play golf or spend the afternoon with your children?

Do you play golf or spend the afternoon with your children?

Do you write the thank-you note by hand or just send a form letter?

Do you read a book that edifies or watch a television program that numbs the mind?

Do you read a book that edifies or watch a television program that numbs the mind?

Do you leave home a few minutes early so you can greet people as they arrive at church or do you wait to leave home until the last minute?

Do you give that extra $50 a week to mission or do you keep it for those extras you want for yourself?

Do you go visit the grieving family in the funeral home or just call them on the way to the movie?

Now I know life has to be balanced. There’s a place for golf, form letters, and movies. But the passion of life, the majority of our time, should be a pouring out of selfish desires for a Great God.

The amazing thing is that when you pour out your personal ambitions, your intellectual pride, your secondary interests like a drink offering, God is so great that He rewards you many times over.

What could Dr. Eubanks have done if he had been selfish? Would he have been a wealthy investor? An esteemed University professor? A Governor of the State of Tennessee? A professional golfer? I know Margaret could have run a major hotel! But they poured out their lives every day as a drink offering. At the end we look back and see how God has blessed and we honor them.

Jesus promised,

“The test of a man’s devotion will come some other day. They love God most who are at their post when the crowds have gone away.”

And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for My sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

The amazing thing is that when you pour out your personal ambitions, your intellectual pride, your secondary interests like a drink offering, God is so great that He rewards you many times over. Jesus promised, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” ().

For you, the real prize may not come until eternity when God will reward even the cup of cold water you’ve poured out in His name.

You give Jesus credit even though you get fired from the coaching job in Tampa and a decade later you win the Superbowl with the Indianapolis Colts®.

You pour out your personal ambitions and adopt a little baby at 46 years of age and God opens the windows of heaven and gives you 186 more children to channel to others and your life is more fulfilling than before.

You borrow $2500 anonymously to pay off the preacher’s bills and years later someone donates $150,000 in your honor.

Even if there was no promised reward, Jesus merits our complete self-sacrifice.

You pour out the opportunity to play Augusta with a stranger and God arranges for you to play it twice with a friend.

You go into the study at 8:00 a.m. when no one sees you and years later a Bible College puts your name on a building.

On the night before He died Jesus said,

You dedicate your life to building up a Bible College and forty years later you see the fruit of your labor and your students rise up to call you blessed.

for this is My blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

For you, the real prize may not come until eternity when God will reward even the cup of cold water you’ve poured out in His name. Even if there was no promised reward, Jesus merits our complete self-sacrifice. On the night before He died Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (). Jesus poured out his lifeblood for us. His complete sacrifice merits our very best gifts in return.

Jesus poured out His lifeblood for us. His complete sacrifice merits our very best gifts in return.

I used to think I wanted my headstone to read, “He preached the truth in love.”

But I now think a more appropriate headstone for us all would be this phrase from

. It reads, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.”, He lived beyond Sunday!

Whatever talents God has entrusted to you, pour them out with reckless abandon on Him because our God is an awesome God.