::WELCOME TO RESTORATION::

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:32-34

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 

33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Kingdom of God creates a people who notice need and reflexively move toward it.

Acts 2:44-45

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Luke 12: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.”

Acts 2: “They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”

Acts 4:32-35

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way — the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practically gave everybody their body. And the Christians came along and gave practically nobody their body and they gave practically everybody their money. ~ Tim Keller

It is disgraceful that … the impious Galileans [or followers of Jesus] support not only their own poor, but ours as well. All men see our people lack aid from us. ~ Julian the Apostate

The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit. ~ St. Basil

John gives three practices:

1. “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

2. Then to the tax collectors: “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.”

3. Then to the soldiers: “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

A conversion of the heart.

A conversion of the mind.

And a conversion of the purse.

Restoration KIDS is created for kids aged infant to 5th grade. Check in your kids in the Family Room when you arrive, and then join all together for music worship in the Gathering Room. After worship, KIDS Team staff will lead children to their classes. Any questions? Email admin@restorationcolorado.org about our KIDS program.

Restoration STUDENTS is created for older kids in 6th grade - 12th grade. Students join us for the Gathering on Sunday mornings. Youth Group is every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. For more info and questions, email our Youth Pastor, jadon@restorationcolorado.org.