Got Mercy? (Part One)

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If you’ve been at Oak Mountain Church for a little or even a long while, you know that we take a special mercy offering after worship services that celebrate the Lord’s Supper. What you might not know is why we take that offering on Communion Sundays. The connection between taking an offering (giving) and taking Communion (receiving) is clear throughout church history. It’s a practical way of demonstrating Matthew 10:8, which says, “Freely you have received, freely give.” As we receive God’s grace in Christ while taking Communion, we respond in gratitude by freely giving grace to others by the power of the Spirit of God.

It’s as though we remember at the Lord’s Supper the first half of Titus 2:14, that “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness,” and when we leave the sanctuary, we fulfill the second half of Titus 2:14, which is “to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” By remembering our union in Christ as forgiven sinners and our identity in Christ as righteous by grace alone, the Holy Spirit gives us power to fulfill the imperatives of Christ to do good to those in need (Matthew 25:40, Luke 10:37, John 13: 14).   

Don’t miss that: doing good to others is not negotiable; it’s a must. Jesus is clear about that. BUT, He’s also clear that doing good to others is always a response to understanding the great good done to us: that Jesus died and rose again on our behalf, which both takes away our sin and gives us His righteousness so that we can know God intimately.

Stay tuned to learn more about how God is using the mercy offering to help those in need.