Please send an email to WCOCNEWS@aol.com if you have any questions regarding the announcements. 

Going Away Party for the Hoovers: This Friday we will be having an all church devotional/party to honor the Hoovers who have served our Worcester family during the last three years.

Ken & Rebecca Martin joyfully announce the birth of their daughter, born Friday, February 23 at 12:20 am, weighing in at 4 ½ pounds and 18 inches long.  She will be named today.

Reminder to Parents:  Please check your children out of their Kids Kingdom classes as soon after service as possible so the teachers may have an opportunity to enjoy the fellowship as well. Thank you for your consideration. 

We are still accepting application letters from any member that would like to go and serve the church in Albania in 2007.  Please forward your letters to Chris Efstathion.

Music Ministry meeting: Sunday, March 4 from 12:30 - 2:00, immediately following services. This meeting is open to any member of the church who has suggestions/ideas, or is interested in serving in any way in the Music Ministry (set-up, sound, singing, band, etc.). Please bring lunch if you want, as we’ll be able to eat while we have our meeting.

Now is subscription renewal time for www.DisciplesToday.com . US member subscriptions help 2nd and 3rd world churches have free access. It is $40 per year.

Preteen Camp:  Registration for Pre-Teen Camp, along with a deposit of $100 is due by April 7th.  Camp is scheduled for August 14 - 19.  The total cost is $320.  Please see Jerry or Lori Maday with any questions and to pay.

Prayer Requests:

Jeff Crumble & family need recuperation prayers for Jeff & his son after his kidney transplant. 

Rachel Efstathion and Molly Prince were both accepted to Hope’s Youth Core in Jamaica.  They need our prayers and support to raise funds to go.

Jayne Bartlett: recuperation prayers after a difficult test a week ago.

Honoring God in 2007

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.  Proverbs 3:9-10

It’s interesting that the tithe (giving a tenth of all you have or receive) is so prevalent throughout the writings of the Old Testament, but is rarely mentioned in the New Testament. From this fact, some have concluded that God no longer requires or expects 10 percent giving from his people. But the scarce mention of the tithe in the New Testament is evidence not that God expects less of us today, but that He envisions far more.  John the Baptist suggests 50% giving as he was baptizing (Luke 3:11) and Jesus was totally inspired by the poor widow (Luke 21:1-4) who freely gave 100% of all she had to live on.  No, the tithe doesn’t apply to us in the same way that it did in the Old Testament; it is only the starting blocks for a much more extravagant New Testament generosity.

I know that in my life, God has filled my “barns and vats” to overflowing as I strive to give beyond the tithe in all that I have.  I do not believe that God is some kind of magical investment planner.  When I stop and think about my wife, my children, a close and intimate walk with God and deep relationships in the body, I can easily say He has filled my barns to overflowing.

Sometimes I will hear, “I can’t afford to tithe; I am drowning in debt.”  Others feel that it is a sin to tithe, until they get out of debt.  We usually get into financial bondage by violating scriptural principles; it is not likely that we will free ourselves by continuing to do so.   The fact still remains that, regardless of how may bills a Christian may have, the firstfruits of his income still belong to the Lord.

For 2007, the leadership group has raised the weekly budget to $5,400 per week. This represents us moving towards the goal and expectation that we all tithe.

Honoring God comes first in everything we do.  As sons and daughters, we don’t give our Father the last, the least or the leftovers.   In 2007 and for the rest of our lives, let us decide to honor the Lord with our wealth.

Chris Efstathion