Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5 One area of preaching that will get me extremely hot under the collar is the inaccurate quoting of the tithing requirement of the Old Testament, and that in a New Testament church. In every other area, New Testament churches preach the doctrine of Grace. Ask any New Testament preacher if we are under the Law or Grace and they'll certainly tell you Grace, as it should be. However, these same men will eventually preach on the subject of tithing - an issue with no reference in the New Testament after the crucifixion except for instruction about Old Testament matters. The other times it's mentioned in the New Testament is when Jesus spoke in a negative context to the Pharisees of His day about their attitude for giving. Remember that our Lord's entire earthly ministry was under the Old Testament economy until the New Covenant was established the night before His crucifixion. Other than these references by Jesus, tithing is only mentioned in the book of Hebrews, and merely to explain the Old Testament system. Despite this fact, every preacher I've ever heard preach on the subject reverts from Grace to the Law.

If you are a pastor and you think you are aggrandizing yourself when you wear clericals, you’ll be disappointed. The congregation quickly gets used to the clericals and they see them as badges of service, not honor. Clericals put you in the same functional category as bellhops, waiters, police officers, airline pilots, and so on. We do not dress to please ourselves, or anyone else for that matter; our manner of dress facilitates our service. It makes our function obvious to strangers. It makes our duties inescapable, and it constrains our personal conduct, because we can’t disappear into the crowd when we are wearing clericals. Clericals mean that visitors don’t have to ask, “Where is the pastor?” They know just by looking.

I posted this video because when I was growing up, Sesame Street was my favorite show and my daughter Hailee Giles (www.haileegiles.com) loves Elmo. Just remember, with Jesus Christ, nothing will bring you down...continue to trust God and praise His Holy name.

Child of God Ministries redesigns Mt. Zion Baptist Church. http://t.co/d7f93mix

Bible Verse of the Week - John 14:27 http://t.co/THwxprqA

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

I'll be listening to the What Makes a Christian Marriage Str show by Carlfred Giles on #BlogTalkRadio - http://tobtr.com/s/1032478

Just launched www.childgodmc.com

Uploading fresh content for the re-launch of www.childofgodmc.com...stay tuned! :)

Carlfred Giles, founder of Child of God Ministry Concepts, Monroe, LA, will partner with CPM to redesign http://childofgodmc.com