Questions are crucial for understanding, unity, and fruitfulness in almost any relationship. This is obvious in marriage, parenting, and at work.

Good questions and thoughtful answers are important in the context of the church as well, perhaps especially between shepherds and the flock. And so DSC’s elders are available in the halls around church, by email, and once each year we set aside an evening to take questions in the context of a corporate gathering. We call it, an “Elders Q&A.”

Our next Elders Q&A will take place on the last Wednesday of this month, September 24, at 6:30 PM.

If you have a question, submit it. If you don’t, think of one and then submit it. Here are four ways to ask your questions:

• Submit your question using your bulletin Comment Card next Sunday and drop that in an offering box.
• Email your question to info@desertspringschurch.org.
• Communicate your question for the Q&A to an elder directly.
• Show up with your question on the 24th. The elders will take some questions from a mic in the course of the evening.

Of course, we appreciate your questions early. This helps us notice recurring themes and spend our time in a way that best serves the congregation. Any questions that are not addressed at the Q&A will be answered through the DSC Blog or by email.

Get acquainted with DSC’s elders by reading their biographies on the Leadership Page. Also, audio from previous Elder Q&A evenings is available at our Messages Page under the topic “Elder Q&A.”

In Sunday’s sermon, “God’s People in God’s Presence,” Ryan addressed at some length the role of children in our corporate gatherings.

It is easy to assume that these gatherings are for adults, and that children’s programs are a substitute for children. But as a general principle, it seems consistent with the Bible’s description of the family and of the church for children to join us as soon as they are able. The question of when they are ready depends largely on our role as parents in training them and preparing them. Each family will need to work through how to get from here to there with their young ones.

Here are some articles to help you work this out in the context of your family.

Articles on families together in corporate worship

• “The Family: Together in God’s Presence,” by John and Noel Piper
• “Children in Worship—Let’s Bring it Back,” by Jason Helopoulos
• “Children in Worship—Mom Tested Tips,” by Jason Helopoulos

Statements from other churches families together in corporate worship

• “Practical Suggestions on Your Role in Worship,”  by David Eby, North City Presbyterian Church
• “On the Family Pew: Children in Corporate Worship,” by Michael Brown, Christ United Reformed Church
• “Teaching Your Children to Worship,” by Mark Kuykendall, Bethel Bible Church
• “Children and Corporate Worship,” Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church
• “Ten Reasons Why Your Children Should Sit with You in Worship,” by Reggie Weems, Heritage Baptist Church
• “Worshiping with Your Children,” by Matthew Fletcher, Webster Bible Church

If you had to read one article on this subject, we’d recommend the piece written by John and Noel Piper, “The Family: Together in God’s Presence.” In fact, we’re making this available for you in print this coming Sunday and around the church on an ongoing basis.

It is good for families to worship together with the family of God. Everything else that goes on around here on Sunday is second to that.

This weekend we will sing a song that is increasingly familiar to us at DSC: “Oh How Good It Is.” This is a song about what it means to be the family of God written by Keith and Kristyn Getty, who will be with us in just two weekends for a concert on Saturday, September 20. By the way, if you haven’t already, click here to register.

Here’s a video of the song followed by lyrics:

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

Here are the lyrics to this song, written by Keith and Kristyn Getty, Ross Holmes, and Stuart Townend.

Verse 1
Oh how good it is
when the family of God
dwells together in spirit,
in faith, and unity;
Where the bonds of peace
of acceptance and love
are the fruit of His presence
here among us.

Chorus 1
So with one voice we’ll sing to the Lord,
and with one heart we’ll live out His Word,
till the whole earth sees
the Redeemer has come,
for He dwells in the presence of His people.

Verse 2
Oh how good it is
on this journey we share
to rejoice with the happy
and weep with those who mourn;
For the weak find strength,
the afflicted find grace
when we offer the blessing
of belonging.

Verse 3
Oh how good it is
to embrace His command,
to prefer one another,
forgive as He forgives;
When we live as one
we all share in the love
of the Son with the Father
and the Spirit.

Click here to purchase the song, and here to purchase the album, Hymns for the Christian Life.

In Sunday’s sermon, “Relieving Suffering with the Grace of Giving,” we explored one of the New Testament’s most beautiful passages on the supernatural joy of the gospel that overflows in generosity. With the subject of giving often comes the question of the tithe. What is the Old Testament background to the idea of a tithe and should New Testament Christians practice it?

Originally published in Christianity today, here’s a simple Q&A on the question of the tithe with D.A. Carson.

Question: The tithe is clearly taught in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament it seems to be downplayed. Are those of us who give 10 percent of our income doing something not required?
–K. Dale Miller, Wilmore, Kentucky

Answer: A simple yes or no to this question would be horribly misleading.

We know that the law of Moses mandated the tithe (see Lev. 27:30–33), at least in part to support the ministry of the Levites (Num. 18:21–24). Like many other laws, however, it was frequently observed in the breach, although the prophets insisted that failure to pay the tithe was nothing less than robbing God (Mal. 3:6–12).

There were also offerings to be paid. Moreover, faithful Israelites were to be generous with their alms, so that the poor of the land were supported.

In practice, the prophets found themselves inveighing against greed and social injustice (e.g., Amos) and against a raw form of capitalism that squeezed out the poor (Isa. 5:8–10). In other words, even within the Old Testament we should be careful not to isolate the tithe from broader demands of generosity and social justice.

The only passage in the New Testament that explicitly authorizes the tithe does so in a rather backhanded way: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices . . . . But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matt. 23:23, NIV).

Jesus’ primary point, of course, is to criticize the scrupulous tithing of even a few herbs grown in the back garden if it is at the expense of fundamental issues of justice, integrity, and mercy. But one might have expected Jesus to say, “You should have practiced the latter, and let the herbs take care of themselves”–or some thing equally dismissive. Instead, he says, “You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

After the Cross and the Resurrection, the New Testament provides no passage with the same explicit conclusion. That raw fact leads to all the usual debates about the nature of the continuity and discontinuity between the old and new covenants.

Does the tithe continue as a divine mandate because it has not been explicitly abrogated? Or is it part of the “old order” that is passing away?

However we resolve that broad question, all sides agree that some New Testament writers insist that Christians be a giving, generous people (1 Tim. 6:18). So, at very least, we must insist that believers under both covenants are expected to give generously.

Some may wonder, Is the dispute about nothing more than the amount? Is there something about 10 percent that is entrenched in moral law?

The following two points will help focus the issue.

1. Beware of pride. There is always a great spiritual danger in thinking that if in some area we have satisfied a specific, concrete demand we have done everything that God requires. Ten percent is a lot of money to some folks; to others it’s not very much. Isn’t that one of the lessons to be learned from Jesus’ comments about the widow’s mite? To suppose that God demands 10 percent–and nothing more–can itself foster a remarkably independent and idolatrous attitude: “This bit is for God, and the rest is mine by right.” Likewise, if you choose to give more than 10 percent, you may become inebriated from the contemplation of your own generosity.

2. Remember why you’re giving. A strictly legal perspective on giving soon runs into a plethora of complicated debates. Is this 10 percent of gross income or of net? How does this play out in a country where a progressive income-tax system rises to 90 percent of in come? If we choose to tithe from our net income, are we talking “take-home pay” only, or does it include what is withheld for medical insurance and retirement benefits?

It would be easy to list such questions for a page or two without ever asking, “How can I manage my affairs so that I can give more?” That is surely a better question than “What’s the correct interpretation so that I can do whatever’s required and then get on with my life?” Christians will want to acknowledge with gratitude that they are mere stewards of all that they “possess.” Moreover, New Testament ethics turn not so much on legal prescription as on lives joyfully submitted to God.

This is why the most penetrating New Testament passage on giving is 2 Cor. 8–9. Under severe trial, the Corinthians’ “overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (8:2). Even so, they first gave themselves to the Lord (2 Cor. 8:5).

So, why not aim for 20 percent in your giving? Or 30? Or more, depending on your circumstances (2 Cor. 8:12)? “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that . . . for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

We’re four weeks away from a concert of worship here at DSC with Keith and Kristyn Getty. If you’re not familiar with their names, you are likely still familiar with some of the modern hymns they’ve written for the church. “In Christ Alone,” and “By Faith,” are two songs we sing at DSC from time to time. The concert will begin at 6:30 PM on Saturday, September 20. Click here to register. The cost is $15.

To give you a sense of what to expect on Saturday evening, September 20th, sample from or buy this album and check out a few of these songs recorded live at The Gospel Coalition‘s 2013 National Conference.

“In Christ Alone”

“Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed!”

 “Oh How Good It Is”

Click here to hear and read lyrics to songs written by Keith and Kristyn Getty. And click here to learn more and to register.