Deuteronomy 26:2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you…Then go to the place the LORD your God… 3 and say…“I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land the LORD swore to our forefathers to give us.” 4 …set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God.
Welcome to our Firstfruits Festival. Today we celebrate the fulfillment so far of God’s promises to us. He has blessed us. He has given us our jobs, businesses, and other sources of income. He has answered our prayers. So we pause to celebrate the many gifts of God to us.
In the Firstfruits Festival, we joyfully come before the presence of the Lord bringing our first fruits offerings. This is our expression of gratitude to God as we acknowledge that what we are and have come from the Lord. We come to the house of God and offer from the harvest God has made possible for us. We were weak and powerless, but God has worked in our families and lives to bless us. So we celebrate God’s kindness to us.
We celebrate not only the actual harvest but the gifts of God that made the harvest possible. God has rescued us our sufferings and lack in our past, and has graciously given us an inheritance – our homes, our sources of income, the power to produce wealth, and more. He has given us the gift of enjoyment along with our families and the community of God’s people. He has saved us from our sins and forgiven us. Now we are his family along with others who follow him. So we rejoice and give thanks to the Lord of blessings.
Our Father in heaven, receive from our hearts and our hands today our offerings of deep gratitude to you because of your abundant mercy & grace, and your rich provision for our physical & material needs! Thanks for everything. Be glorified with our worship today.
Lathur Badoy