Sermon Tone Analysis
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Opening Question: Why do you give to church, to this church?
Do you give to other charities?
What if someone gave $1,000,000 to the church?
Would you still give?
Why?
Why not?
STATS - Facts
BIG POINTS TODAY:
We as a church need to do better job at explaining our mission, and carrying out that mission?
Do we understand that mission?
Do you understand it?
I pray this message helps.
THIS church - generous in responding to needs
EVERYthing about Jesus was radical, including His giving.
He expects the same of disciples
God loves a cheerful giver, and He cares for and provides for those He loves
Giving is ultimately for YOU, God seeks to bless you and your giving (NOT prosperity theology, “blessing” is heavenly, spiritual
Biblical Giving in the Healthy Church
1) Principle
Old Testament
Deut
10% of the produce of the fields
Not paid in cash, as we think of it
Cain/Abel - knew to sacrifice
Noah - more than a tithe after the Flood
Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, perhaps a personification of God
This occurred before the law
Other sacrifices, payments to temple - total 30 - 40%
New Testament
Cheerful, Sacrificial, generous, as prospered
They desired to give as an expression of their worship (this is on the first day of the week)
They desired to give as an expression of their worship (this is on the first day of the week)
POINT: Tithe is not required of believers
Could be a good goal, or even a good starting point
If simply done as a requirement, you’re just following a rule,
And, since the Law is dead, that rule is not in effect
(and REM - OT was not $$, it was product - for us, that loosely equates in a way we understand
STAT, IF believers in US gave 10% (see sheet)
Additional $165B for churches to use and distribute (see sheet for application)
Tithing is good foundation, and something we GET to do
2) Practice
Given of firstfruits, first of all the produce of the land - (The amount was Law, the source was not)
Planned - ahead of time, whether or not the person “here”
It’s not about a 2-minute portion of a Sunday service
Regular (weekly, monthly, etc.)
8/10 in US who give regularly have zero CC debt
Prayerful - Giving to God what is ALREADY His! It’s all His
Giving is a spiritual matter
Heart issue, not about the money
It’s not about a 2-minute portion of a Sunday service
STAT, IF believers in US gave 10% (see sheet) - What if they tithed?
Jesus spoke about the eye:
Good eye - happy when others prosper
Evil eye - eye upon the self
Good eye - happy when others prosper
Evil eye - eye upon the self
Practical
Budget or otherwise - give first, write the check, set is aside, take it off the top
And not grudgingly
God will provide what you need, NEED, not want, but NEED
Unbelievers don’t get this, how we can’t out-give God
Unbelievers don’t get that we’d rather give to church, to God, rather than get a better house, car, school, etc.
In truth, the HUGE majority of believers don’t get it, either
And we don’t give grudgingly
3) Purpose
To better understand the purpose of giving, we need to understand the purpose of the church
QUESTION: What is the purpose of this church?
What does this community need from Cornerstone?
Answer (from the community, based on requests we get): to provide food and money for people who are not part of the church
To them, we are a social service, no different than charitable organizations
Answer (from God’s Word, based on God’s purpose for the church): the Gospel, the truth
We MUST believe that, or why else are we here?
(We worship, YES, to point to God, and our giving is an aspect of our giving)
Independent/Autonomous Local Church - VERY Biblical
Not reliant on any outside funds
Giving pays the bills, keeps the lights on, keeps the pastor employed
All true, but not nearly the BIG picture
Do we see our church as important?
Do we see and realize the need of this church?
Cornerstone NEEDS to be healthy financially, so that this community can get what it NEEDS from Cornerstone
On one hand - God wants us to respond to this church’s need, but not once, not short-term; regularly, ongoing
On another - God is being active here, because there are faithful people here - when the faithful show up, when the faithful give, God works in amazing ways
But what about “I give of my time?”
“Giving” is synonymous with love, selfless
Beyond our financial support, the giving of our time
Same questions:
How important is this church, and it’s mission, to YOU?
The effectiveness of our church, and its mission, is DIRECTLY related to people giving of time and energy - SERVING
We put our focused energy into what we feel is important
For those who give of time, sacrificial, only you can know and understand the blessing that occurs
The love you express by doing so can never be measured here, but rather in glory
God asks us to give both - $$$ and selves - He calls it sacrifice
God defined giving
WE CANNOT OUT-GIVE GOD!
CLOSING POINTS
5 year plan - double in growth, double in giving, and watch how God will use all of that!
Do-able.
I’m convinced (not judging, but being encouraging):
Our giving could easily be 40-50% higher already
If regular, planned, faithful, generous and sacrificial giving occurred
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