Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

In America we have..... of wealth

42% believe a Christian should give to the church......

Here is the problem we face......

We see that we give TO...... GIVE to the church.... GIVE to the non-profit.... GIVE to Keep the AC on..... etc.

instead of

Giving From..... a heart of worship to God!

You have been saved by Grace through Faith....

It is a gift of God.....

You are no longer your old self, but a new creation in Christ

In response to God’s actions in your life.

Saving you! ...

You no longer worship yourself or another idol/god.....you respond to him in Worship!..... Giving is one way to show that worship to him!

Join me in Luke this morning to see what happens when Jesus interacts with two wealthy people......I want to look at a Case Study in the Gospel of Luke of two people that come into contact with Jesus..... and here is the formula....

Salvation leads to worshipping God… A fruit of that will be with your $

1.

The Rich and Jesus

The Rich Young Ruler

a. Wealthy

b.

Religious - He obeyed the law..... What must I do?

c.

Unwilling to be generous - He did not experience Salvation in Jesus

Jesus addresses his sadness about riches with the truth that for the rich it is difficult.... impossible

d.

A WARNING TO THE RICH

Zaccheus

a. Wealthy

b. irreligious

c.

Changed by Jesus and more than generous

d.

Jesus’ purpose is to bring salvation to the LOST.... sinners in need of salvation.

5%

Well, what about the remaining 95%?

What are they up to?

30% of the U.S. makes no charitable contributions

50% of the U.S. give more than 0% but less than 2% of their income to charity;

15% give more than 2% but less than 10% of their income to charity

“There is no such thing as a Christian scrooge,” he says.

“We may know some scrooges who claim to be Christians, but I don’t think you can claim to really know Christ and be a stingy person.”

The gospel opens our soul — and with it, our hands.

Openhanded Worship

Why should we worship through giving of our $ in the life of the local church?

It is an Act of Worship between you and God!

FROM GOD TO YOU FROM YOU TO GOD!

Jesus was our example of generously giving everything! 2 Cor 8:9

When your heart is forever changed by the Gift of Jesus Christ.... the forgiveness of your sins.... the eternal life.... His righteousness instead of the judgment due your sins.... the wrath of God.....

It is inexpressible!..... Overwhelming generosity shown to you when you DID NOT DESERVE IT.....

There is no one good except God alone!

With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible!...... Who can be saved?

Only those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ alone!

Salvation opens your heart and soul to bring glory, honor and praise to Jesus..... and that means worshipping him with your money as well!

Has Salvation come to you in Jesus..... Has that led you to worship God with being generous with Money?

Do you find yourself more like the Rich Young Ruler or Zaccheus?

Have you ever participated in worship through Giving at LCBC?

Stats above show that there will be some in our midst that would say no..... My time is my tithe.... My talents and serving is my tithe.....

But we see over and over again that Money is a part of us worshipping God in the life of the church because Jesus saved us!

Do you give sacrificially, generously, joyfully, and regularly in worship at LCBC!

Worship beyond the Tithe

You must give a tithe!.... taught in churches growing up..... tithes and offerings.....

The OT definetly teaches this truth, but I want to say this morning.....

You do not have to Tithe as a Christian.....

A tenth of Israel’s seed, fruit, and flocks were given to the Lord (Lev.

27:30–32; Deut.

14:22–24; cf. 2 Chron.

31:5–6; Neh.

13:5, 12).

The people gave a tenth to the Levites to support them (Num.

18:21–24; cf.

Neh.

10:38; 12:44), and the Levites, in turn, were to give a tenth to the chief priest (Num.

18:25–28).

Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal.

3:8–10).

In fact, the number was probably somewhere around 20-23 percent per year.

So if you are going to advocate for the terminology of a tithe....

I suggest you hold up to the 20% or more of what you recieve :)

2. Giving sacrificially, generously, and joyfully is a part of the christian life

Giving 10% of your income may be a great place to start.... but if you are making 1,000,000 dollars..... what is 10% of that compared to the person making $10.hour...... the sacrificial worship of God is not felt the same.....

When was the last time you filled up with Gas?..... did you feel it hit your pocketbook?

Your Budget?

When was the last time you felt that when you gave online, wrote the check for your worship in giving @ LCBC?...... Man that is going to hurt?.....

There should be moments in your life that you look at your budget and think.... why can’t I afford that, and the reason being you give $ in worship to God!

The tithe was put in place not because God needed money.... nor a system needed financing.....

It was a constant reminder of the heart for the Israelites that the worship of God comes first!

God is calling us to be sacrificial, generous, and joyful in our worship to him with HIS money!

3. God loves a cheerful giver

Heart Check.... what does your heart say about your giving?

Is it Cheerful, full of Joy in Christ?

This morning....

It is between you and God.....

I am not playing the Holy Spirit for you.... Pastor said..... no it is between you and God.... you have decided in your heart.... it is not reluctant.... it is you and God… and God loves a cheerful giver!

Invitation -

Come and respond this morning!

Let us be a church that is openhanded with our $

Let us worship God in this way!

Let us take note of Jesus strong warning to the RICH!

Let us thank God for his inexpressible gift in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Move as the Spirit leads..... Join our church, be baptized, come to Jesus this morning as your Lord and Savior!