The call of discipleship is to follow Jesus with all that we
are and have. This includes our
money. In fact it is often hardest for
people to follow Jesus with their money.
That’s why Jesus spoke about money more than he spoke about any other
issue. We speak about money a lot less
than Jesus. But once a year we take time
in our church to reconsider our financial discipleship. That time is now. We each are being asked to reconsider how
much we invest in the work of God through this congregation. In doing this I ask you to prayerfully
consider your financial investment in the work of God through this
congregation. As you do this consider
the following biblical principles about giving.
1.
Give first to God.
Constantly, in everything we are called to give to God our first and our
best. Jesus tells us that the greatest
commandment is to love God first above all others. In the Old Testament the Israelites were
commanded to give the first and best of their flocks and crops as an
offering. Giving first to God ensures
that we don’t short change God by meeting our own needs first and then giving
God what’s left over.
2.
Give as a proportion of your income. In the New Testament Paul writes about the
principle of proportionate giving. In
the Old Testament God indicates that he sees a tenth (a tithe) of our income is
a suitable amount. If you are not yet
giving a tithe, the step up chart included in your stewardship letter may
help. It could be a big step from giving
the proportion that you’re giving now to giving 10%. To make the transition use the chart to
identify the proportion you’re giving now and then add 1% to that for this
year. Then next year you can repeat the
process, until you reach 10%.
3.
If you are not yet using direct debit, consider the use
of that. Direct debit allows us to
constantly honour God with our giving, not just on those Sundays when we attend
and give. It is beneficial to our
Treasurer in guaranteeing a steady income stream from which to budget and meet
payments. It reduces the work load and
reduces the personal safety risk of those who count and bank the cash offerings
each week.
4.
After you have considered the amount of your pledge
record this on the pledge form included with your stewardship letter and return
to the church by Sunday 29 September. A
high rate of return of these forms gives our Treasurer an accurate indication
of income for the coming year so that he can frame our budget. This is good and wise stewardship, because
our expenditure is dependent on our income.
5.
Honour God by giving to him, through Emmanuel Uniting,
with joy and thankfulness. Giving our
tithes and offerings is a further way in which we praise God and respond to his
blessings in our lives. In the same way
that we get joy out of giving presents to others, we should get pleasure from
giving our tithes and offerings. The
pleasure of honouring God, the joy of expressing our love and the delight of
knowing that we have given a tangible sign of our love for the one who has
loved us completely.
Please continue to invest in the work of God’s church,
Emmanuel, through your tithes and offerings.
Grace and peace
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