Revision as of 15:11, 29 April 2024

Theological Proposition/Focus:

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Within the Church local congregations are resourced by Christ through the abundant generosity of the members.

Introduction:

Image: Winning at Sim City - don't make the mistake of laying out all your roads at once

I used to really enjoy the computer game Sim city. I enjoyed playing mayor for a day. I especially enjoyed the work of planning out and laying out the city. There was nothing better than having a well-organized city with every road straight and the grid lines perfectly lined up. However, you also had to be careful. I remember one day I started a game and thought to myself that I was going to lay out everything ahead of time to make my city very organized. I got out the road tool and started perfectly laying out all of my roads across the entire map. I quickly realized my mistake. Those roads cost money to maintain and within a very short time my city, while nearly everything was designed well was out of money because I didn't understand that the game charged me a maintenance fee for my roads.

Within the local assembly of believers that we call the church we also need to understand the resources that God has given us and understanding those resources we need to act with a great deal of integrity to ensure that we being wise stewards of the resources God has given us.

Text: Various, read before each main point.

It is hard for churches to talk about tithing largely because it is hard to strike a balance. Some churches only talk about tithing. Other churches never talk about tithing. It is like pendulum, we don't want to be like those churches that preach health and wealth to all who freely give, but we also need to teach about financial giving. The purpose today is the learn about the financial resources that Christ has provided his church. The reality is that while Christ owns the cattle on a thousand hills, he has decided to let each of you be part of his resourcing of the church. We here in this room bear a responsibility to steward the finances with which we have been entrusted and part of that stewardship comes when we give generously to our church. Why give? Because it is commanded, why else? Because God is working in our church and we have been invited to be part of that work.

Preview: What we are going to see is that the normative practice for Christ followers is purposeful regular financial giving; but more there are times when they may be asked to give more for special projects. Ultimately, the church is called to provide for those whose vocation is the Gospel.

As we talk today I want you to not just consider the present bur consider the future what might God have in store for our church and how might you be part of that future?

Body

The normative practice of Christ's followers is purposeful regular financial giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

In order to understand 1 Corinthians 16 it is helpful to think a little about the history of the early church. After the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost the church went through a period of rapid growth and expansion. During this period of rapid growth many members sold their possessions and turned the money from such sales over to the church to use in support of the members and the growth. Now nearly 40 years later the church in Jerusalem found itself in financial hardship. I am speculating, but I suspect that the resources expended in the early church came at a cost and Paul noting this cost asked the other churches to come together to provide for those who had earlier graciously given to enable to early church to grow.

The command to give is not a specific local phenomena.

I find verse 1 to be telling. Paul reminded the corinthians that the command to give was not something he was asking for from one particular church. Giving was the normative practice that all the churches were doing.

Something we need to understand is that giving is normal for a church. A healthy church is a giving church.

Something else I want you to notice is in verse 2. There was a specific time when giving took place, Sunday. To understand this part of the passage we must understand that people were paid daily. There was no notion of every other week payments etc. Also, there were not refrigerators and so people typically spent their paycheck on food for the day. People literally lived paycheck to paycheck and that was essentially a daily thing. When Paul calls on people to lay aside saving up this is counter cultural. Furthermore, by specifically laying up each paycheck Paul is removing emotional hype from the giving process. Giving is regular and purposeful not emotional and random.

The command to give is in proportion to one's income.

Here is a reality. Paul writes about giving more than any other New Testament writer but he does not use the word tithe when talking about giving. Some have taken this to mean that the tithe is not something that a Christian should worry about. I want to instead point something out to you. The giving was to be regular and "in keeping with your income." The idea here is in proportion with or "whatever one has prospered in." Here is the key. Giving should be in measure with what one has a proportion to how God has blessed. So, what does it look like to give in proportion to what one has? Well, we already have a biblical model throughout the Old Testament, to was called the tithe! Perhaps Paul didn't use the word tithe because the people already knew what Paul meant when he commanded proportional giving!

Image: puppy commercials

I don't like the commercials on TV asking me to support the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The commercials are so sad and then they finish with a call to support. You are stuck, are you going to let the poor dog suffer or do you call the number and help the dog out? This is an emotional appeal! And this is the sort of thing Paul prevented from happening in Corinth. By commanding regular, proportional giving, Paul is eliminating emotional appeals!

The command to give is in order that fellow Christians might be blessed.

So why do we give? Well because it is commanded but also in order that other Christians might be blessed. The Jerusalem church had blessed really the entire world with the message of salvation. Now, the Corinthians were given the opportunity to give back, to bless the Jerusalem church if you will.

Acts 20:35 states

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

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Being able to give is in fact a blessing.

Moreover, we must understand that

Day to day operations take money

As I talk through this sermon I want to also cast vision for our church. Something I want us to consider is just what day to day operations cost. It costs is $256 a day just to operate our facility. This does not take into account any salaries or anything like that. Things like water, electrical, gas, maintenance, lawn care, $250 a day. almost $94000 a year. 20% of our church budget is spent on just upkeep of our building. So why do I tell you this? Because I want us to understand how important it is that we give. We give to the church purposefully and regularly because simple operational costs take resources.

MTR: Evaluate your giving. Are you giving regularly, intentional, proportionally, and lovingly?

There are times when the people of God are called upon to provide for special projects (Exodus 25:20-29)

The people of God brought financial resources.

The people of God used their skills.

Special projects take additional offerings.

MTR: Evaluate your offerings. Are you generously looking for opportunities to offer and serve.

The church is called upon to provide for those whose vocation is the Gospel (1 Timothy 5:17-18).

Elders who lead, preach, and teach are worthy of double honor.

The work of a pastor, while often a passion of the pastor, still deserves the label "work".

MTR: Determine to support our pastors and recognize the need for pastors.

1. ↑ NIV