This year, Consecration Sunday will be this Sunday, Nov. 18th. At the end of the service, we will invite people to place their estimated giving card in a basket on their way to the Fellowship Hall. Followed by a Celebration Brunch and sharing of stories of God’s faithfulness over the past year. As we prepare for this Sunday, Pastor Eric has answered some of the most common questions about giving.

TWO REASONS NOT TO TITHE:

1. DESPERATION/COERCION— You shouldn’t give to the church because you feel that without your contribution, the church will fail. And you shouldn’t give to the church out of a sense of guilt. 2 Cor. 9:7 tells us that, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Our giving should always be rooted in the confidence that God will accomplish His will in our lives and in the work of His church.

1. GENEROSITY— Generosity is a good thing, but it is not an appropriate way to think about our tithe. The Biblical standard for the tithe is 10% of your income. The other word for this standard is the first fruits, which refers to the first 10% of the crops that were harvested. Tithing was not described as being based on generosity because the tithe was considered to be God’s property. Tithing is a recognition that all we have belongs to God rather than a portion of our belongings that we ‘give’ to God. The early church made a distinction between charity (which was given over and above the tithe) and the tithe (which was expected).

TWO REASONS TO TITHE:

1. WORSHIP— Hebrews 13:15 tells us to, “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.” When we come before God on Sunday morning, we offer to God our voices, our thoughts, our hearts, our bodies, and our experiences from the week and ask God to receive them as acceptable in His sight. Our financial contributions during the worship service are a tangible way to express our intention to offer our whole being to God as sacrificial praise. Believe it or not, the practice of tithing does more for the spiritual health of the congregation of a church than it does for the facilities and programs of the church. When I was living on the East Coast, I witnessed a number of property rich churches that didn’t teach about tithing because they could cover their expenses without any contributions from their members. Without fail, such churches were beautiful on the outside and spiritually dead on the inside.

1. FREEDOM— It is very common for people from all ends of the socio-economic spectrum to feel that they need just a bit more money in order to feel comfortable and secure. The reality is that we will never feel completely comfortable and secure financially until we realize that our comfort and security rest in a generous God not in our bank accounts and assets. There is no other way to learn this important truth than begin the practice of sacrificial giving and experience God’s abundant generosity directly.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I TITHE?

10% IS THE GOAL— The Biblical standard for the tithe has traditionally been understood as 10% of your income. The other word for this standard is the first fruits, which refers to the first tenth of the crops that were harvested. It may be difficult to reconcile the notions that we are not to be coerced into giving and that there is a Biblical standard for our contributions to the church. How can giving be both sacrificial and cheerful? I believe that God really does want us to contribute at least 10% of our income to His work, but I also believe that He is a gracious God who accepts us right where we are and then through His power gently leads us to greater obedience.

GROWING TOWARDS THE GOAL— If you have never made a tithe commitment before, I believe that making a 1% tithe commitment would be the first step in a wonderful journey of discovering more about God’s faithfulness and generosity in the coming year.

PASTORAL DISCLAIMERS— I feel that it is an important aspect of our pastoral responsibility to provide clear teaching on this issue, but we will make a few qualifications of we have written above. First of all, we need to avoid legalism on this issue. Many of you are on fixed incomes and have fixed expenses and may not have very much ‘wiggle room’ in your budget. Additionally, some of you are facing special crises this year because of factors outside of your control. I believe that there are cases where one can be completely faithful to God’s calling while giving less than 10% of one’s income. Only God knows our hearts, and there are many ways that we can express that all we have belongs to him. Secondly, I am your pastor, but I am also a struggling disciple of Christ myself. In any given year, we struggle with this issue as I’m sure many of you do and still have a lot of growing to do. Thirdly, we are only guessing that many of you struggle in this are because we never have and never will see either your commitment cards or your giving records. As much as we want to challenge all of us with clear teaching, we also value your privacy on this very sensitive area.