This imagery of the church is reflective of Jesus, who calls himself the true vine.  “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5 NRSV) 

In the woods beside Pleasant Green Church there are, in the trees, wild grapes.  Growing up, we called them muscadines.  Ordinarily, you wouldn’t notice these vines.  But if you were to take a walk around the church in late-summer you couldn’t miss them.  You still might not be able to actually see the vines (at least not without close examination) but their heavy, sweet grapey, mouthwatering scent is ever present.  It’s the scent that draws you closer and closer to its’ source.

I believe Pleasant Green to be a place very similar to Catherine’s vision, a great vineyard where individuals are incorporated into life in the vine.  A life of faith lived out without walls, fences or dividing lines.  Pleasant Green is a place where her members and constituents are free to examine what it means to be a part of the vine, to abide in the vine. In other words, we are free to practice the faith in a supportive community, so that we may have the courage to “live out” our faith when we enter the world.

This “living out” our faith is revealed as we perform acts of compassion, acts of justice, acts of devotion and acts of worship.  Sharing a meal with a homeless person or sitting with someone who has suffered a loss are compassionate acts.  Working toward achieving inclusivity (regardless of race, orientation or social stature) within the body of Christ is an act of justice.  Daily reading the Holy Scriptures while maintaining a personal prayer time is an act of devotion.  Attending corporate worship and receiving communion are acts of worship.  With each beautiful act, we are like the grape hidden among the leaves, fragrant and sweet, as we are drawn closer and closer to the source…incorporated into life in the vine.

As you leaf through these pages, I invite you to journey with me to a place where no walls divide or fences separate, where the gifts we have been given are celebrated and embraced…the kingdom of God at Pleasant Green United Methodist Church.

 

Special Message from Brian

Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity

Stress. Anxiety. Fear. These words capture well the state of mind of many of us in America today. We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, and many bankruptcies and mergers. Every day seems to bring another piece of economic uncertainty.

Join us in worship the next five weeks for a sermon series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Our nation is experiencing what many have described as the “American Nightmare.” Increasing consumer debt, declines in savings, lower income growth, and a volatile stock market are all a part of our economic insecurity. We have lived in a society that tells us “you deserve it now,” whether or not we can afford it or really even need it.

All of us have struggled with these issues at one time or another. They are important issues that we cannot ignore. This is why, over the next five weeks, we will be having a churchwide study in our adult and youth Sunday School classes and worship emphasis called Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. During this time we will explore what the Bible teaches us about financial management through corporate worship and small group study. Each week we will provide you with some practical tools you can use to assess your financial situation and develop a financial plan with a biblical foundation.

I hope you will join us in the coming weeks as we look at how we can manage our financial resources and truly experience simplicity, generosity, and joy.

 

 

My Life and Financial Goals Worksheet

 

 

How would you define or describe your life purpose?

 

 

 

 

What are three goals that can help you to achieve this life purpose?

 

 

 

 

What are some financial goals that can help to support your life goals and purpose?

 

 

 

 

Short-term financial goals (next 12 months):

 

1. 

 

2.

 

 

Mid-range financial goals (2–5 years):

 

1.

 

2.

 

 

Long-term financial goals (5 years to retirement):

 

1.

 

2.

 

 

 

 

Basic Budget Worksheet

 

 

Item         Actual %           Suggested %*          Plan for next 12 months

 

Housing                                    25–35%             ____________________

 

Transportation                          10–15%              ____________________

 

Charitable Gifts                         10–12%              ____________________

 

Food                                         5–15%               ____________________

 

Saving                                       5–10%               ____________________

 

Utilities                                      5–10%               ____________________

 

Medical/Health                           5–10%               ____________________

 

Debt                                          5–10%               ____________________

 

Clothing                                     2–7%                 ____________________

 

Miscellaneous                            12–23%              ____________________

 

 

  

*These percentages are adapted from Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover (Thomas Nelson,

2007).

 

Wisdom and Finance - Sunday, October 18

 

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,

but everyone who is hasty comes only to want. (Proverbs 21:5)

 

Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise,

but the fool devours it. (Proverbs 21:20)

 

 

Where Did All Our Money Go?

• Living as Prodigals

 From Jesus’ description in Luke 15:11-16, we see that the prodigal son had the habits of squandering and spending. The word prodigal does not mean someone who wanders away or is lost. It literally means “one who wastes money.” A prodigal is one who wastes money, who is a spendthrift. Many of us struggle with that habit as well. We’re not worried about tomorrow. We want it today. The problem with that kind of thinking is that, for most of us, the “famine” eventually comes. It comes when we have spent everything we have and even a little bit of next year’s income. So we use the credit card and charge it, and we go a little further into debt. Finally, we come to a place where we “find ourselves.” We have nothing left, not even any credit, and we can’t figure out how we are we going to make it.

 

The More We Make, the More We Waste

 

It seems that the more financially secure we become, the less we worry about spending money here and there. We waste a dollar on this or that, and we forget where it went. Money just seems to flow through our fingers. We’re not as careful with our money as we should be. There are many ways we waste money, but there are two primary money-wasters that many of us struggle with. It is not necessary to eliminate these two things all together, but we should think more carefully about how we spend our money.

 

Impulse buying

 

Tips for avoiding impulse buying:

• Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry.
• Shop for what you need only.
• Make a list and stick to it; buy what you need and get out of the store!
• Wait twenty-four hours before purchasing an impulse buy.

Eating out

 

The issue is frequency. The average American eats out an average of four times a week.3 By eating out less frequently, we will have more money to save, spend on something more important, or give away.

 

Clarifying Our Relationship With Money and Possessions

 

We do not exist simply to consume as much as we can and get as much pleasure as we can while we are here on this earth. We have a higher purpose. We need to know and understand our life purpose—our vision or mission or calling—and then spend our money in ways that are consistent with this purpose or calling.

 

Be Clear About Your Purpose and Calling

 

‘Although giving must have a large place in Christian experience, the control

and use of money must have an even larger place.’

- Richard Foster, Money, Sex and Power p. 44

 

Our society tells us that our life purpose is to consume—to make as much money as possible and to blow as much money as possible. The Bible tells us that we were created to care for God’s creation. We were created to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We were created to care for our families and those in need. We were created to glorify God, to seek justice, and to do mercy. Our money and possessions should be devoted to helping us fulfill this calling. We are to use our resources to help care for our families and others—to serve Christ and the world through the church, missions, and everyday opportunities. We have a life purpose that is greater than our own self-interests, and how we spend our God-given resources reflects our understanding and commitment to this life purpose or mission.

 

Set Worthy Goals

 

Being able to accomplish the greater purposes God has for our lives requires some measure of planning. Taking the time to set goals related to our lives and our finances is crucial if we are to become wise stewards of our God-given resources. Each of us should think about our life purpose and goals and then identify two short-term financial goals, two mid-range financial goals, and two long-term financial goals that are aimed at helping us to accomplish our broader life goals. At least one goal in each category should relate specifically to our faith.

 

The Discipline of Managing Your Money

 

The Necessity of a Budget/Spending Plan

 

Once we have set some financial goals, we need to develop a plan to meet those goals. A budget is a spending plan that enables us to accomplish our goals. Some people use an envelope system to help them manage their saving and spending and stay on budget. Others use a variety of different approaches. Many people find it helpful to seek the advice of a financial advisor. For those who find themselves in the midst of a financial crisis, a financial counselor can help to work out terms with creditors and develop a workable financial plan. Whatever approach you choose, the important thing is simply to have a plan.

 

Six Financial Planning Principles

 

The following financial planning principles can help us to manage our money with wisdom and faith:

 

Pay your tithe and offering first.

Put God first in your living and your giving. Give your tithe and offering from the “top” of your paycheck, and then live on whatever remains. 

 

• Create a budget and track your expenses.

Creating a budget is simply developing a plan in which you tell your money what you want it to do. Tracking your expenses with a budget is like getting on the scales: It allows you to see how you are doing and motivates you to be more careful with your expenditures.

 

• Simplify your lifestyle (live below your means).

Because this discipline is critical to the success of any financial plan, next Sunday’s sermon will be devoted to this topic.

 

• Establish an emergency fund.

An emergency fund is an account separate from checking or long-term savings that is set aside specifically for emergencies. Dave Ramsey recommends beginning with $1,000 and building that to three months’ worth of income.4 When you have this amount, you won’t need to use your credit cards anymore.

 

• Pay off your credit cards, use cash/debit cards for purchases, and use credit wisely.

As you are building your emergency fund, begin to pay off your credit card debt and start using cash or debit cards for purchases. Some experts suggest starting with the credit card that has the highest interest rate. Others suggest paying down the smallest debt first, experiencing that victory, and applying your payments from the first card to the second, and so on, creating a snowball effect to pay off the cards as soon as possible. Cut up your cards as you pay them down so that you are not trapped or leveraged by your future for present-day pleasure, as the prodigal son was. If you must use a credit card, such as when traveling or making purchases online, be sure to pay off the debt monthly. If you are unable to do this, then it is better for you to cut up your cards and stop using them altogether.

 

• Practice long-term savings and investing habits.

Saving money is the number-one wise money management principle everyone should practice. We do not save merely for the sake of saving. There is a word for that: hoarding. Hoarding is frowned upon in the Bible as the practice of fools and those who fail to understand the purpose of life. Saving, on the other hand, is meant to be purposeful. There are three types of savings we should have: 1) emergency savings, 2) savings for wants and goals, and 3) retirement savings.

  

Resources for Developing a Budget

http://www.crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Budgeting_SpendingPlan.asp

This is a fun and helpful budgeting calculator that automatically generates a suggested budget based upon the user’s inputs and Crown’s recommended expenditures.

 

http://crowncanada.ca/resources/CrownSpendingPlan2.pdf

This is another Crown resources site focused on budgeting and financial freedom. There is good information here.

 

Getting Out of Debt

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University offers a great deal of online information including his approach to reducing debt found at this site: www.daveramsey.com/the_truth_about/get_out_of_debt_4055.html.cfm.

  

3 “Statistics About Eating Dinner Out,” by Magali Rheault, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, October 2000; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1318/is_10_54/ai_65368848?tag=content;col1.

4 The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson, 2007); pp. 102–08.

 

Cultivating Contentment -Sunday, October 25

 

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

 

And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”

(Luke 12:15)

 

Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.

(Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

 

 

Introduction

In recent years we have witnessed a number of devastating natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. Natural disasters remind us that everything in this world is temporary. This is why we can say with Jesus, “[My] life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Yet the culture is shouting that it’s not true. The result is a wrestling in our hearts. Despite the fact that we say we believe Jesus’ words, we still find ourselves devoting a great deal of our time, talents, and resources to the acquisition of more stuff. We say that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions, but we live as if they do.

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” - Cicero

Restless Heart Syndrome – Struggling With Discontent

Perhaps you’ve heard of restless legs syndrome (RLS), a condition in which one has twitches and contractions in the legs. Restless Heart Syndrome (RHS) works in a similar way, but in the heart—or soul. Its primary symptom is discontent. We find that we are never satisfied with anything. The moment we acquire something, we scarcely take time to enjoy it before we want something else.

 

Parents, have you ever experienced this scene around the Christmas tree?  All the anticipation of seeing your loved one or child open, adore and gush over that carefully selected gift…the hours of assembly and wrapping and the tying on of bows…the careful placement under the tree…all building for that one moment.  That moment when the wrappings are shredded…the gift gets that cursory glance and then the inevitable…what’s next?  It seems we are perennially discontent.

 

When Discontentment Is a Virtue

 

There is a certain discontent that God intended us to have. God actually wired our hearts so that they would be discontent with certain things, causing us to seek the only One who can fully satisfy us. We are meant to yearn to know God more, to cultivate a deeper prayer life, to pursue justice and holiness with increasing fervor, to love others more, and to grow in grace and character and wisdom with each passing day.

My favorite social disrupter, Gandhi, had two seemingly contradictory quotes on the subject of contentedness. The first: “Man’s happiness really lies in contentment.” And the second: “Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress.”

This might seem confusing until you look at how Gandhi brought about change. He was discontent with the system of oppression in his country, so he sought to change it. However, he was content as a person, with who he was and what he had in his personal life. This inner content allowed him to have the inner power to face (and eventually beat) the very powerful authorities in his country at the time. He could face them because nothing they could do to him could take away his happiness. They could take away all his possessions, throw him in prison, take away even food, and he was content.

He taught his fellow countrymen the same lesson, to make the best of what they had in India (making their own simple clothing, making their own food) instead of wanting the commercial goods from foreign countries. Being content with such simplicity would give them the independence from foreign commercial powers, and eventually (as they are part of the same organism) foreign political powers.

So social change can still happen if you are content with yourself, with your life, but not content with the system of oppression around you. This system, in my opinion, is responsible for holding us down, for the deaths of millions of people in Third World countries … but it isn’t until we learn to be content with what we have, and free ourselves of our dependence on commercial goods, that we will be able to change the system for good.

 

When Discontentment Destroys

 

The problem is that those things we should be content with are the very things we find ourselves hopelessly discontented with. For example, we find ourselves discontented with our stuff, our jobs, our churches, our children, and our spouses. God must look down on us and feel the way we feel when we give someone we really care for a special gift and he or she asks for the gift receipt. It’s as if we’re saying to God, “I don’t like what you have given me, God; and I want to trade it in and get something better than what you gave me.”

 

Do you look back on the "good old days" of your life and think you were happier then than you are now? Stop and ask yourself whether you were really content back then. Wasn't there always something else you wanted to make you happy? Discontentment casts a dark shadow on our lives. It's a worm that nibbles away at our peace and joy.

We once had a neighbor who I’ll call Claudine.  Her face was always set in a mask of discontent. Growing up, I was a little afraid of her.  We’d often see her out the kitchen window as she would water her garden, carry in her groceries, or talk to her children, and we couldn't help but notice that a deep frown was a permanent fixture on her face. Her mouth was set in a long, hard line that rarely curved into a smile.

Mom would occasionally have Claudine over coffee, and listening in on their conversations, I quickly learned that nothing was ever good enough for her. Her house might be attractive, but it needed paint and her husband was too lazy to paint it. Her kids might be polite, good students, but they were too much like her in-laws to suit her taste. The weather might be nice, but if all this sunshine kept up, we'd soon be facing a drought.

Claudine was unable to enjoy anything fully because there always was a fly in the ointment. If she didn't see it immediately, she'd find it eventually. The poor woman was chronically dissatisfied. Her discontentment was like an ulcer that gnawed away at her sense of gratitude, her peace of mind, and her enjoyment of life.

 

 Four Keys to Cultivating Contentment

The Apostle Paul is an excellent example of contentment. In his letter to the Philippians, he wrote of the “secret” to his contentment (Philippians 4:11-12). Like Paul, we can learn to be content in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. Four keys, which include the “secret” Paul referred to in his letter, can help us to do that.

 

Four Words to Repeat: “It Could Be Worse”

 

John Ortberg, pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California, says there are four words we should say whenever we find ourselves discontented with something or someone: “It could be worse.” This is essentially the practice of looking on the bright side or finding the silver lining. It is recognizing that no matter what we may not like about a thing or person or circumstance, we can always find something good to focus on if only we will choose to do so.

 

One Question to Ask: “For How Long Will This Make Me Happy?”

Stop, and consider why you want something. When you feel the urge to buy something, think about whether it’s a need or a want. If it’s a want, take a pause. It’s good to wait 30 days — keep a 30-day list … when you want something, put it on the list with the date, and if you still want it in 30 days, you can buy it. Consider why you want something. Are you not content with what you already have? Why not?

So often we buy something, thinking it will make us happy, only to find that the happiness lasts about as long as it takes to open the box. There is a moment of satisfaction when we make the purchase, but the item does not continue to bring satisfaction over a period of time. Many of the things we buy are simply not worth the expense. This is why it is a good idea to try before you buy.

 

Developing a Grateful Heart

Gratitude is essential if we are to be content. The Apostle Paul said that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). A grateful heart recognizes that all of life is a gift. In other words…Count your blessings. When you find yourself discontented with something, or with what you don’t have, take a moment to count all the God given, good things in your life. Contentment comes when we spend more time giving thanks for what we have than thinking about what’s missing or wrong in our lives.

Where Does Your Soul Find True Satisfaction?

 

The world answers this question by telling us that we find satisfaction in ease and luxury and comfort and money. The Bible, however, answers the question very differently. From Genesis to Revelation, it tells us that we find our satisfaction in God alone.

 

• “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” (Saint Augustine)
• “O God, you are my God, I seek you, / my soul thirsts for you. . . . / My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, / and my mouth praises you with joyful lips / when I think of you on my bed, / and meditate on you in the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:1, 6)
• “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)
• Jesus said the two most important things we must do are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). If we keep our focus on these two things, we will find satisfaction for our souls and lasting contentment.

Five Steps for Simplifying Our Lives

In addition to cultivating contentment in our lives, we need to cultivate simplicity. Contentment and simplicity go hand in hand.

 

Set a Goal of Reducing Your Consumption, and Live Below Your Means.

 

Set a tangible goal to reduce your own personal consumption and the production of waste in your life. For example, use canvas bags when you go grocery shopping and refuse any extra packaging. Whenever you are making purchases, look at the mid-grade instead of the top-of-the-line product. When buying a new car, aim to improve fuel economy over your existing car by at least 10 percent. Reduce your utilities by 10 percent by setting the thermostat back a couple of degrees when you are away during the day and asleep at night. Find other ways to reduce your consumption and live below your means. Do some research, share ideas with others, or have a brainstorming session with your family.

 

• Before Making a Purchase, Ask Yourself, Do I Really Need This? and, Why Do I Want This?

 

These questions will help you to determine the true motivation of your desired purchase. Is it a need, a self-esteem issue, or something else? You may find yourself wrestling with your true motive and decide that your reason for purchasing the item is not a good one.

 

• Use Something Up Before Buying Something New.

 

Take good care of the things you buy and use them until they are empty, broken, or worn out. Buy things that are made to last; and, when buying things that have a short lifespan, spend your money wisely.

 

Plan Low-cost Entertainment That Enriches.

 

When it comes to choosing entertainment for your family or friends, plan things that are simple and cheap.  Plan an outing to the NC Botanical Gardens, take a picnic to Pullen Park or Duke Gardens, take a walk down the Eno, institute a family game night.  You get the idea.  You’ll be amazed at how much more pleasure you derive from low-cost, simple activities.

 

• Ask Yourself, Are There Major Changes That Would Allow Me to Simplify My Life?

 

Consider selling a car and buying one you pay for in full, downsizing your home, or getting rid of a club membership you don’t use. Ask yourself questions related to your home, possessions, job, and activities to identify some significant changes that will simplify your life. Remember, if you cannot do all the things God is calling you to do and you’re unable to find joy in your life, perhaps it’s time to simplify in some major ways.

 

The Power of Self-Control

Simplifying your life requires the practice of self-control. Solomon wrote, “Like a city whose walls are broken down / is a [person] who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28, NIV). When a city’s walls are broken through, the enemy can march right in and destroy it. There is no longer any protection. Likewise, self-control is a wall around your heart and life that protects you from yourself, from temptation, and from sins that are deadly and ultimately can destroy you. Self-control comes down to making a choice between satisfying an impulse to gain instant gratification and choosing not to act upon the opportunity for instant gratification for some higher cause or greater gratification later. Self-control is about forgoing instant gratification by stopping to think about the answers to three questions:

 

• “What are the long-term consequences of this action?”
• “Is there a higher good or a better outcome if I used this resource of time, money, or energy in another way?”
• “Will this action honor God?”

 

Conclusion: Which Tent Will You Live In?

 

Will you live in discon-tent or con-tent-ment? You and you alone determine which “tent” will be yours. You choose it in large part by deciding what life is about. If you decide that “life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions,” then you are choosing contentment. Choosing contentment means we look to God as our Source, giving thanks for what we have; we ask God to give us the right perspective on money and possessions and to change our hearts each day; we decide to live simpler lives, wasting less and conserving more; and we choose to give more generously.

 

 

  

Defined by Generosity

 

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

 

Some give freely, yet grow all the richer;

others withhold what is due, and only suffer want.

A generous person will be enriched,

and one who gives water will get water. (Proverbs 11:24-25)

 

Those who are generous are blessed,

for they share their bread with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)

 

• A Theological Foundation for a Generous Life
• Created to Be Generous; Tempted to Hoard

God created us with the willingness to give—to God and to others. This design is part of our makeup; we actually have the need to be generous. Yet there are two voices that “war” against our God-given impulse toward generosity, tempting us to keep or hoard what we have.

 

• The voice of fear.

Fear, of what might happen to us, along with a misplaced idea about the true source of our security, keeps us from being generous and leads us to hoard what we have. The truth is that hoarding offers us no real security in this world.

 

• The voice of self-gratification.

Our culture tells us that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions and pleasurable experiences. So we find ourselves thinking, If I give, there won’t be enough left for me.  The voices of fear and self-gratification breed a scarcity mentality.

 

• Defeating the Voices

When we give our lives to Christ, invite him to be Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to begin changing us from the inside out, we find that our fears begin to dissipate and our aim in life shifts from seeking personal pleasure to pleasing God and caring for others. Although we still may wrestle with the voices from time to time, we are able to silence them more readily and effectively the more we grow in Christ. And the more we grow in Christ, realizing that our lives belong to him, the more generous we become. Generosity is a fruit of spiritual growth.

 

• Biblical Reasons to Give to God and Others
• We find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves.  Acts 20:35 “In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
• In the very act of losing our lives, we find life. Matthew 16:25  “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
• Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God.  Psalm 24:1  “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it;”
• Leviticus 25:23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants.”

 

• Biblical Guidelines for Giving

From the early days of the Old Testament, God’s people observed the practice of giving some portion of the best of what they had to God. A gift offered to God was called the first fruits or the tithe, and it equaled one-tenth of one’s flocks or crops or income. Abraham was the first to give a tithe or tenth.

 

• Genesis 14:20b  “…and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.”
• Genesis 28:18-22  “So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one tenth to you.”
• Leviticus 27:30-33 “All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord. 31If persons wish to redeem any of their tithes, they must add one-fifth to them. All tithes of herd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. Let no one inquire whether it is good or bad, or make substitution for it; if one makes substitution for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy and cannot be redeemed.”

 

• Giving a tithe.

As Christians who live under the new covenant, we are not bound by the Law of Moses; we look to it as a guide. Yet most Christians agree that the tithe is a good guideline for our lives, and one that is pleasing to God.

(video clip “Tithing and the Ten Apples.”) Though tithing can be a struggle, it is possible at virtually every income level. If you cannot tithe right away, take a step in that direction. Perhaps you can give 2 percent or 5 percent or 7 percent. God understands where you are, and God will help you make the adjustments necessary for you to become more and more generous.

 

• Giving beyond the tithe.

Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow beyond the tithe. We should strive to set aside an additional percentage of our income as offerings for other things that are important to us, such as mission projects, schools, church building funds, and other nonprofit organizations.

 

What Our Giving Means to God

• How Does Our Giving Affect God?

From the earliest biblical times, the primary way people worshipped God was by building an altar and offering the fruit of one’s labors upon it to God. They would burn the sacrifice of an animal or grain as a way of expressing their gratitude, devotion, and desire to honor God. The scent of the offering was said to be pleasing to God. It wasn’t that God loved the smell of burnt meat and grain. Rather, God saw that people were giving a gift that expressed love, faith, and the desire to please and honor God; and this moved God’s heart. When given in this spirit, our offerings bless the Lord.

 

• What is God’s response to our giving?
• Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”  Abundance!

 

•  How Our Generosity Affects Us
• Through It Our Hearts Are Changed

When we are generous—to God and to our families, friends, neighbors, and others who are in need—our hearts are filled with joy. They are enlarged by the very act of giving. When we give generously, we become more generous.

 

• In It We Find the Blessings of God (Malachi 3:10)

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

 

Many Christians have it wrong. They say that if you give, then God will give more back to you. But that is not how it works. We do not give to God so that we can get something in return. The amazing thing is that when we give to God and to others, the blessings just seem to come back to us. Of course, there is no guarantee that if you tithe you will never lose your job or never have other bad things happen to you. Nevertheless, when we give generously, the unmistakable blessings of God flow into our lives.

 

 

Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity

 

During the past few weeks, we have examined some of the financial challenges facing us as a nation, and we have looked at our own spending, saving, and giving habits. We have examined the biblical principles of financial management, and we have learned about ways to assess our financial situation and develop a financial plan that will allow us to experience the true joy that comes through simplicity and generosity. Now, on this Consecration Sunday, I ask God’s blessing of my commitment to these financial goals for the upcoming year.

My Personal Goals and Commitment for 2010

 

1. I will thank God daily for all my blessings.

My goal for daily Bible reading and prayer is ______ days each week.

 

2. I will seek contentment and simplicity and live within my means.

  My spending goal is _______________________________________

 

3. I will seek freedom from the bonds of credit and debt.

My debt reduction goal is ___________________________________.

 4. I will seek to wisely manage the gifts God has given me, investing and saving for the future.

 My saving goal is______________________ .

 

5. I will worship God each week by the giving of my tithes and offerings.

My estimate of giving for 2010 is _____________________________ .

 

Lord,

I present this commitment to you, acknowledging that everything I have and everything I am is a gift from you. I pray that you will grant me wisdom and strength in the coming year, and that you will bless and use the gifts that I humbly present to you. Amen.

 

For personal use. Place in your Bible for reference in the coming year.