As you ponder what you will commit to the support of the Lord’s ministry here in the year to come, I would ask you to consider prayerfully two or three things.

First, each of us ought to ask the question: am I giving biblically? That is, is my Christian giving to First Presbyterian in accord with what the Bible says my giving ought to be like? The stewardship committee has produced a pamphlet that outlines ten biblical principles for Christian giving to assist you in examining your heart and actions in this area. I would ask you to think through those principles carefully as a part of preparing to make your stewardship commitment to the church. For some of us, this process will mean increasing our giving. For others, it will mean becoming involved in giving when we have not been in the past.

Second, each one of us ought to reflect on our desire to glorify God. We say that we love God. We confess Jesus as Lord. We acknowledge that there is nothing more important in our lives than the Lord and his kingdom. But is that reflected in our giving to the church? Does our giving, when we look at our pledge to the church in light of our total resources, evidence that the church for whom Christ died is truly our priority? Or is it an afterthought. Our giving, like every other area of our lives, ought to follow Jesus’ example in life and prayer: "Not my will, but Thy will be done."

Finally, each one of us ought to aim to be sacrificial in our giving. I know of one family who forgoes air conditioning during certain parts of the year in order to give more, and another family who bought a smaller home to downsize their mortgage and give more to the church, and still another family who didn’t buy Easter dresses for their girls in order to give the money saved to the Lord’s work. Our sacrifices will all be different, and the final dollar amount is not the main thing (remember the widow’s mite?). The point is: what we are not willing to sacrifice for, we probably don’t really care about. Let us then manifest our care for the church in our sacrificial giving.

May the Lord by his grace enable us to give biblically, for his glory, and sacrificially.

Your friend,

Leviticus 27:30 Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord

Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Proverbs 11:24-25 There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.

Malachi 3:8-12 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!  But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’  In tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you th windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the Lord of hosts. "And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land," says the Lord of hosts.

Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Luke 16:10-11 "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you?"

Acts 20:35 "In every thing I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive’"

1 Corinthians 4:2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

Matthew 6:1-4
Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

2 Corinthians 8:9-15
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does hot have. For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality -- at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; as it is written, "HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK."

2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2.  The Lord Jesus wants us to give for the right reasons.
Jesus warned His disciples not to give for the sake of being admired by men. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them," He said (Matthew 6:1). When we give, we must be careful to examine our motives. We ought to give for the glory of God and the good of His people. We must desire His approval of our giving, rather than the praise and admiration of people. Are you giving for God’s praise or man’s?

3.  The Lord Jesus wants us to practice benevolent or charitable giving.
Jesus said "When you give to the poor...." (Matthew 6:2-3). Jesus is specifically teaching about "alms" in this passage: aid, charity, or benevolent offerings for the needy. This is why benevolences are a very important part of our Church budget. We are corporately committed to obeying this mandate from the Lord. Do you give amply enough to the Church that she can be generous in benevolent giving?

4.  The Lord Jesus reminds us that our giving is ultimately to the all-seeing heavenly Father.
Jesus said "When you give...; your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:3-4). When we give, we are not simply adding to the Church budget, we are giving up a thank offering to the Father Himself. Thus, we must all give "as unto the Lord." Our ultimate goal in giving is to pleas Him. Are you conscious of the fact that your giving is to the Lord and seen by the Lord?

5.  The Bible teaches that Christian giving is an act of worship.
In connection with the previous point, we see this truth stressed in another way in Paul’s words "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save" (1 Corinthians 16:2). Paul here teaches the Corinthians that their taking up of the collection is an act of worship which is to be a part of their regular Lord’s Day worship. When we put our money in the plate, we are worshiping Almighty God in accordance with His Word. Note well, Paul is speaking here of a "collection for the saints" -- this is giving by the Church to the Church for the Church. Did you realize that giving is a part of worship?  Is your worship in this area abundant or inhibited? Is giving to the Church a priority with you?

6.  The Bible teaches that Christian giving should be done in light of the incarnation.
Many Christians argue about whether the tithe (10% of our income) is still the standard for our giving to the Church (disputants usually want to show that less than 10% is fine). Paul scuttles the whole debate in one verse. He says: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Christ’s self-giving is now the standard for our giving! We begin from the base of the tithe and aim for emulation of his self-sacrifice. Our giving is to be inspired and instructed by Christ’s inexpressible gift. In light of such a challenge, who could possibly satisfy himself with asking "how little a percentage is acceptable for me to give?" Do you try to get by with giving as little as possible to the Lord, or do you give in view of the Lord’s costly sacrifice?

7.  The Bible teaches that Christian giving should be done in accordance with our means.
Paul is quite clear on this: "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have" (2 Corinthians 8:12). Put another way Paul is saying that you should give in proportion to what God has given you. He said it his way in 1 Corinthians 16:2 -- "each one of your is to put aside and save, as he may prosper." This means at least two things: (1) since we are all supposed to give proportionately, those who have more money are expected to give more [we who are particularly blessed materially must remember this], and (2) the Lord never asks us to give what we do not have, or contribute beyond our means. Are you really giving in proportion to the material blessing that the Lord has given you?

8.  The Bible teaches that the liberality of God’s blessings to us is connected to the liberality of our Christian giving.
Though it may seem strange, both Jesus and Paul emphasize that there is a relation between our giving to the Lord and the Lord’s giving to us. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6 "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."   About this matter J.A. Beet once said: "They who in giving think, not how little they can give, as they would if self-enrichment were the aim, but of benefits to be conferred, will receive back on the same principle. As they do to others, so God will act to them." Jesus reminds us of this in Matthew 6:4, where He teaches that our reward in giving comes from our heavenly Father. As someone once said: "The desire to be generous and the means to be generous both come from God." Do you realize that the Lord has given you much, so that you can give much?

9.  The Bible teaches that Christian giving must be willing giving, free giving. 
We learn this in 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion."  But doesn’t this contradict what we learned under the first principle, that Christian giving is not optional? The answer is, of course, no. True Christian giving is both mandatory and voluntary.   It is required by God, but always willingly given by the believer. Is your giving to the Church something you do wholeheartedly, or indifferently, or grudgingly?

10.  The Bible teaches that Christian giving ought to be cheerful giving. 
As Paul says "God loves a cheerful giver." This is a truly amazing assertion. Paul assures us here that the Lord takes a special delight in those who are joyful, energetic, merry givers. Is there joy in your heart as you give? Can you truly be characterized as a "cheerful giver?"