The practice of generosity is living like disciples who trust the God of abundance by giving like stewards who
to God’s kingdom.
We are disciples, not donors, who trust in the God of abundance, not in the scarcity of stuff. We are stewards, not owners, who start with
, not stop with
.
3 Views On Tithing:
1. Tithing is a
point.
2. Tithing is a
point.
“Nearly half of all Americans (44.8 percent) give away not one dollar, by their own admission. Another 41.3 percent gives away some amount of money but less than two percent of their income. Nine percent of Americans gives away between 2 and 5 percent of their income, 3.1 percent gives away 5 to 10 percent of their income, and 2.7 percent gives away 10 percent or more.” —Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson
Luke 19:1-10
Luke 20:20-25
Luke 21:1-4
3. Tithing is a
point.
“It is quite possible to obey the law of the tithe without ever dealing with our mammon lust.” —Richard Foster, Freedom of Simplicity, 59
2 Corinthians 8:1-4
“The true saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff. Become the kind of person who routinely does what Jesus did and said. You will consume much more grace by leading a holy life than you will by sinning, because every holy act you do will have to be upheld by the grace of God. And that upholding is totally the unmerited favor of God in action.” —Dallas Willard, Great Omission, 62
Grace grants us
to give less but it also produces the
to give more.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
A guilty heart asks, “How much do I need to
?” but a grace-filled heart asks, “How much do I need to
?”
2 Corinthians 9:8-11
“Those who give generously of their surplus income know from experience that in the vast majority of instances they do not recoup that money from other sources. Rather, as verse 8 explains… ‘All grace’, ‘all things’, ‘all that you need’, and ‘every good work’ are experiences that cannot be limited to the financial realm.” —Craig Blomberg
6 Best Practices for Generosity
1. Give as you
, not as you can’t.
“I know men today who are Christian men in city churches and village chapels, who have no business to give a tenth of their income to the work of God. They cannot afford it. I know other men who are giving one-tenth, and the nine-tenths they keep is doing harm to their souls.” —Campbell Morgan
2. Begin with the principles of
fruits.
3. Give while you’re paying off your
.
4.
giving is the secret to living.
5. Consistency is better than
.
6. Raise your standard of
, not your standard of
.
3 Next Steps
1. From static to
.
2. From sporadic to
.
3. From systematic to
.
“It is giving instead of gaining, thanks instead of interest, confidence instead of credit, trust instead of security…” —Dieter Georgi