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Giving: Short Talk #1 You don t have to give financially to the local church. God doesn t love you more when you give. We don t give to get God s attention or to demand His blessing. We don t have to give financially to the local church; we get too. We give out of an overflow of what God has done for us. If you are here today and haven t experienced the love of God, then there is no pressure to give. But if you are here today and you ve experienced the love, grace, and forgiveness of God then you have the privilege of giving back to Him. The apostle Paul wrote to Christians in the early church: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 1 Corinthians 9:7 When you realize what God has saved you from, it becomes your honor to give back to Him. So today if God has saved you, you get to be a part of what He is doing through our church by giving back financially.
Giving: Short Talk #2 Today we have the amazing privilege of giving back to God. For me and my family we give lavishly because God gave us His love lavishly. And there is not greater mission to invest in then the mission of the local church. I love this quote by one of the most influential and famous pastors from the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon: As Christ was the world s hope, so is the Church the world s hope, and she must take up the charge as if there were not another. The local church is the hope of the world and it s an amazing honor to invest not only our time, but also our money and resources to fund the mission of the local church.
Giving: Short Talk #3 If you are new to the church scene or you are here today and you would say that you are not a Christian, then I want to give you permission to ignore everything I m about to say. Go ahead and check your Facebook, or dream about what you are going to eat for lunch today. What I m about to say is for those who are Christians. So often in the church world, worship is only seen as singing songs to God. But there are lots of ways to worship God. We worship God when we obey Him. We worship God when we serve Him. We worship God when we give back to Him financially. As a Christian, we believe that everything is God s. He has entrusted us with time, money, and resources that we get to manage. So today, when we give financially, we are actually giving back to God. The local church is able to exist because of the giving of its members. The system that the church has adopted comes from the Bible. God gives to us and we give 10% back to Him. The money you give goes to pay for the ministry of the church. This past year, because of church members giving back to God, we have been able to (insert specific facts about your church. Some key stats to include are ways the church has invested in the community, helped church members, and provided for kids and students.) So today, I want to say thank you for giving back to God. Together we are changing the world.
Giving: Short Talk #4 Today, we have the amazing privilege of giving back to God through our financial gifts and offerings. Have you ever wondered why we give financially to the local church? I love this quote by pastor Andy Stanley: When you make giving a priority something happens inside of you. Especially when it s financially challenging to do so. It s like you loosen your grip on a value system whose motto says, Money is the key to life and happiness and safety. We give out of obedience to God. For me personally, I give because I know money is not the key to life and happiness. I ve been given the key to life and happiness and it s a relationship with God. Jesus sacrificed His life for us, and it s our honor to give back to Him.
Giving: Short Talk #5 I love this quote by Richard Bruanstein: It is possible to give without love, but it is impossible to love without giving. One of the most famous verses in the entire Bible is John 3:16 which says: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. We believe in the love of God because God gave. He loved us so much that He gave His son. Without God giving we would have no evidence of His love. Today we have the honor of giving back to God. We don t give because we think it will get us a blessing from God. We don t give to get on God s good side. We give because God first gave to us. We respond to the love of God by giving back financially to support the mission of the local church.
Giving: Short Talk #6 One of the greatest evangelists that has ever lived is Billy Graham. He once said: A checkbook is a theological document; it will tell you who and what you worship. Now, if you are here today and you are not a Christian, then you don t have to give back to the church. In fact, I d encourage you not to. But today if you are a Christian, then we get to worship God by giving back. You are not giving to the local church. You are giving back to God through His bride. The way that giving becomes a joy is when we view it as a spiritual act of worship. God has given me so much love that it is my honor to give back. I want my checkbook to reflect that I worship God. The way that we do that is with a plan. For my family, we give first to show God that He does have our money. And it isn t always easy to give, but I ve never had giving regrets. It s an honor to give back to God and today we get to give back to God through our tithes and offerings.
Giving: Short Talk #7 Ann Frank is one of the most famous victims from the Holocaust. She famously wrote: No one has ever become poor by giving. That is a brilliant quote that goes against every fiber of my being. Maybe I m alone in this, but I feel like hoarding is the way to not become poor. But that is the difference between me and God. I feel like in order to have something, I have to hoard it. God says if I really want to gain something, I must give something away. It s been noted that in Israel there are two ancient bodies of water. Both bodies of water are fed by the same river, the Jordan River. Now here is the interesting thing about this. Both bodies of water are fed by the Jordan, but one of them produces life and the other is dead. In one body of water, fish abound, birds sing, and plants grow. In the other body of water there are no fish, birds don t sing, and plants don t grow. Now the difference is not the Jordan River. The Jordan River feeds both rivers. The difference is the bodies of water. The one that has life is called the Sea of Galilee and it has life because every drop of water taken in the Sea of Galilee sends one out. The sea that produces no life gives nothing back, and it s called the Dead Sea. It may go against my every fiber of my being to give, but it s how I was designed by God. It s also how you were designed by God. If you want to find your life, you will give it away. Giving allows us to trust God, and when we trust God, we get to experience an increase in our faith. Today, we get to experience life through giving back to God.
Giving: Short Talk #8 I have lots of regrets in this life. I regret some of my past decisions that were made from selfish motives. I regret the way some relationships ended. I almost always regret eating Taco Bell. I love the taste, but I don t love the after effects if you know what I mean. But one thing I have never regretted is giving back to God with my finances. In fact, I have never met anyone who has regretted giving back to God. I may never make a lot of money, but with the little I have I choose to give. God then takes my little and multiplies it to do great things. When you give back to God through the local church, needs are met, lives are changed, and ministry is done. Now, giving back takes a plan. Money is tight, so without a plan, I won t be able to give back to God. Pastor Andy Stanley says: The best strategy for giving is a two-fold approach: a basic plan combined with a willingness to consider spontaneous giving when unique opportunities arise. The basic plan my family has adopted is to give 10% back to God through the local church, save 10%, and then live on 80%. That s the plan. As a Christian I believe it s all God s anyway. I get to manage the resources He gives me, and I find joy in following His plan. Personally I think it s pretty generous that God gives us everything and only asks for 10% back. I don t regret giving and for those of you who give back to the local church I bet you don t have any regrets. God has given us so much it s our honor to give back to Him.
Giving: Short Talk #9 One of the most famous men in the Bible is a man named David. He was a great king of Israel. You may have heard of him because he beat up a giant named Goliath. Well, David led the Israelites to give money to make a temple for God. Now, it s not that God lives in the temple, but God s people would meet at the temple to worship Him. The people gave above and beyond and David responded by saying: But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 19:14 David understood something that it s easy for us to forget: Everything we have is given to us by God. Now the push back is, I am a self made man and I worked hard for my money. Yes. But who gave you the strength and energy to work? Who gave you the talents and ability to work? Who is ultimately giving you breath in your lungs? God gives to us and it s not just so we can spend it on ourselves. God gives to us so we can be a blessing to others. And when we give, God uses that change the world. Giving back to God allows you to become a part of something so much bigger than yourself. When you realize what God does with the little bit we give back, it s breath taking. By myself I can t fund the mission of God, but together we get to see lives changed. Everything is God s, and today it s our honor to give back to Him. We don t have to give, we get to give. And God uses our gifts to change the world.
Giving: Short Talk #10 There is a common thought that the Church just wants my money. Today I want you to know that God doesn t want your money. He wants your heart. If you don t want to give, then please know there is no pressure to give. But if you don t want to give, it s not a financial issue, it s a heart issue. The natural response to receiving something amazing is to give back. If you ve ever received a gift that you didn t know how you could repay, your thought was most likely to reject the gift. We think, I can t take this. Why? Because we could never pay it back. The gift that Jesus has given us is His life. He died so that we can live. We can t repay Him for that. When we give financially, we aren t trying to repay Him. When we give back it s because we understand how much God has given us. The response is our heart. When God has our heart, it s an honor to give. It s not a burden, and there is no pressure. We give out of an abundance of what God has given to us.