Monday Read: Malachi 3:6-12 REFLECT One of the most controversial issues in the church is money. The church only wants your money is often the accusation that is levelled at the church. It is true that some people find it difficult to give their hard-earned money to the church because the church has not given a compelling vision of how that money will make a difference in the world. Studies in recent years have shown that there is a downward trend in the number of Christian people who give a tithe (one tenth) of their income to the church. It is important that we understand the concept of tithing from a Biblical perspective. When we tithe and bring offerings to God through the church we recognize that He is truly the Lord of our lives. James 1:7 reminds us that everything we own comes from God. We become stewards of what He has entrusted to us. When we give, it should be with the attitude of thankfulness and praise to God. Giving comes from a heart of worship. In the Old Testament, God instructed His people to give a tithe. Malachi reminds the people that they have not done right by God according to the Law. Back in the book of Numbers Ch. 18, God instructed the people to tithe their produce and to give it to the Levites (the priests). The Levites did not receive a portion of land to work. Their calling was to mediate between the people and God. They depended on the people being faithful in the giving of the tithe. Giving was a notable feature of the New Testament church. The Apostle Paul asked the Corinthian church to develop the routine of giving, according to income, on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). Did you notice that the Corinthians were to give according to their income. God looks at giving in a completely different way than we do. In God s eyes the value of the offering is not determined by the amount but by the attitude of our hearts. Jesus saw a widow woman drop two mites into the offering at the Temple in Jerusalem one day. He told His disciples that hers was the best offering (Luke 21:1-4). He said that her offering was better than all of the others because she gave everything she owned. RESPOND (PMcA) Ask the Lord to reveal His heart to you through the scriptures regarding giving.
Monday Read: Malachi 3:6-12 RELATE 1. As we begin this study on Stewardship, what is your view on tithing? 2. What is your view on giving the whole tithe to a single church? 3. When someone prays in church to give God thanks for the tithes and offerings, what do you think is the difference between tithes and offerings?
Tuesday Read: Genesis 14 REFLECT Genesis 14 is the first mention of tithing in the Bible. Around 2000 B.C., four kings from around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers invaded an area just south of the Dead Sea and defeated five kings/cities. The five defeated kings paid tribute to the victors for twelve years. They then rebelled and refused to pay any further. The four kings returned and waged war on the kings/cities and once again were victorious. During the battle Lot, Abram s nephew, was taken captive by the victors and they plundered the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Abram heard what had happened, he took a small army and pursued the kings. In a night attack he defeated the kings, rescued Lot, and retrieved all of the plunder taken from Sodom and Gomorrah. On his return to Sodom the king of Sodom and Melchizedek, the king of Salem, met him. Melchizedek brought food out for Abram and his men, tokens of friendship and hospitality. In return, Abram gave him a tithe of his spoils of war. The king of Sodom then asked Abram if he could have his people back and Abram could keep everything else. Abram returned everything to him - ninety per cent. He told the king of Sodom that he did not want him to say that it was he who made Abram rich. Abram was dependent on Lord God Most High, the Creator of heaven and earth to supply all of his need. Many people use this passage as a proof text for tithing. The tithe Abram gave to Melchizedek was the custom of the day. But Abram went ninety per cent better. He kept nothing, and trusted in the Lord to meet his needs. His faith was in the promise the Lord gave him in Genesis 12. That God would bless Abram and through Abram the whole world would be blessed. He was promised much more than loot from enemies. The first mention of the word tithe cannot be used as a proof text for us. The climax of Genesis 14 involves neither Melchizedek, nor tithing. Instead, it involves Abraham s assurance that God would keep his promises made by grace through faith, and not by military conquest, or keeping of customs. (PMcA) RESPOND How do I give to the Lord? Is it through custom, the keeping of a law, or from a heart of gratitude?
Tuesday Read: Genesis 14 RELATE 1. Read the opening verses of Genesis 12. Put yourself in Abram s sandals. If you had that promise and then had gained huge wealth through human effort, what would you do with it? 2. We are under grace not under the law is a statement that people make today against tithing. What does Genesis 14 teach us in terms of trusting God? 3. Abram went further than he was required to go. Do we when it comes to giving?
Wednesday Read: Leviticus 27:30-34 REFLECT The Israelites were given the Law as rules for living that would keep them in perfect relationship with a Holy God and with each other - hence Jesus summation of the Law in Matthew 22: 36-40. Among the 613 laws, a handful of them were specific instructions regarding possessions that would not only ensure that each individual household would be given the opportunity to prosper and be blessed financially, but if the nation would adhere to these corporately the whole nation s economy would remain healthy. The first of these rules was tithing (see today s reading). As a means of worship and thanksgiving to God each household was to present one tenth of their harvest and livestock to the temple for sacrifice by the priest. The offering given was to be the household s first and best - because that is what God requires of us - and was used to provide provisions for the Levite priests who did the Lord s work in the temple. The second economic law was gleaning (Leviticus 19: 9-10). At the time of harvest, the Israelites were commanded to reap the field but leave anything that grew at the edges or was missed or dropped during the gathering. This was to be left for those who were in need. Namely, the resident alien, the orphan and widows of the land. The last economic law was the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25: 8-55). Every fifty years the land was to proclaim a year of Jubilee: a time where slaves were freed, all debts were cancelled and land and possessions returned to their original owners. The 50 year time-frame ensured that almost every individual would experience an opportunity of a clean slate once in a lifetime. These laws were to create an attitude of worship among the Israelites that acknowledged that all things come from God and by offering them back to God they were merely giving back that which had been given to them in the first place. (MK) RESPOND Lord, all things come from You. Everything I have is a gift from You. Help me to acknowledge this in my day to day living.
Wednesday Read: Leviticus 27:30-34 RELATE 1. Think about your own material possessions: everything including your home, car, and even your cash. Is there anything that you can honestly claim has been earned purely by your own doing and has not been given to you by God? 2. Take time to read the text referring to the gleaning law of the Old Testament. Identify below those who are today s resident aliens, orphans or widows? How can we glean our own possessions in this day and age? 3. Think about the things that can be identified as your own first and best. Are you truly willing to commit these things to God? Ask God to help you in this area.
Thursday Read: Numbers 18:20-32 REFLECT Tithing is an Old Testament concept. It was a requirement of the Law of Moses that the Israelites were to give ten per cent of their earnings and of their harvest to the Tabernacle and later to the Temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5.) A careful research of the Law of Moses reveals that there were multiple tithes the people were required to give that would have pushed the total given to at least twenty-two per cent and not ten per cent. Tithing was God s way of ensuring that His House and His priests were provided for and His Law implemented. The priests were descendants of Aaron and were anointed to perform the rituals associated with the Law of Moses. The priesthood was a gift from God to the Israelites for a very specific purpose. No other tribe or person could fulfil the role of the priest. Their responsibilities included the presentation of sin offerings to the Lord on behalf of themselves and the people and to look after the welfare of the socially disadvantaged. The priests were counted among the poor of the nation. They were not permitted to own land as they had a very specific spiritual function to perform and were not to engage in secular employment. Within the nation, their entitlement to be given food from the tithes replaced their property inheritance rights. The tithes from the people that were given to the Tabernacle and later the Temple were received by the priests and regarded as a gift from God for the priests to administer. After receiving the tithes from the Israelites, the priests were required also to tithe what was given to them. The tithes not only supported the priests but also a vast legal and religious system that ensured that the widows, orphans and strangers were looked after and the poor fed. Tithing was God s way of ensuring that His Law would be fulfilled and that the spiritual needs of His people would be met. (PMcA) RESPOND Ask the Lord to reveal His heart to you through the scriptures regarding giving.
Thursday Read: Numbers 18:20-32 RELATE 1. Do you think as New Testament believers that we should tithe our income? 2. How would the church function if tithing was not practised? 3. Would you be more inclined to tithe if you knew how your giving is utilised by the church?
Friday Read: Matthew 23:23-24 REFLECT I m a list person. Someone has said that any task becomes manageable when you make a list. Even on my days off, I love to compile a list of all the things I want to achieve that day, so that I can look back on it and see how much I ve accomplished. There s something wonderful about the feeling of ticking something off a list, and many of you reading this now know exactly what I mean. However, this brings with it a problem - sometimes this list mentality translates into my spiritual life. Said my prayers? Tick. Read my Bible? Tick. Been to Church? Tick. Given money? Tick. Once we ve completed the list, then we re free to do what we want, go where we want, live as we want. And that s exactly where the religious leaders of Jesus day got it so wrong. They were great at lists - they knew exactly what boxes they had to tick every day to fulfil their religious duties. They felt that by giving their tithe every month they had ticked the box. But they missed what Jesus calls more important issues - not ticking boxes, but living right with others and with God. Their tithing was nothing more than a religious duty - it never got any deeper than that to become the outworking of a heart in love with God. Jesus wants us to be faithful with our finances, make no mistake. He wants us to remember continually that our money isn t really ours at all, but is just held in trust, to be used wisely and well. He wants us to support faithfully His work through the money He has given us. But all the tithing in the world is no substitute for right attitudes and right living; we can write all the cheques we want, but if we re neglecting those more important issues, then it s worthless. And what are the more important issues? Justice - living right; mercy - forgiving when others get it wrong; and faithfulness - staying true to God and to others, no matter what. These things can t be bought. (DG) RESPOND Thank God for how He has provided for you financially. Ask Him to make you financially faithful in a way that s more than just doing your duty.
Friday Read: Matthew 23:23-24 RELATE 1. What lists do we make in our Christian life? What things do we need to do to make ourselves feel that we ve been a good Christian today? Have we, perhaps, missed the point? 2. Jesus says, You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. What does this mean in our own lives? How does it apply to our finances? 3. Have you ever experienced God miraculously providing for you financially? Write about the experience below and thank God for it.
Saturday Read: Mark 12:41-44 REFLECT So often we can live in a bare minimum society. The attitude so many of us take is, What s the least I can do to get by, to scrape through? This is nothing new - even in Jesus day, people would ask Him what the greatest commandment was, what was the bottom line, the bare minimum they had to do to make it into Heaven. This can sometimes be most apparent in our finances. Many of us will tithe our income, giving a tenth of everything that we earn to the Church, so that it can be used for Kingdom work. This is wonderful - but we forget that the tithe is never described as an upper limit, but rather as the least we are to give to God and His work. The Law made many provisions for free-will offerings to God and His work, when people were especially thankful for what God had done in their lives, when they were especially amazed by who He was or how He was working. The tithe just wasn t enough for them, and they had to respond by giving Him extra as a tangible expression of their thankfulness. This widow didn t give a tithe. Jesus praised her because she had given everything she had to live on. This is sacrificial giving, and it goes far beyond the tithe. And it needs to be the same for us. We need to remember that the tithe is not the only part of our money that belongs to Him. James tells us that every good gift comes from God (James 1:17). That means that every penny is from Him, not just every tenth one. That means that we mustn t slip into the trap of thinking that once we ve paid our tithe we re then free to throw away the rest of our money. It all belongs to God and we need to be wise stewards of it. Jesus isn t calling us to tithing, but to a life of complete financial faithfulness, where we remember that every single penny and pound belongs to Him. That means we can t complain when He calls for more than just a tenth. (DG) RESPOND Ask God to remind you that your money isn t yours at all, but rather His. Ask Him to make you faithful over and above the bare minimum.
Saturday Read: Mark 12:41-44 RELATE 1. Imagine yourself as either the widow giving the copper coins or one of the rich people giving a large amount. How do you view these events? 2. Read 2 Corinthians 8:12 and rewrite it in your own words, in light of today s Scripture reading. 3. the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare If our giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our commitment to giving excludes them. CS Lewis. Discuss your thoughts on this.
Sunday Read: Proverbs 30:7-9 REFLECT To quote Francis Chan: I dare you to pray this prayer! Go on! I dare you! I dare you to pray it and really mean it. To allow you heart to be made like that of the wisdom writer and come to the point where, if you had only two requests of God, it would be these two. I mean, the first request is pretty straightforward: a life lived in the absence of lies and falsehood, whether from our own lips or others. Who wouldn t want that? But it s the writer s second request that sits so uncomfortably with us. The culture in which we live does not allow us to pray it. It says, make as much money as you can, no matter what the consequences are. Push for promotion, push for more! It s engrained on our hearts, it s how we raise our children. Go to school, work hard, go on to university and get a good education. Why? Not so that they can please God or make the world a better place, but so they can make as much money as possible! The Scriptures are littered with warnings against this way of thinking yet somehow we seem to skim over it. We convince ourselves that, it doesn t apply to us, or it s not speaking to me. I m not rich. The truth is, in a global context, if God were to answer this prayer in our lives it would likely result in the removal of comforts and not the providing of necessities. But what is the alternative? What motivates the writer to pray such a prayer? Well, he seems to have lived long enough to know that both poverty and riches tend to be at the centre of the world s evils. They cause in our hearts the two things that he seems to fear so much: dishonouring God and disowning God. He knows that he would much rather have God at the centre of his daily living than a lust for more. And he knows that a life that desires God provides ever more fulfilment; ever more satisfaction; ever more spiritual blessing and prosperity than a desire for anything else. I dare you to pray this prayer! (MK) RESPOND Pray Proverbs 30:7-9.
Sunday Read: Proverbs 30:7-9 RELATE 1. Search your own heart for a moment. Are there any other desires in your heart that are stealing from your desire from God? Ask God to do a work in your life and place Him at the centre of your heart. 2. Read Philippians 4: 10-20. How would you describe Paul s attitude? How do you think he got to this place? Ask God to bring you to the same contentment in your own life. 3. Was there anything from this morning s sermon that stood out to you, challenged you or that you even disagreed with? Write them below and raise them in your Connect group or discuss with the pastoral team.