I invite you in the name of the church to the observance of a holy Lent:
- by self-examination and repentance;
- by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving;
- and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word
– From the ACNA Book of Common Prayer
As you look over that list of what we are invited to do, how much of it is specific to do only in Lent?
Luke 12:22–34 (NIV84) (Don’t worry, but seek first the Kingdom of God)
Principles of Stewarding:
- Bring everything into the light.
Know what comes in, & what goes out
- Spend less than you earn.
- Get out of .
The borrower is the slave of the lender. – Prov 22:7b
- Save.
For your needs & others.
- Today, we look at the call to give.
Today’s Gospel Reading:
Matthew 6:19–24 (NIV84) 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Today’s Gospel passage ends up:
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
You can’t be half-hearted toward God,
half-hearted toward money,
and be whole.
- But this middle part – this is the heart of what God wants for his people
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
“Good eyes” are a Jewish idiom meaning “to be generous.”
- A good eye ‘sees’ a need and meets it.
God evidently wants us to be generous:
- 2 Corinthians 9:7b (NIV) …God loves a cheerful giver.
- Luke 6:38 (NLT) “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
- To have a “bad eye” means “to be stingy”
- King James says “evil eye”
- An “evil eye” doesn’t see the needs around you
God has an experiment for us to find out if he is trustworthy in our finances. If he is, we can be generous.
Malachi 3:10 (TLB) “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!”
Tithing means a tenth.
Deuteronomy 14:23b (TLB) The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.
God doesn’t need anything FROM you,
He wants something FOR you.
Amount Tithe
$10 $1
$100 $10
$1000 $100
$10,000 $1000
$100,000 $10,000
WE are impressed and influenced by numbers. GOD is evidently impressed by percentage.
Mark 12:41–44 (NIV84) Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
ACNA Canon 9 – Of Finances – Section 1 – Concerning the Tithe
“The biblical tithe is the minimum standard of giving to support the Mission of the Church, and should be taught and encouraged at every level in the Church.”
- If you don’t trust us, don’t give here, but give somewhere.
I will give…
In addition, I will contribute above my tithe $every (week/month).
When you trust him, you can give alms to those in need, generously & gladly.
I invite you in the name of the church to the observance of a holy Lent:
- by self-examination and repentance;
- by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving;
- and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word