With a
new Pastor coming I decided to write an article about a topic we have
heard little about during the last 37 years. Rick rarely mentioned
giving and transitional Pastor Tim probably felt it wasn't his job to
bring it up either. If you look at the bulletin every week you have
noticed our offerings have averaged a thousand dollars or so a week less
than the "needed to meet the budget" figure for quite a while. It's
not been a problem because we have not been paying a pastor's salary for
3 years. Our church has always been a good giving church, and I
suppose we've been in one of those "when the cats away the mice will
play" modes. When Pastor Curt arrives and we have a Senior Pastor up
front every Sunday I'm betting some of those lackadaisical attenders will return full time and will resume throwing a few shekels in the plate.
How many shekels are you supposed to throw in? In the Old Testament the mandate was the tithe--10%. They tithed on everything--wages; farm crops; olive oil; cattle, sheep and goats; wine; you name it. I suppose a Hebrew woman with a few chickens gave the priest 10% of the eggs. It is news to most Christians that tithing is not taught in the New Testament. The words tithe and tithes are only used 8 times in the New Testament and each time the context is referring back to the Old Testament.
What then are we expected to give? My Dad always told his church members that the New Testament plan was "seed time and harvest." He had been raised on grain farms in Illinois and he knew how to raise a grain crop. He was the first farmer in Fayette County Illinois to harvest 100 bushels of corn per acre. Today if you don't hit up around 200 bushel you're not much of a farmer. You have to put a lot of seed in the ground (and have very fertile soil) to raise 200 bushel corn.
We've all heard the old saying "you can't out give God." When you look at the sacrifice God made for us on Calvary, how can we Christians not be sacrificial givers? That's where the blessings are---sacrificial giving. If 10% was the standard under The Law, how can those of us under Grace give less than that?
When I got saved and Dolly and I got married I was making $2.00/hour for a 40-hour week. That's $80.00/week,less union dues, taxes, FICA, etc. I don't remember what my check actually was. I do remember putting $5.00 in the plate at the Arm Prairie Christian Church every Sunday. When I got hired at WPAFB I was paid $5,000.00/year. I think I kept up the $5.00/week for a while. When Dad reminded me of the seed time and harvest thing I did some calculations and found out that the Old Testament system would have required closer to $10.00/week.
If you're a "tither," it's not 10% of what's left over after Uncle Sam and everyone else has their way with your paycheck, it's 10% of the gross before any deductions. Even though we're not under The Law, 10% is a good place to start. Believe it or not, God will make the 90% go farther than you could get the 100% to go. LeTourneau supposedly gave God 90%, and became a multi-millionaire living on the 10%. You can't out give God.
Dolly & I have been fortunate in our married life, both of us having had good jobs. We put God first in our budget and have consistently bumped up the 10% every time we financially could. I can't guarantee what He will do with yourcheck book, but the more we give the more we seem to have.
When Pastor Curt arrives I hope we see more of those occasions when we see people looking for a seat. I want to challenge those who have been coming and those who will be coming to be generous toward God and I assure you He will be generous to you.
How many shekels are you supposed to throw in? In the Old Testament the mandate was the tithe--10%. They tithed on everything--wages; farm crops; olive oil; cattle, sheep and goats; wine; you name it. I suppose a Hebrew woman with a few chickens gave the priest 10% of the eggs. It is news to most Christians that tithing is not taught in the New Testament. The words tithe and tithes are only used 8 times in the New Testament and each time the context is referring back to the Old Testament.
What then are we expected to give? My Dad always told his church members that the New Testament plan was "seed time and harvest." He had been raised on grain farms in Illinois and he knew how to raise a grain crop. He was the first farmer in Fayette County Illinois to harvest 100 bushels of corn per acre. Today if you don't hit up around 200 bushel you're not much of a farmer. You have to put a lot of seed in the ground (and have very fertile soil) to raise 200 bushel corn.
We've all heard the old saying "you can't out give God." When you look at the sacrifice God made for us on Calvary, how can we Christians not be sacrificial givers? That's where the blessings are---sacrificial giving. If 10% was the standard under The Law, how can those of us under Grace give less than that?
When I got saved and Dolly and I got married I was making $2.00/hour for a 40-hour week. That's $80.00/week,less union dues, taxes, FICA, etc. I don't remember what my check actually was. I do remember putting $5.00 in the plate at the Arm Prairie Christian Church every Sunday. When I got hired at WPAFB I was paid $5,000.00/year. I think I kept up the $5.00/week for a while. When Dad reminded me of the seed time and harvest thing I did some calculations and found out that the Old Testament system would have required closer to $10.00/week.
If you're a "tither," it's not 10% of what's left over after Uncle Sam and everyone else has their way with your paycheck, it's 10% of the gross before any deductions. Even though we're not under The Law, 10% is a good place to start. Believe it or not, God will make the 90% go farther than you could get the 100% to go. LeTourneau supposedly gave God 90%, and became a multi-millionaire living on the 10%. You can't out give God.
Dolly & I have been fortunate in our married life, both of us having had good jobs. We put God first in our budget and have consistently bumped up the 10% every time we financially could. I can't guarantee what He will do with yourcheck book, but the more we give the more we seem to have.
When Pastor Curt arrives I hope we see more of those occasions when we see people looking for a seat. I want to challenge those who have been coming and those who will be coming to be generous toward God and I assure you He will be generous to you.
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