Session 1 – Understanding Biblical Stewardship
- God owns title to EVERYTHING.
- Biblical stewardship recognizes
(b) that the giver (God) expects and equips us to manage it well.
- Biblical stewardship requires us to do four things:
- Recognize who owns title to all that we have.
- Acknowledge and look for the beneficial things in our lives that bring support, help and gratitude.
- Blessings flow through us at all times.
- It makes one more happy, thankful, demonstrates praise, AND praiseworthiness to give than to receive.
- Biblical stewardship encompasses time, talent, and resources (possessions & income).
- As His disciples, we are responsible to:
- Discern the things of God
- Manage the resources He reveals in a manner that honors Him.
- Disperse His blessings with purpose and expectation.
- How do we know what to manage, plus how & when to do so?
- Identify your supply of assets that can be drawn upon to function effectively. These are your resources.
- Make a plan. Allocate your resources with a plan.
- Manage your plan, making changes as are required.
Session 2 – Understanding Tithes and Offerings
Part of stewardship is training our heart to do “more than what’s expected.” We are to plan for the regular support of God's kingdom AND prepare for unexpected needs.
The tithe is the foundational principle for the support of God’s kingdom while here on Earth (God’s Embassy, if you will). But in addition to the “regular work” for God, “unexpected” needs always seem to arise. “Over and above” funds are often required to meet these needs. These funds are offered beyond what God asks of us through obedience. These are our “offerings.”
Rather than seeking "magical legalistic formulae" on tithes and offerings, follow this recipe for your stewardship discipline:
- PRAY. Communicate with and wait upon the Lord.
- CHOOSE. Follow through on what He directs, and follow His example of generosity.
- WALK by faith, not by sight. If God is leading us to a choice, but we wait until we can suitably answer the question, “Where are the funds going to come from?” we are not acting in faith through the spirit, but rather by our own soul and body.
- Take SMALL STEPS in “renewed” obedience. Act on the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
- SET GOALS that worship God, not ourselves.
- FOLLOW THROUGH on things we are (t)asked to do.
- PERSIST and make stewardship a way of life.
In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle/Temple functioned as a storehouse – the recipient of giving and generosity.
In the New Testament, the church functions more as a clearing house – the manager and distributor of resources. Bring God's resources to the clearing house for distribution thorough the local church.
DISCUSS:
What is your attitude toward “how much” we are to share with God, and how much to live on?
Consider your level of commitment to your local church as in the context of other things you purchase that are neither needs, nor Kingdom-related.
DECIDE:
Establish a consistent, prayerful approach to every opportunity to give. Make a list.
DO:
Follow through!
- Set aside a special savings account dedicated to the Lord;
- consider “adopting” a specific, known financial need within your fellowship.
- As resources become available, ASK your pastors/leaders what the most pressing needs are; avoid “designated giving” unless invited to do so.
Remember, make your gift to God a "give-up" – cut all strings attached to the gift and let God do with it as HE wills, not as YOU will.
Why do we have to ask God, if He already knows the need?
Why do we have to ask the public to participate? Shouldn’t they just want to contribute?
Asking teaches supplication.Translated in scripture as a request or petition, supplication simply means you are asking God for, or to do, something.
Asking teaches submission. His resources are entrusted to us to manage; they are not ours to “own” and thus we submit to His ownership. God wants our hearts, not our stuff.
DISCUSS: What does “asking” look like for you/your household? Are you really asking, or is it more like telling God what you want to do, and then convincing yourself that He approves?
DECIDE: Determine to “wait upon the Lord” and discern what submission and surrender need to look like in your life. Becoming mature means changing, but never with the goal of being evident to, and thus receiving the worldly approval of, others. Rather, bear the fruit of generous works in your church and community.
DO! Count the cost. Submit to God’s principles and honor your leaders in specific, overt ways. Make a list of things or time or talent that you can surrender.
Session 4 – Creative Giving
Imagine you are living in the time of the old testament There are 5 main types of sacrifices or offering:
1. Burnt offering – a bull, a bird, or a ram without blemish. The meat and bones and organs of the animal were to be totally burnt.
2. Grain offering – the fruit of the field was offered in the form of a cake or baked bread made of grain, fine flour, and oil and salt, accompanied by a drink offering of about a quart of wine, which was poured into the fire on the altar.
3. Peace offering – consisted of any unblemished animal from the worshiper’s herd, and/or various grains or breads.
4. Sin offering – a mandatory offering, there were five possible elements of a sin sacrifice—a young bull, a male goat, a female goat, a dove/pigeon, or 1/10 ephah of fine flour.
5. Trespass offering – a mandatory offering of a ram as atonement for unintentional sins that required reimbursement to an offended party, and a cleansing from defiling sins or physical maladies.
So, you are there, what are you going to offer to God?
• a bull
• a bird – a dove or pigeon
• a ram or goat
• baked goods and wine
• an undamaged animal from your herd
• some 22 liters of flour
How are you going to get it? Here is where “creative giving” comes into play.
The possibilities for thinking outside of the offering plate are vast, but most contributors have never been informed or challenged in the area of “creative giving.” Most of us face the practical hurdle of “I would like to contribute, but there isn’t much left over after bills.”
Nurturing a creative giving mindset requires prayer and focus. It often prompts givers to think “outside of the offering plate” regarding how they can support the specific vision set before them.
We can give assets. Whereas income is generally set and can be difficult to divert in significant fashion, the idea of giving appreciated assets opens a whole new dimension to engaging your financial means in Kingdom work. Determining how to give in this area requires prayer and planning.
We can give possessions. While some of us have significant assets, all of us have “stuff.” We can dispose of this "stuff" for God's purposes.
We can give sacrifices. Picture the end product of most Biblical sacrifices: a pile of ash! At its simplest, a sacrifice is offered fully and is not picked back up off the altar. It was a true "give-it-up" gift for God's purposes. The message is quite clear: your offering is about to be “consumed” by a holy God who knows the motivation behind the gift and who responds accordingly.
DISCUSS How do you define giving? How have you challenged yourself beyond giving money?
DECIDE Re-evaluate your hold on material things, as well as the priorities that consume your time and money. Purpose to move forward in humility, in faith and in a new direction.
DO! Establish an “altar” in your heart upon which you are willing to lay anything that may come before your God and His priorities. Be proactive in prayer and then follow through, by faith not works, on the things God asks you to do and to give, for His use and to His glory.
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