WHY SHOULD I GIVE?

The church is meant to spend as much time as possible talking about Jesus, being Jesus to their community and becoming more like Jesus in its character. However, if you ask the world about the church they will often think that the church is just about asking them for money.

 

Why, then, does the church talk about and encourage giving?

 

1. To become more like Jesus in generosity

Jesus spoke about money more than any other subject and he did so because he knew that money could so easily become our stronghold. A stronghold was a place of security and safety. God is meant to be our stronghold and yet we can so easily replace the security of the God of the universe with the latest gadget or investment. Talking about and thinking about our own personal giving is a regular opportunity to check our hearts. To check that we are worshipping God with our financial resource and to check that our finances have not replaced God as our rock of security.

 

2. To display the generosity of God to others

The gift of Jesus is the greatest act of generosity ever seen. For God so loved the world he GAVE his one and only son. In response to a generous God we want to grow in generosity as a church family. Giving makes us exercise the muscle of generosity. We encourage one another to be generous in our attitude.

So when we give, we are not only examining our own hearts, but we are a witness to the generosity of God in giving us his only son. And we are expressing our faith in a loving, caring Father. By choosing to give first to God we are saying that we trust God will meet our needs.

 

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WHAT SHOULD I GIVE?

Often people will ask “How much should I give?”

Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth gives some helpful principles:
 

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Give first:
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give…”

2 Cor 9:7

This is an active choice, not just giving what we have left over. So making a decision about what to give first is helpful. It says that you are putting God and His kingdom first above your now needs.

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Give proportionately:
“On the first day of every week, each one should set aside a sum of money in keeping
with his income.”

1 Cor 16:2

You may have heard the phrase “tithing”. This is a phrase that literally means 10%. If you have never practiced going before then thinking about giving 10% of your income is a good start. However you are free to give more or less and your level of income needs to be considered.

 

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Give regularly:

“On the first day of every week, each one should set aside a sum of money in keeping
with his income.”

1 Cor 16:2

This highlights the principle of setting aside what you are going to give on a regular basis. Planning to give regularly, depending on when and how you receive income, is helpful in being able to budget effectively and demonstrates good stewardship.

 

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Give generously:

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”

2 Cor 9:7

When we give is should always be out of cheerful excitement and not out of a sense of duty or with grumbling.

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WHERE SHOULD I GIVE?

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The Church:

If we are to make a significant contribution to the flourishing of our community  then it matters how we use our resources.  Those of us who consider Community Church Putney to be our home are encouraged to contribute to the church’s goals through financial support. Community Church Putney is funded mainly by members of the church.

We are so grateful to the many people who have, and continue, to show their trust and commitment to the church in this way.

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Others:

Jesus also talks about giving to the needy. There may be individuals or families in the church, and outside the church, who we know are in financial difficulty and would benefit from financial support.

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In some cases you may feel lead to give to other organisations that fulfil a need in the community or society. The church may also ask for a special offering to support a particular cause or organisation.

As a church, we also want to practice giving and we budget each yeas to give a percentage of our income in addition to any other special requests.

 

However as a Christian, bearing in mind the principles above, our primary support should be to the local church.

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HOW CAN I GIVE?

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Pray:

In all these situations it is important that we are praying and hearing from God. The Bible, the Word of God, has laid out some principles, but we need to constantly bring our finances to God and ask Him how we should be using them.