Revelling in the grace of giving

Our giving is a reflection of what God’s grace means to us.

(a) In the Old Testament you may be familiar with God’s outward command to give back a tenth of what was received. The law said:

• “be sure to set aside a tenth”(Deuteronomy 14:22)
• “to the Levites (priests)..you must present a tenth” (Numbers 18:26)
• “the law requires … a tenth from the people” (Hebrews 7:5)

Of course this ‘tithe’ giving didn’t prove people were converted:

• “you (Pharisees) give a tenth … but you have neglected the more important matters” (Matthew 23:23)
• “I give a tenth” (said the proud Pharisee) (Luke 18:12)

(b) In the New Testament the tenth is superseded by inward grace! Grace bursts the legal wineskins.

• “set aside a sum of money in keeping with (your) income”(1 Corinthians 16:2)
• “she out of her poverty put in all she had” (Luke 21:5)
• “I give half … I will pay back four times” (Luke 19:8)
• “their overflowing joy welled up in rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2)

(c) So how much should you give? From your net income — as you work out your responsibilities to sustain family and food, etc. — give generously to thank God and to prosper the work of the Gospel. You are not under law to give a tenth and you are not under law to give less than a tenth!

But notice that under law, those receiving

• $10,000 a year would give $1,000
• $100,000 a year would give $10,000
• $500,000 a year would give $50,000 etc.

Under grace some will give more!

What does your giving say about God’s grace to you? *

Impact of generosity

Here is a story about a man named John. John had no immediate family and when he died, his Church discovered that he had left his entire estate to the church. It consisted of a 3 bedroom home about 1km from the church and approximately $500,000 which was to be used to maintain the home and help pay for youth work.

What a vision for ministry! The church renovated and extended the home and the assistant minister moved in. Over the years, the church has saved close to $100,000 in rent for their assistant. And the house has been extended and turned in to the rectory, and interest from the remaining funds has helped pay for a youth minister.

There may be no one in this congregation in a similar position—but imagine if thoughtful generosity became a trademark of our Church! Amazing!

Benefits of giving via the internet

Have considered supporting the work of our church by direct debit through the internet?

Here are some advantages:

• as soon as you receive your income into your account,  you can set aside whatever percentage you have decided to give back to the Lord. This helps us to remember that’s it’s all the Lord’s anyway and that the first portion of our income is to be returned to Him.
• when you are away, you can still support the work!
• it means less handling of cash for counting and banking

Some have raised with me that they prefer to put their money in the plate so that it may be received and prayed over during the service. I understand that completely. But I also believe that as we ask the Lord for wisdom in using the offertory well and for his glory, he hears our prayers for money directly transferred as well!

Most importantly, our giving should be well thought out and prayed through so none of us give whatever just happens to be in our wallet or purse or account at the time, but is part of our considered response to God’s grace to us in the Lord Jesus.

May the Lord make us all generous givers, and abundantly supply our needs for his work here in the parish and beyond.

* The first part of this piece was adapted from an article by the Rev Simon Manchester

See here for our bank account details for giving via the internet.