Scripture emphasizes the importance of giving for various reasons.

#1 Giving is an act of obedience and worship reminding us that God should always come first

in our lives (Proverbs 3:9-10).

#2 My giving influences to some extent how much God will bless me. Scripture tells us God

promises to bless those who faithfully give-maybe relationally, maybe physically, maybe

financially…God doesn’t tell us exactly how, but he does promise blessings (Malachi 3:8-10).

#3 Our giving results in spreading the Good News of Jesus and helps people “make it to

heaven.” Luke 16:9 suggests people will welcome us to heaven and thank us for giving to the Lord’s work. Our giving resulted in their salvation. Wow!

#4 Giving increases our joy and happiness (Acts 20:35, Proverbs 11:24-25).

#5 My giving supercharges my faith in God (Proverbs 3:5-6, Luke 12:34).

The tithe was an Old Testament law given to God’s people whereby they were to give 10% of their income to the Lord’s work. In the New Testament the tithe is still a suggested practice (Matthew 23:23) but instead of it being a law to be obeyed, it seems to be a principle to be applied. Instead of a hard percentage we are to give, the new standard given is “generosity.” In case you are wondering, most Bible students believe 10% is the minimum and starting point for giving generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).

The best easiest to understand passage that answers this question is 2 Corinthians 9:6-10 listed below from the New Living Translation (NLT).

6  Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.  7  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”  8  And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.  9  As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10  For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

According to this passage, the Apostle Paul encourages us to give in the following ways:

• Give Thoughtfully – We are to give as one has “decide in your heart.” In other words, think it through, talk it through with your spouse, and then, decide what to give.

• Give Enthusiastically – We are not to “give reluctantly.” Hopefully, seeing all God is doing through Journey South Bay you will be encouraged and enthusiastic in your giving.

• Give Voluntarily – We are never to give as a “response to pressure.” This means that if you feel the pastor or anyone else is “twisting your arm” to give, then according to this passage, we don’t have to give.

• Give Cheerfully – We see that “God loves a cheerful giver” and desires us to be encouraged and happy to help support God’s work through the church.

• Give Generously – While God cares about the attitude in which we give, that is not the only thing God cares about. Time and time again, we see both in the Old and New Testament that the amount we give also matters. In this passage we are encouraged to “sow/give generously.”

• Give Systematically – In 1 Corinthians 16:2 we read “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” The idea is that we should give systematically whether that is once a week or once a month.

Yes, in the sense that we don’t distribute giving records to anyone in the church. Of course, we have a team that counts the offering, our Treasurer must deposit the gifts, and we have an outside accountant that processes year-end statements, so they obviously are “in the know.” The leadership board does monitor our overall fiscal health including total giving units in the church, but we do not identify individual amounts given by individuals and/or families.

We choose to share our financial numbers (giving/budget) with the church in our weekly program, believing that is something our members should know and be praying about. We also have a decent amount set aside in savings for special or one-time needs and facility emergencies/needs. Likely, the bulk of those funds will be used on either a future facility or to update our current facility. As you know, construction and remodeling cost a lot of money.

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