Discipleship
Resources that we have covered or referenced in Christian Education classes and seminars are linked to or outlined below.
Best Practices in Giving: Considerations
Here are some things to consider in fulfilling your responsibilities to give to the Lord’s work as He shall prosper you:
Purpose | Considerations | Scripture |
|---|---|---|
Give Deliberately | Make a plan to give - a long-term, determined plan. Don’t get caught waiting for the next job promotion, or for easier times. Consider God’s kindness to you and call upon you and respond. | 2 Cor. 9:5 - So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. |
Give Cheerfully | Do we serve a hard master? One who reaps where he does not sow and gathers where he scattered no seed? Indeed not! His yoke is easy and his burden is light! | 2 Cor. 9:7 - Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. |
Give Thankfully | God has distributed to us freely. Materially, yes, but more importantly he has given us a harvest of righteousness in Christ. | 2 Cor. 9:12 - For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. |
Give Regularly | If God’s mercies are new every morning; if he gives all living things food in due season, shouldn’t we develop a rhythm of giving from the bounty God gives to us? | 1 Cor. 16:2 - On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. |
Give Sacrificially | David would not offer to the Lord that which cost him nothing. He recognized the weight of God’s love and mercy. | Luke 21:2-4 - and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” |
Best Practices in Giving: Means
There are several ways that you can avoid snares in your giving:
Means | Consideration | Scripture |
|---|---|---|
Cash | If giving cash, attach your name, by using an envelope or some means of identification. This is not about a tax deduction; it is about accountability to the church. Giving to be seen is condemned by God, but to be seen giving is not. | Acts 4:34 - There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. |
Check | Check writing might tempt you to associate your giving with paying of your bills – don’t. We once had a member that sometimes drew a heart on the memo line of her check. She got the point – giving out of love is the only way. | 2 Cor. 8:7,8 - But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. |
Online | If using online banking, or giving by the online Give link from the menu above – give mindfully and worshipfully. Electronic payment systems are meant to be automatic – set it and forget it – but this is not the biblical way. | Deut 8:11-14 - Take care lest you forget the LORD your God... lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God. |
Daily Commitment Statements
| Weekday | Theme | Commitment |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Bible | I purpose to live this day saturated by the Word of God as I plan to study it, meditate on it, obey it, and teach it to others. |
| Tuesday | God | I purpose to live this day enjoying the majesty of the Triune God, being aware of the love of the Father, the life of Jesus, and the light of the Holy Spirit in my life. |
| Wednesday | Christ-Likeness | I purpose to live this day rejoicing in union with the living Christ, being aware of His life in me and my position in Him, striving never to dishonor Him and seeking to speak well of Him in all situations. |
| Thursday | The Body of Christ | I purpose to live this day power of Christian love, treasuring the Church, demonstrating harmony with my fellow Christians, and displaying humility, forgiveness, and graciousness, while looking for every opportunity to serve. |
| Friday | Growth | I purpose to live this day growing in my devotion to God and in personal holiness as I diligently practice the Christian disciplines. |
| Saturday | Kingdom | I purpose to live this day for Christ and His Kingdom as I desire to demonstrate that I am a true servant of King Jesus and to be used by God for the evangelization of the world. |
| Sunday | Grace | I purpose to live this day in active reliance upon the equipping power of God's grace, consciously utilizing His strength, not my own, as I seek to live in a way that is pleasing to God and worthy of the gospel. |
