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Report: Sunday Evening, Oct 15, 2006 At our meetings, we take up no offerings. No passing of the offering plate, no uniformed ushers, no tithing envelopes, no begging for money, no threats of “robbing God” and no promises of one hundred fold return investment. Some may wonder then how our expenses are being met. Well, the only answer to that is that God is prospering the work. As we have come to realize, God will prosper whatever He has set in order. All of the financial needs of the Gospel Outreach and discipleship meetings and ministry have been met. Praise the Lord. We have found that people will cheerfully support something that they see God’s hand upon. Sis Debbie Rude brought a very informative lesson on almsgiving Sunday evening at the discipleship meeting. She used as her text Matthew 6:1-4; Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. She broke down each scripture and showed that our doing (not giving) of alms should be done so as not to receive praise or recognition. Doing alms, which includes acts of kindness, should be kept as private as possible. Sis Debbie not only discussed the manner of giving but she used the Bible to show how much to give. While some would quickly say that we should legalistically give 10% of our gross income, she showed that the principle of 10% tithing is a good principle but it was never intended to be the standard for the New Testament church. She pointed out scriptures such as: •1 Corinthians 16:2 where it teaches us that we are to give as God prospers us. •1 Corinthians 9:7 God does not want us to give grudgingly, or of necessity/duty. God wants us to give willingly and cheerfully. The offering amount and purpose should be from our heart and not a letter of the law. •2 Corinthians 8:12 teaches us again to give willingly, according to what we have. In the New Testament, never do we see a set amount mentioned. The principle that Christ taught was simply Christian giving, from the heart. Ten percent may be a good amount, but we do not believe that it is binding. Luke 12:48 For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required. Some are able and glad to give more then 10%. The less fortunate may not be able to give 10%. If we are simply giving in a legalistic manner in obedience to a law, we might become more concerned about whether we’ve faithfully given our 10% and lose focus of the object of our giving. Sis Debbie also discussed why we do alms. She read the scripture in Matthew 10:8 where it says “freely you have received, freely give.” God has blessed us with much; but, we are only stewards. This giving goes beyond money but includes our time, gifts/talents, skills, etc. How do we really give to God? Matt 25:34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Helping the needy is a significant part of the work of God. In this scripture text, we find people who had naturally helped the needy and didn't realize they were helping God until it was later pointed out to them (v 37-39 When did we do this?). In the New Testament church, the offerings of the saints went for real needs because they didn’t have “church buildings”, “church” gas & electric bills, landscaped and well manicured lawns, salaried pastors and staff, etc… History verifies that the early Christians didn’t even own buildings until about around 280 AD. Neither did they have salaried pastors until after the apostasy. To spend a majority of our offerings on the upkeep of an elaborate building (which will some day melt with fervent heat), salaried staff, and temporal considerations is not biblical. When we do such things, we are not being good stewards of God’s resources. Sis Debbie gave some practical examples of charitable giving.
Finally, Sis Debbie pointed out that giving is for the benefit of the needy. God is balanced and so is His Gospel. Sometimes, giving money can do more harm than good. We should use wisdom in your giving. For example: If a person is always running out of money before their next paycheck, is it better to:
There could be a deeper problem working, like covetousness. If there is carelessness or selfishness on the recipients part, let them put forth a little effort so they won’t take advantage of people and expect things to be given to them all the time. Also laziness shouldn’t be rewarded. If a person refuses to work or better themselves and wants to depend on the constant charity of others, that behavior should not be rewarded. We are thankful for what God is doing and for every blessing He has given His people. |
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