Housegroups 

Teaching Series:      Shaping Church Culture
Week 5:                     Financial Giving
Date of Sermon:     October 6th
 
 
ICE BREAKER

  • Can you remember an occasions(s) when you have been blessed by the generosity of someone?  How did you feel?  How did you respond?
  • Who do you customarily give to (e.g. family members on their birthday) and why?
 
INTRODUCTION
 
Giving financially is part of life and it is part of our life as a beloved child of God.
 
There are over 2,300 verses in the Bible on money, wealth and possessions (see Appendix).  Jesus talked about these subjects frequently. In fact, it was favourite subject in the parables. Did you know that over one third of the parables address these areas of our daily life?  Jesus clearly wanted his disciples to honour Him in this area of our lives.
 
Last week, we considered the vision and strategy for our church. We all have an important part to play in honoring God and this includes giving financially. Supported by volunteers, the church leadership and members of staff continue to be careful stewards of our finances, grounds and buildings.  But ministry requires money. It costs £2,200 each day to serve our community. This includes our contribution of £271,000 to support the work of the Diocese.
 
Regular financial giving is an integral component of discipleship. It is part of our worship. God is generous to us and we are invited to respond with generosity to Him.
 
Regular financial giving to enable God’s ministry through His church is important because it demonstrates:
  • our gratitude to God for His love and provision
  • our commitment to play our part in building God’s kingdom on earth
  • our joy in sharing the transforming love of Christ to our local community and beyond
 
READ               2 Corinthians 8: 1-15 and 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11
 
BACKGROUND TO OUR STUDY AND DISCUSSION
 
A key element of Paul's ministry was his organization of a collection of money to relieve the poverty of the church in Jerusalem. The collection did more than relieve poverty. By making a generous and sacrificial financial gift to the Jerusalem church, the new Gentile churches honour God and affirm their partnership with the Jewish Christians in building the Kingdom of God on earth.
In our study today, Paul writes to the churches he planted in Macedonia (modern day Greece) five years before (AD50). Their early enthusiastic commitment to giving has fizzled out.
What’s more, we learn that there were financial tensions caused, it seems, by Paul refusal to accept their patronage and instead to work to support his ministry. Problems were made worse by false teachers denying Paul’s authority as an apostle.
Given the breakdown of relationships and a delicate situation, Paul could be forgiven for not pressing the importance of financial giving as a disciple - but he did!  He devotes two chapters (2 Corinthians 8 & 9) to urge the Corinthians to give financially to honour God and His ministry through His church.
 
Paul’s focus was not the money. Interestingly, in the two chapters Paul never used the word ‘money' once – or any other financial word – although his teaching is all about financial giving. Instead, Paul intentionally selects words such as privilege, service or generous act. These are all English translations of the single Greek word charis meaning 'grace'.  Paul makes the profound point that it is a grace to give financially to enable the ministry of the kingdom of God through the local church. Disciples give financially in response to receiving the grace of God through Christ.
 
Questions:
 
  1. Read 2 Corinthians 8: 1-5. What do we learn about the circumstances of the Christians in Macedonia and their Christian discipleship?
 
  1. Looking at verses 2-5 & 12, explore the difference between a sense of obligation and a sense of privilege.  What difference does this make to your understanding of giving financially to God’s ministry through His church?
 
  1. Read verse 7.  What do you think about Paul’s encouragement to “…also excel in the grace of giving.”
 
  1. Read verses 8-12.  Why do you think that Christians can fail to follow through in this foundational area of Christian discipleship - in giving financially?  Reading the passage, how does Paul respond to this?  Do you agree?
 
  1. Read 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11.  How do these verses speak to you and invite you to respond? 
 
INVITATION
 
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Luke 12:34)
 
As we honour God with our finances, God builds His kingdom in and through His church. 
 
As we look back with thanksgiving to the past, we look forward to the future with expectation.  God has revealed the way forward for us as a church through our Pathways Strategy that was shared on Sunday 29th September.
 
To realize this strategy for God’s glory, we are inviting everyone to review their financial giving to the ministry of St Giles and St George’s.
Thank you for:
 
  1. Reading our accompanying pamphlet, “Giving to Grow God’s Kingdom”
  2. Prayerfully considering and reviewing your financial giving to St. Giles’ & St. George’s
Starbucks
 
If 650 people increased their weekly giving by the price of a cup of coffee in Starbucks, this would increase our annual income for ministry by £84,500!
 
 
  1. Complete your Response Form (available in church & on church website) and return either to the collection boxes in both churches or to the Parish Office by Nov 3rd 2019. Thank you.
 
Conclude with a time of prayer.
 
 
 
APPENDIX                   A Biblical Framework for Giving Financially
 
Drawing from scripture, the Church of England has drawn up this framework (see below) to help disciples to review and respond to the invitation to share in the grace of regular financial giving to God through His church:
 
Financial giving should be:
 
  • a priority – assessed in relation to all of our income, and not simply the spare change after all other needs have been satisfied. (e.g. Deut 26.2-3, 1 Cor 16.2, 2 Cor 8.5)
 
  • prayerful – an act of worship and thanksgiving. (e.g. 1 Chronicles 29.10-14)
 
  • planned – but not prescriptive and allowing spontaneous generosity. (e.g. 2 Cor 9.7)
 
  • proportionate – a realistic proportion of our income. (e.g. 1 Cor 16.2, 2 Cor 8.11-13)
 
  • given in community – both for the needs of others and given with others for a common purpose. (e.g. Acts 2.42-47, 2 Cor 8.13,14). The act of giving shifts our focus from individual wants to a communal need, demonstrating solidarity with the poor and a commitment to working together in mission.
 
  • sacrificial – in that there is a cost to our giving. As a result, we will have less to spend on ourselves, and our lifestyles will reflect this. Those who have more to give, will give more. (e.g. Luke 21.1-4, 2 Cor 8.2-4)
 
  • cheerfully and joyfully given – whether giving of money, time or hospitality, we give with grace from the heart, as an offering to God. (e.g. 2 Cor 9.7)
source: “Giving for Life” Archbishops’ Council, 2009

Richard Jones, 27/09/2019