My Gifts
Almighty God,
You gave us your commandments and asked us to live
according to your holy will.
As part of your design for honorable living, we
participate in this simple act of giving.
We dedicate ourselves to living lives of honesty and
peace.
Amen.
A stewardship prayer, from the
General Board of Discipleship of the
Faithful
and Wise Stewards
If the rich should ask, “Then what should we do with our wealth? Throw it away into the sea?” It would be better than how they are now throwing it away, either into a bank for your future comforts or into folly and luxuries for your present pleasures. If you do not spend your wealth in doing good for others, you spend it to the hurt of yourself. Spending on ourselves creates unreasonable desires, nourishes ill tempers, indulges foolish passions, and supports a vanity of mind. All these things are contrary to that sobriety and piety of heart that seek divine things. So money spent on ourselves is not merely wasted or lost; it is spent to bad purposes and miserable effects to the corruption of our heart, making us unable to follow the doctrines of the gospel.
It is inexcusable to lay up what you do not need for any reasonable purposes. If we lock it up in chests, while the poor and distressed are in need, we are practicing cruelty.
Be a faithful and wise steward of God and of the poor. Be different from the poor in only two circumstances: that your wants are first supplied out of the portion of the Lord’s good which remains in your hands, and that you have the blessedness of giving. Have no other foundation in this world, but lay up for yourself a good foundation in heaven. And then you will hear at that happy hour the King say, “I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to me. Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” -- from a summary of John Wesley’s sermon on laying up treasures in heaven.
We want others to love and esteem us, and to behave towards us according to justice and mercy and truth. We desire that others may do for us all the good that they can without injuring themselves, giving up trifles for our conveniences, giving up conveniences for our necessities, and giving up necessities when our need is extreme. Apply this to yourself, and act in the same way towards your neighbors! -- from a summary of John Wesley’s sermon on the Golden Rule
Some
Helpful Definitions
Tithe
In the Bible, a tithe is the sacrificial and
proportional gift of one’s harvest given to support the priesthood and the
There were 11 “tribes” who gave 10% each to
support the 12th “tribe” of priests.
This would seem to be one tribe getting 110% to
live on while the others got 90%, but the priesthood was also responsible for
aiding the poor.
Offering
In the Bible, an offering was given to show
gratitude to God for a blessing received,
such as the birth of a new child, the delivery
from an illness, the reconciliation between persons, and other joyful
occasions.
Sometimes, the offering was given in anticipation
of a blessing;
i.e., as a sign of our faith that God is still
working for our good even though we are currently being challenged.
Gifts
In the Bible, gifts are bestowed for the purpose
of creating a specific benefit (i.e., relief for the poor),
which also carries with it an obligation that it
be used to carry out a caring mission for others in need of that benefit.
Today, we call this “designated giving.”
Figuring
Our Accountability for All Our Stewardship before God
This form will help you see where you money goes.
Sermon 44, “The Use of Money” (The Standard 44 Sermons of the Methodist Connection)
helps us to understand the importance of being accountable for all our money.
A. Support of Personal/Family Lifestyle:
____________________
Food __________ Clothing __________ Insurance __________
Car maintenance & fuel __________ Education __________
Entertainment __________ Other lifestyle expenses __________
B. Repayment of Debt as part of that lifestyle:
____________________
House payments __________ Car payments __________
Credit card debt __________ Other loans __________
C. Support of the Community:
____________________
Federal
taxes __________ Property taxes
Other taxes __________ Charitable giving (other than church) __________
D. Saving for the future and retirement:
____________________
Investments __________ IRAs/pension contributions __________
Other savings __________
E. Support of the Church: ____________________
General budget __________ Building debt service __________
Building debt pay down __________ Other designated giving __________
Income less (A + B + C + D+ E) equals unaccounted money of our stewardship
Figuring
a Percentage of What We Have
The left column is annual income. The numbers below each percentage is the monthly figure (income multiplied by percentage, divided by 12 months). To find the monthly amount between two figures (example $28,000) add together the figure for $25,000 and $3,000. For amounts between figures in the chart, (example $73,000) add the figures for $50,000, $20,000, and $3,000. To take a “step forward in faith,” move up at least 1% in giving, with the goal of reaching 10%.
|
Annual Income |
1% Giving |
2% Giving |
3% Giving |
4% Giving |
5% Giving |
6% Giving |
7% Giving |
8% Giving |
9% Giving |
10% Giving |
|
1,000 |
0.83 |
1.67 |
2.50 |
3.33 |
4.17 |
5.00 |
5.83 |
6.67 |
7.50 |
8.33 |
|
2,000 |
1.67 |
3.33 |
5.00 |
6.67 |
8.33 |
10.00 |
11.67 |
13.33 |
15.00 |
16.67 |
|
3,000 |
2.50 |
5.00 |
7.50 |
10.00 |
12.50 |
15.00 |
17.50 |
20.00 |
22.25 |
25.00 |
|
4,000 |
3.33 |
6.67 |
10.00 |
13.33 |
16.67 |
20.00 |
23.33 |
26.67 |
30.00 |
33.33 |
|
5,000 |
4.16 |
8.33 |
12.50 |
16.67 |
20.83 |
25.00 |
29.16 |
33.33 |
37.50 |
41.67 |
|
10,000 |
8.33 |
16.67 |
25.00 |
33.33 |
41.67 |
50.00 |
58.33 |
66.67 |
75.00 |
83.33 |
|
15,000 |
12.50 |
25.00 |
37.50 |
50.00 |
62.50 |
75.00 |
87.50 |
100.00 |
112.50 |
125.00 |
|
20,000 |
16.67 |
33.33 |
50.00 |
66.67 |
83.33 |
100.00 |
116.67 |
133.33 |
150.00 |
166.67 |
|
25,000 |
20.83 |
41.66 |
62.50 |
83.33 |
104.17 |
125.00 |
145.83 |
166.67 |
187.50 |
208.33 |
|
30,000 |
25.00 |
50.00 |
75.00 |
100.00 |
125.00 |
150.00 |
175.00 |
200.00 |
225.00 |
250.00 |
|
35,000 |
29.16 |
58.33 |
87.50 |
116.67 |
145.83 |
175.00 |
204.17 |
233.33 |
262.50 |
291.67 |
|
40,000 |
33.33 |
66.67 |
100.00 |
133.33 |
166.67 |
200.00 |
233.33 |
266.67 |
300.00 |
333.33 |
|
45,000 |
37.50 |
75.00 |
112.50 |
150.00 |
187.50 |
225.00 |
262.50 |
300.00 |
337.50 |
375.00 |
|
50,000 |
41.67 |
66.67 |
125.00 |
166.67 |
208.33 |
250.00 |
291.67 |
333.33 |
375.00 |
416.67 |
|
75,000 |
62.50 |
125.00 |
187.50 |
250.00 |
312.50 |
375.00 |
437.50 |
500.00 |
562.50 |
625.00 |
|
100,000 |
83.33 |
166.67 |
250.00 |
333.33 |
416.67 |
500.00 |
583.33 |
666.67 |
750.00 |
833.33 |
One
Couple’s Story of Stewardship
from “The Five Vital Practices” by Bishop Robert Schnase
Matt and Kerri are professionals, married, parents of 2 children, living a
typical suburban lifestyle. They were active
in their church, had participated faithfully in Disciple Bible Study, and felt
good about the amount of money they gave to the church. Their pastor asked them to do a devotion for
Consecration Sunday a few years ago.
When they did the math, they were surprised that they actually gave less
than 2% of their income.
That year, they made a commitment to increase their giving to 3%, which
meant an increase over what they had been giving by almost half. The next year, they made a commitment to
increase their giving to 4%, which required them to rethink their spending
habits. They looked at how often they
chose fast food over eating in, how many years they drove their cars before
trading, and the kind of entertaining they did with their family.
The next year, they made a decision to apply half of their annual raise
towards their giving until they reached 10%, with the other half going towards
savings and debt reduction. By doing
this, they were able to reach 10% giving sooner than they had thought possible,
and they describe it as a real “gut check moment” in their faith when they
wrote the first tithe check to the church.
The pastor again asked Matt and Kerri to share a devotion for Consecration
Sunday. They felt privileged and humbled
to share their story, but they didn’t want to appear boastful or self-righteous
about their giving. They wanted to share
that their journey towards tithing had been satisfying, if not always easy.
They decided to share how the tithe had deepened their understanding and
practice of faith, since it required putting God first instead of last in their
finances. They decided to share how
tithing made them consider if every dollar was being used in ways that
fulfilled God’s purposes for their family, their church, and their
community. They decided to share that
they no longer felt trapped or anxious about how much money they had, since
they knew they could freely give 10% away.
They decided to share how their commitment to tithing strengthened their
commitment to their family, as they had discussions about their goals and
values that they might not have had otherwise.
And they shared how tithing sealed and confirmed their sense of
belonging and being part of the mission of the church to make new disciples for
Jesus Christ.