Back to Basics #5: Stewardship

Last Sunday we looked at the topic that pastors approach with fear and trembling: money. We looked at a lot of scriptures, so here’s a summary with the verses for your own study:

God created everything that exists and entrusted it to us to manage and care for (Genesis 1:26-28). God never gave up ownership of his creation (Psalm 50:7-15).

We’re greedy little critters (as any lottery commercial will remind us), so in the Old Testament God kept reminding his people to be generous by:

1. Forbidding the permanant sale of land (Leviticus 25:23-24)
2. Forbidding the charging of interest to neighbours (Exodus 22:25-27)
3. Instituting the tithe (Numbers 18:21-24; Deuteronomy 12:5-7; 26:12-15; Malachi 3:8-10)

In the New Testament, we’re not bound by the law, but held to a higher standard as Jesus taught in Matthew 5. It’s no surprise, then, that the early church sold everything for the common good (Acts 2:43-47). Paul spoke about giving in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:

1. You get what you give (not prosperity ‘gospel’ nonsense).
2. Make up your mind on what to give, and give cheerfully (the tithe is a good place to start—it reminds us that God still owns everything).
3. God blesses us abundantly so we can give generously to good works (not the other way around).
4. God blesses us for our generosity in many different ways.
5. Giving to people is really giving to God.

We closed the service by hear some testimonies about how people learned to give and how God has blessed them.

Here’s the message:

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Here’s the video I showed near the beginning of the message:

And here’s a bonus video we didn’t have time to share during the message: