Tithes

I remember years ago one of my children coming up to me and saying Dad, if you give me a dollar, I’ll go to bed without a problem."

My response was I’m sorry but I don’t think it works that way."

• It starts young. People and money, there’s just something about it.

We are going to spend one Sunday talking about the topic "You, your money, and God."

Mal 3:6-12

That’s what I want to look at today We refer to it as tithes and offering.

• Now tithe is an Old Testament word and it meant to give 10% of what you have to God.

• An offering is usually defined as above and beyond a tithe.

So we are going to talk about giving to God.

• Now I were to ask you if you believed it was important and scriptural to tithe,

• to give generously to the Lord,

• just about every hand here would go up

• But when it comes to doing it that’s another story.

A lot of times we can be reluctant when it comes to giving,

• We can also be reluctant when it comes to listening to a sermon on giving.

• But let me start by giving you four reasons

• Why I think we need to spend a little time talking about this today

• And why we need to understand why it’s so important.

#1 We don’t preach on it very often.

• It’s not wrong to preach about it, --------but we just don’t do it.

• I’ve been here a little over a year and this is the first sermon I have preached on money or giving.

• Over the last 60 + sermons this is the first one.

• So if you’re visiting with us today and think,

• Oh no, here we go again, a church asking for money,

• Realize that since I’ve been here this is the first time we’ve preached on money.

• We don’t preach on it very often.

#2 – Second reason we need to preach on it is because it’s Biblical

• The statement has been made in regards to preaching and in regards to the preacher,

• That I wish he’d just shut up and quit preaching about giving and get back to preaching on the gospel.

• The truth is that you can’t preach on the gospel and not preach on giving.

• Jesus saw fit to include it in the majority of His teaching.

• In fact there are 39 parables in the gospels.

• Of those 39, over half of them deal with greed, generosity or giving.

• Finance, money, generosity, and greed are mentioned over 2000 times in the Bible.

• That’s enough by far to make it Biblical.

#3 Reason that we need to talk about this subject is because of our culture

• Money magazine says not only do we consume more than any culture before us,

• We also pursue money like no other culture.

• Money has become the number one obsession for Americans,

• We want money and we want the stuff that money buys.

• Whether or not it serves any purpose at all seems irrelevant.

" What are we living for? We live To consume.

• 88% of the population has more debts than assets

• Money is the main factor in 90% of divorces

• The avg. family in America carries nearly $8,000 in credit card debt.

• Only 2% of the people in America - When they reach 65 are financially stable –

• Only 2% need no additional income –2%.

All of this speaks to the need our society has in dealing with finances and greed and giving.

#4 Not only is it needed in our culture but it’s needed in our churches.

• I saw a cartoon once that showed a man hiding under the pew bench at church and his wife saying, you can come out now dear, the offering is over.

That’s what many people feel like doing

• Even those who have been Christians for years.

• A study of people over the age of 30 shows that even though

• Their income after taxes and inflation, increased 31% in the last 17 years,

• Giving has gone down 8.5% over the same period of time.

• We have more than we have ever had and we give less than we have ever given.

Now I want to emphasize that I don’t know how much you give.

• The Elders don’t know. We don’t want to know.

• The only person that knows is the treasurer and that’s because someone has to fill out the deposit slip.

• So it all comes down to the fact that it’s between you and God