Congratulations BridgePointe! We made it through the series You Can't Say "$#%&X" in Church. It's been so encouraging to hear people's stories of how God has provided for them in the past and how they are being challenged to place their trust in Him through giving instead of finding security in money.
The goal of this four part series was to help us trust God and invest in eternity through percentage-based giving. If you missed any, we encourage you to listen to all four messages.
Let's take a look back at what we covered:
- Your heart and money go together (Matthew 6:21). This is why we feel such intense emotions associated with money.
- Because your heart and money go together, generosity moves your heart toward God.
- We all have a tendency to worship money by trusting it to do for us what only God can do.
- Generosity is the remedy for money worship because it puts God first in our finances. You can’t worship what you give away, but you can worship what you give to.
- Consistent, percentage giving is the best way to worship God with your money. It overcomes fear and increases faith in regard to your finances.
- Because everything we have comes from God, the goal of generosity should be to align our giving with God’s passion.
- Giving to the church is best place to start with generosity because God’s mission starts with the church.
- By helping the hope of Jesus go further, generosity to the church is an investment in eternity.
Still hungry for more? Check out these Generosity resources:
Books
These books were influential in developing my understanding of Generosity and compelled me to consider how my giving could bring me closer to God.
- Don’t Say $#%&X in Church by Bo Chancey
- Fields of Gold by Andy Stanley
- The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
What the Bible Says About Money
- Leviticus 27:30-33
- Deuteronomy 8:18
- Psalm 24:1
- Malachi 3:10
- Matthew 6:19-34
- Matthew 25:14-30
- Luke 12:13-21
- 1 Corinthians 16:1-2
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
- 1 Timothy 6:3-21
We often think of money in terms of investment… what kind of return will we get for what we give. Most of what we spend our money on will diminish in value or has the potential to do so. Generosity toward God through the church is an investment that impacts eternity. If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to visit our Give page and set up a generosity plan in a way that works for you – whether that's setting up recurring gifts online or giving physically on Sundays.
Thank you for your willingness as a church to have this important, eternity-changing conversation. Here's to keeping money in its proper place in our lives and giving more of ourselves to God for His glory and our good.
Praying for One,
Jared Cowgur
Leadership & Teaching