Free to Give: A Five Sermon Series

Written by Howard D. Vanderwell

Few of us like to preach about stewardship. Pastor Howard Vanderwell shares a series he preached on the premise that real freedom comes when we follow the Lord obediently. I think it’s a great series. I’ve included links to the Tithing Covenant he used during the series as well as a list of Stewardship exercises he did with his congregation.

• Download  Tithing Covenant (Free PDF Download - 4-up on a page)

 

Ours has always been a generous congregation, so my motive for deciding to preach this series was not any kind of financial crisis. But I did have several reasons for using this approach.

• First, I’m a big proponent of sermon series. I believe it’s the only way to teach major biblical themes effectively.
• Second, we had just appointed a stewardship committee, and we realized we did not have an accurate picture of the giving patterns in our church.
• Third, I had a desire to help our people give with more forethought and greater intentionality.
• Fourth, I wanted them to come to define stewardship as being more about their lives than about their money.

I chose the title “Free to Give” for the series, because my fundamental premise throughout was that real freedom comes when we follow the Lord obediently.

We had never before asked people to sign a A Tithing Covenant. We printed the information on a card, which we handed out at the end of the fourth message. The next week, they turned in the portion which did not include their name, but did include the other information that our stewardship committee needed. The bottom half of the card, which each family kept, was signed and dated as a reminder to them of the covenant they made with God. Although I preached that series two years ago, people continue to stop me to tell how they are making progress in their giving.

Each Sunday I provide an outline of my message in our worship folder. I like to include a question or two to allow each listener the chance to reflect further on the message after the service. The list of ten questions I’ve included came from these outlines. In addition, various elders of our church gathered people from their shepherding groups to discuss the implications of the messages. I think this type of post-sermon analysis encourages people to consider personal application.

Our giving did make an upward turn, but the greatest benefit has been in individual lives. When I hear someone say, “We raised our giving to a tithe, and we’ve seen our personal finances improve dramatically,” I know this series has had as much impact as any I’ve preached in recent years.

Sermon 1: Does It Really Matter? (2 Cor. 8:1-7)

1. Generosity is God’s goal for every Christian (2 Cor. 8:7).

God desires that, in addition to exhibiting the other evidences of His work within us, our lives also exhibit the grace of giving with generosity. Giving, therefore, is seen as one part of the total lifestyle of a committed Christian.

2. We don’t need to be rich to be generous (2 Cor. 8:2-3).

Several of the most striking examples of generosity in the Bible come from lives that had little. Think of the Macedonians (in 2 Cor. 8:2-3), the widow at Zarephath (in 1 Kings 17), and the widow (in Luke 21:1-3). God is more interested in the spirit and proportion of our giving than in the amount.

3. Generosity is stirred by a vision for ministry (2 Cor. 8:4).

Voluntary giving will result only when we have a mental picture of the positive good that is being done through out gifts. When we have a vision of people being reached, helped, healed, and nurtured, our giving is more highly motivated.

Sermon 2: Talk to the Owner First (Matt. 25:14-30)

4. God is the owner of all (Gen. 2:15; Matt. 25:14).

In many places in Scripture God declares that He remains the owner of all that He has created. What we have in our possession has been entrusted to us as stewards/custodians. All our stewardship decisions must be made in that light.

5. God gives the ability to produce wealth (Deut. 8:18).

When we experience prosperity, we are not to take credit for those accomplishments ourselves. Even the Principles for Freedom in Giving opportunity to experience prosperity is made possible by the blessing of God.

6. Generosity starts with a “given-self” (2 Cor. 8:5).

The Macedonians are our model. Their generosity surprised all others, but it was a natural result of the fact that they had first given themselves to God, and then had given themselves to the welfare of others.

7. Servants always must give an account (Matt. 25:19).

God, who is the owner of all, holds us responsible for our faithfulness in protecting and using His resources. He, therefore, expects each of us to give account of our faithfulness, with rewards and punishments to follow.

Sermon 3: Real Giving (1 Kings 5:17; Luke 21:1-4)

8. God measures our giving proportionally (Luke 21:3; 1 Cor. 16:2).

God is not interested in the actual amount as much as the proportion of our income. It’s the proportion that we give which serves as an indication of the spiritual state of our heart and the attitude of our spirit.

9. Real givers give sacrificially (Luke 21:3-4; 2 Cor. 8:2; 2 Sam. 24:24).

Giving to God from our extras doesn’t say much about the quality of our commitment. The example of others in Scripture points to sacrificial giving as the clearest expression of our trust in God and our commitment to putting His kingdom first.

10. Genuine giving involves managing our lifestyle (Matt. 6:33; 1 Tim. 6:6-10).

While our culture constantly presses us to desire more and buy more, the committed Christian resists such pressures. Poor budgeting, a lack of planning, impulse buying, and overcommitments to payments have damaged the generosity of many Christians. A commitment to generous stewardship also involves a similar commitment to a simpler lifestyle to make the giving possible.

11. Freedom in giving flows from trust in God (Prov. 3:9-10; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 6:33).

If we approach our giving with an eye on calculating, it will be easy to conclude, “We can’t afford it.” But if we approach it with trust in the promises of God to supply what we need as long as we put first things first, our trust will give us a much greater sense of freedom in giving.

Sermon 4: Tithing Is a Spiritual Adventure (Mal. 3:8-10; 2 Cor. 9:6-11)

12. Tithing is returning to God what rightly belongs to Him (Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:8-9).

God has claimed the tithe as His in the same why He has claimed the Sabbath as His. We are not giving a “gift,” therefore, but returning what He has claimed. Gifts are beyond the tithe.

13. Tithing is our joyful response to God’s generosity (2 Cor. 9:7-8; Heb. 7:1-2).

We must be careful of legalism creeping into our tithing practices. It must remain a joyful and voluntary gift that is our heart-felt response in recognition of all God’s goodness to us.

14. The tithe is set as the minimum of our giving (2 Cor. 9:6-11).

In the Old Testament they gave multiple tithes that came to approximately 23 percent. For us who live in the days of fulfillment through the finished work of Christ, our gratitude should be even greater. The tithe is a floor for our giving, not a ceiling.

Sermon 5: Develop First-Giving (Prov. 3:9-10)

15. Handling our wealth well honors God (Prov. 3:9).

The Christian’s desire is to honor God in all of life. We need to understand that how well we manage our finances will have great influence on whether we honor or dishonor God. Good management, fiscal responsibility, generosity and careful estate planning all are a part of a life that honors God.

16. God claims the “first” of our increase (Prov. 3:9).

Failing to give, or giving of the leftovers, says that God and His kingdom are unimportant to us. God calls us to exhibit our commitment to place Him first in all things by the manner in which our giving to Him is “off the top.”

17. Those who honor God will be blessed (Prov. 3:9-10).

Though our motive must never come from the desire to receive more, God does give many promises that those who are generous will be blessed in many ways. A spirit of trusting Him will produce surprises in the ways He blesses us.

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Dr. Howard D. Vanderwell is pastor, Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville, Michigan. 

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