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1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Gal 6:9-10 Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't get discouraged and give up. That's why whenever we can we should always be kind to everyone, and especially to our Christian brothers.
Just Like In Monopoly, It All Goes Back In the Box
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart" Job 1:21
When Charles B. Darrow proposed a new board game called Monopoly to Parker Brothers in 1934, the all-knowing executives rejected it due to "52 design errors"! But Darrow, a true believer, started printing and selling the game himself. The rest is history.
John Ortberg writes of growing up with a grandmother who was a ruthless competitor at Monopoly. She played against her grandchildren and won nearly every time.
But one day young John managed to win. As most kids will do, he made the most of his rare victory; he raked all the play money, tokens and markers toward him and gloated arrogantly in his triumph.
The grandmother smiled and said, "Just remember, John—it all goes back in the box. All the money, all the hotels and motels and game tokens; at the end of the game, it all goes back in the box!"
Source: Men of Integrity Magazine, Sept/Oct 2000 issue
Realize that everything you have, must go back in the box! You have to leave everything to someone.
Isn’t it wise to give during your lifetime to the Someone who gave you everything you have? And remember: A shroud has no pockets. And although you can’t take it with you, you can send it on ahead!
Heb 6:10-12 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Phil 4:17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
Giving is a giant lever positioned on the fulcrum of this world, allowing us to move mountains in the next world. Because we give, eternity will be different— for others and for us. Randy Alcorn
I have watched over 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t. Sir John Templeton
Realize that everything you have, must go back in the box! You have to leave everything to someone.
Isn’t it wise to give during your lifetime to the Someone who gave you everything you have? And remember: A shroud has no pockets. And although you can’t take it with you, you can send it on ahead!
4th WEEK PROJECT
FOCUSING ON YOUR GIVING
Identify: “What ministries and projects do you care about and want to support?”
“You are generous because of your faith. And I am praying that you will really put your generosity to work, for in so doing you will come to an understanding of all the good things we can do for Christ.” Philemon 5-7
WEEK #4
MAKING $ENSE:
Possible questions to think
about or discuss…
1. Are you a systematic giver, spontaneous giver or a little of both?
2. If you have children, what have you done to help them become faithful and generous givers?
3. When you filled out the worksheet for this week’s project, “Focusing on Your Giving”, what surprised you or caught your attention in doing this exercise?
4. How have you determined how much you will give to your local church? How do you give (cash, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, yearly, sporadically, loose cash you have on you, etc.)?
5. What other types of ministries or needs do you like to give to?
6. Do you take into consideration the tax implications of your giving? Why or why not?
7. What truth or Bible verse from the past 7 days of reading stood out to you the most?
8. How do you make sure you are faithful in your giving to the Lord (i.e. write the check/s monthly, keep track in a bookkeeping program, put the Lord’s money in a special place, etc.)?
9. If married, do you agree on whatever giving you are going to do OR does each person have freedom do give OR is there one of you that is the main decider on where and how much you’ll give?
10. If you have children, do your children know how much you give, where you give and why you give? Why or why not?
11. Have you ever given an amount of money to the Lord’s work that felt totally extravagant (and almost foolish) when you did it? What was it for? Have you ever regretted doing this?
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