Topical Sermons - Executable Outlines

Mark A. Copeland
[These principles are the guidelines that are given the Christian to govern his or her giving. They are
more than adequate to guide us to give as we should. But in the spirit of He 10:24, here are some...]
III. SUGGESTIONS TO STIMULATE US
A. MANY SUGGEST AT LEAST TEN PERCENT...
1. This is often suggested as a bare minimum
a. Yet even the Pharisees gave 20-30 percent to the Lord and to the poor!
b. Paul appealed to the example of sacrificial giving (Macedonians and the Lord) when he
sought to motivate the Corinthians to give - 2 Co 8:1-9
2. Consider these statistics (taken from GenerousGiving.org)...
a. The average donation by adults who attend U.S. Protestant churches is about $17/wk
b. Among church members of 11 primary Protestant denominations (or their historical
antecedents) in the United States and Canada, per-member giving as a percentage of
income was lower in 2000 than in either 1921 or 1933
1) In 1921, per-member giving as a percentage of income was 2.9 percent
2) In 1933, at the depth of the Great Depression, per-member giving grew to 3.3
percent
3) By 2000, after a half-century of unprecedented prosperity, giving had fallen to 2.6
percent
c. Overall, only 3 to 5 percent of Americans who donate money to a church tithe (give a
tenth of) their incomes though many more claim to do so
-- We have so much for which to be thankful; should we give any less than what
God’s people gave in the past?
B. BUDGET OUR GIVING...
1. We must give as we have purposed in our hearts - 2 Co 9:7
2. As we prosper, plan our budgets accordingly
a. Include a special place in our budgets for our planned giving
b. To follow the principle of giving God the first fruits, calculate our giving on pretax
amounts, not on what is left after the government takes its share - Pro 3:9
3. Budget not just what we give to the church, but to others as well - cf. Ga 6:10
a. E.g., 8 percent for the church
b. E.g., 2 percent for other charitable giving
-- Cheerful giving is easy when we have already set aside what we planned to give
C. SEEK TO EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF GIVING...
1. Certainly when we sow bountifully, we reap bountifully - 2 Co 9:6
2. God is willing to multiply the seed we have sown and increase the fruits of our
righteousness, that we might have an abundance for every good work - 2 Co 9:8-10
3. As income increases, why not increase the percentage of giving on additional income?
a. E.g., 10% on the first 30K, 15% on the next 10K, 20% on the next 10K, etc.
b. Or increase the overall percentage of your giving by 1% more each year
4. When we are enriched for all liberality (i.e., blessed to give more), it produces much
thanksgiving to God by those who are the beneficiaries of our giving) - 2 Co 9:11-14
-- We should seek to excel in giving, to increase thanksgiving and praise to God by
those who see the work of God’s grace in our lives!
CONCLUSION
Topical Sermons 191