PRACTICING CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP
 
                      "I know the plans that I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jer. 29:1 1) Those words of our Lord are a powerful reminder of how God really feels about us. Each one of us, as members of God's family, enjoys a special relationship with God because of what God has done for us through the life and death of his Son, Jesus Christ; and as members of Christ's Church we are the recipients of some very special privileges. Here at St. Jacobi we have seen ample evidence of God's plans 'to prosper us and give us a future.' Our past history which reminds us of our ongoing growth and development, our present location with its current facilities, our enlarged membership together with the need for a sizeable and dedicated staff, as well as our future prospects and the hopes that we have for the future growth of our congregation, all testify to how richly God has blessed us. We have no reason to doubt the wisdom of God's plans for us. In fact, we have every reason to believe that God has even greater things in store for us as a Christian congregation when we consider all of the promises that he has given us in the Scriptures.

                    To fulfill those promises God invites our participation. In God's grand scheme of things every Christian plays a vital role in the overall work that God has assigned to his Church. In order to carry out the Lord's work and to fulfill his grand plan, God uses the talents, the abilities, and the gifts of His people. We have been given the privilege of working with God in carrying out His great commission. The way that God does this is through the ordinary and extra-ordinary workings of his Church. As Christians we know that our lives are sacred trusts. God has given us the privilege of assisting Him in carrying out the work of building up Christ’s kingdom. With the blessings that He has bestowed up on us, the Holy Spirit empowers us as Christians to carry out God's work. The gifts that God has given to each of us are intended to be used in service to God and in helping to do his work. Just like our own bodies, the Church of Jesus Christ (which is his body) relies on all of its members to serve in such a way that the entire body benefits. For example, when our legs, or liver, or lungs fail to function properly the whole body suffers, and not just those individual parts. In the same way when various members of the body of Christ no longer function as God intended them, the entire Church suffers. Unless we all work together we will be only partially successful in doing what God wants us to do. If we are to be successful in out God's plans here within our congregation, then we need to see that every member works in the way that God intended when He commissioned each of us to serve in His kingdom. All of us have a responsibility to use what God has given each of us as wisely and as faithfully as possible as we seek to practice good stewardship of God's blessings. Or in the words of the Apostle Paul, "I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship. " (Rom. 12: 1)

                    The goal of this presentation is to remind ourselves of God's grand plan for His Church, and the role that each of us plays in promoting its success. In order to do that we need to review God's purpose for our church, and how what we do either helps or hinders God's plan.
 

The Purpose of God's Church:

                    The purpose of the Church is to serve all people with the gospel of Jesus Christ by proclaiming both Law and Gospel in order to lead people to repentance and faith in Christ that they might partake of God's gifts of life and salvation. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always even to the very end of the age. " (Mi. 29:19-20)
 

1. The Church's purpose is achieved by strengthening believers in faith and sanctification through the means of grace. "May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (II Thes. 2:16-1 7) WORSHIP   2. The Church’s purpose is also to equip believers as disciples, stewards and witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ. "It was Christ who gave some to be apostles, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the whole body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. " (Eph. 4:11-12) NUTURE   3. The Church's purpose is to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ with the rest of the world that all might partake of the blessings and salvation found only in Christ's Kingdom, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation Whoever believes will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned " (Mark 16.15-16) OUTREACH


                    The above information gives only the briefest of summations describing all that our church does in order to carry out the work that God asks of us. There is, of course, much more that we could do, and much more we would like to do, if we had the resources. This is where you come in. Your gifts and your support are crucial to carrying out God's plans!
 
 

PRINCIPLES & GUIDELINES FOR CHRISTIAN GIVING


Principle I - All Christian giving is a response to God's love for us in Christ

II Cor. 8:9 "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He become poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
 

Principle 2 - True Christian giving is the response of a heart willing to give

Ex. 25:2 "You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.
 

Principle 3 - Give in proportion to what God has given to you.

I Cor. 16:2 "Each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income. Mal. 3: 1 0 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it."
 

Principle 4 - Giving is a part of our worship.

Ex. 25:1,8 "The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering.’ Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."
 

Principle 5 - Give regularly

I Cor. 16:2 "On the first day of every week each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income."
 

Principle 6 - Give to the Lord the firstfruits of your income.

Prov. 3:9 "Honor the Lord with our wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.
 

Principle 7 - Give generously and cheerfully to reap God's blessings in life

II Cor. 9:7 "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one of you should give what He has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
 

Principle 8 - Trustingly put first things first whatever you give.

Mt. 6:31,33 "Do not worry, saying,'What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ Seek first his kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."
 

Principle 9 - Giving is a fruit of faith, As you grow in your faith, so will you grow in your desire to give generously.

Rom. 12; 6,8 "We have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If a man’s gift is prophesying let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving let him serve. If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously."
 

                    It is important to stress at this point the fact that when God talks about giving He is not referring just to monetary contributions. All of our talents and abilities, as well as our finances are gifts from God, and are to be used to serve him whether in the home, at work, in school, or within the church. The same principles apply across the board: God wants us to use whatever he has given us to honor and glorify him. Christian giving flows from hearts that understand everything that God has done for us. Everything we are depends on Him and everything we have comes from Him and whether we have been given a little or a lot, we want to be generous and faithful in what we give back to Him. It is a privilege to be able to give to God a portion of what He has so graciously given to us. Thus while our church has some very real needs, we are not here to ask you just to give to a need. While we are experiencing a financial pinch due to unexpected expenditures such as higher utilities bills, higher insurance costs, expansion of out staff, and the like; our focus is not on pressuring you to help us overcome a financial deficit, but trying to assist you in carrying out God's will becoming better stewards of all the gifts with which God has blessed you. While this presentation does emphasize the stewardship of our treasures, we have no intention of overlooking all the other gifts that God encourages us to use as well for the benefit of His Church and His People!
 

"Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure that you use, it will be measured out to you. " Luke 6:38
 

The St. Jacobi Stewardship Committee