Gifts

The Bible tells us that every good and wonderful gift is offered to us through God our Father.   In thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us by giving us his very life, we too are called to give to God a pleasing sacrifice---offered in faith with thanksgiving.

In the only place in the New Testament in which our Lord Jesus is quoted outside the gospels themselves, Luke tells us in Acts 20:35 that Jesus said “it is more blessed to give than to receive.”  We are called to be extravagant in our giving.  We are called to be joyous in our giving.  We are called to give in a spirit of thanksgiving.

Three types of giving are particularly emphasized in the Bible:  tithing (which is giving 10% of what we earn in a year to God’s work); the giving of first-fruits (in which we give the very best that we have to the work of God); and proportional giving (in which those who have much logically are asked to give more proportionately because they are making more in any given year).

Please understand that God has gifted us all in more ways than just financial.  BUT, our financial gifts do indicate very often where we are spiritually.  God through Jesus said that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).  Even the way in which we live financially reflects how we love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

On this commitment card, we will be asked to think about tithing our income for the following year---or at least to take steps to do so.

o    I will commit to discern my spiritual gifts through prayer and to use them for the glory of God.
o    I will commit to honor God with my tithes.  If my income remains constant throughout the Year 2011, this act of tithing means that I should be able to give about $__________ for use in ministry at Garner UMC.
o    I am not presently tithing, but I recognize that I should be.  I will pray that God will lead me to better understand how to tithe and to move closer to God in this spiritual discipline.
o    I will commit to give sacrificially beyond the tithe whenever I see a need that the Lord has in his Church.
o    I am willing to make a one-time gift in the Year 2011 to forward a particular missions opportunity that presents itself in the life of the Church next year.
o    I am willing to give a sacrificial gift for Relay for Life in 2011.
o    I am willing to give a sacrificial gift for youth ministry in 2011.
o    I am willing to give a sacrificial gift so that some young adults from the church family can go on a missions trip to Haiti in 2011.
o    I am willing to give sacrificially to help improve the buildings and grounds of the church.