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An Indiana pizza delivery driver was surprised with a $1,268 tip when he delivered two pizzas to Indiana Wesleyan University’s chapel. Keith Newman, the chief executive officer of Residential Education at the school told students during the chapel service that he was ordering pizza to illustrate an idea…

Results from a study by the national Association of Evangelicals show that a majority of evangelical leaders do not believe the Bible requires Christians to tithe. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents said they do not think giving 10 percent of their income is mandated by New Testament teaching, while…

Maybe there are more reasons than we know to bring rather than send our offering to church. In Lake Mary, Florida the bomb squad detonated a suspicious cardboard box found outside a church. They discovered it had $2,500 cash, apparently a donation to the church. --The Week, May 21, 2010, p. 6. Illustration…

John Maxwell tells of his son, Joel Porter Maxwell. This, of course, happened some time ago now when his son was 14. He says that Joel got a job for the first time. You know, he worked hard and got that first paycheck. Now I don’t’ know if you remember your first official paycheck, but I do. I got it…

Leighton Farrell was the minister of Highland Park Church in Dallas for many years. He tells of a man in the church who once made a covenant with a former pastor to tithe ten percent of their income every year. They were both young and neither of them had much money. But things changed. The layman tithed…

Select all the text in this box and paste your illustration here... New Study Shows Trends in Tithing and Donating | April 14, 2008 While theologians debate whether or not the practice of tithing - donating ten percent (or more) of one's income to churches and charitable groups - is a biblical responsibility…

Giving Based on God’s Promises for the Future Gary Fenton told this story at deacons meeting 9/28/2009: His first church was very small—about 25-40 there on Sunday mornings. The offering was on a sign in the front of the church along with the attendance. It was usually about $100, some of which Gary…

Our little girl, Elizabeth, age 2.5yrs, could count, but not very well. But we started teaching her the rudimentary principles of stewardship. She has three piggy banks -- a little purpule one for God, a larger ceramic one that looked like a princess for savings, and a really big pink one for personal…

In Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God, Francis Chan writes “The priests of Malachi’s day thought their sacrifices were sufficient. They had spotless animals but chose to keep those for themselves and give their less desirable animals to God. They assumed God was pleased because they had sacrificed…

GENEROSITY The current recession has led many Americans to change the way they handle their money. One church in Texas is responded to the economic conditions by changing the way they collect the weekly offering. The Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle has been telling needy members that if they…

GENEROSITY Leadership Network reports that the average Christian gave just over $4000.00 to charity in 2007 as compared to the national average of around $2,000 for charitable giving per household. --http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/jul09s2.htm Illustration by Jim L. Wilson Proverbs 11:25…

TITHE God promises to rebuke the devourer for tithers. Devourer. That's an interesting word. A word that makes me think immediately of the Tasmanian Devil. Not Bugs Bunny's nemesis, but the animal that haunts the dark nights of the island. The devil is about the size of a cocker spaniel, but don't let…

A new study from The Barna Group reveals that just five percent of American adults tithed (i.e., made donations of at least 10 percent of their income to religious institutions or other charities) in 2007. The most likely groups to tithe were evangelicals (24%); conservatives (12%); people who had prayed,…

STEWARDSHIP A non-profit organization, Bolder Giving, has begun a new league. It is called “the 50% league.” To join is simple. All you have to do is donate half of all profits or personal wealth to causes that reflect your deepest values. Co-founder Anne Ellinger explains “an organization such as Bolder…

Value "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luke 6:38 NASB) If I give some money to the Lord, he will give more money back to me? Is tithing…

A Private Matter Have you noticed that people seem to be talking a lot lately? When I was a boy, most folks didn't talk about politics, or religion with someone unless you knew where they stood on the issue. Sex? Of course not. But you have to remember, that was long before the Jerry Springer Show or…

Two men crashed in their private plane on a South Pacific Island. Both survived. One of the men brushed himself off and then proceeded to run all over the island to see if they had any chance of survival. When he returned, he rushed up to the other man and screamed, "This island is uninhabited, there…

As Churches Push Donations, Congregants Balk; 'That's Not the Way God Works' By SUZANNE SATALINE November 23, 2007; Page W1 Can you put a price on faith? That is the question churchgoers are asking as the tradition of tithing -- giving 10% of your income to the church -- is increasingly challenged. Opponents…

"Make money your god and it will plague you like the Devil." Henry Fielding

To The Penny "Lord," I'd pray, "we're not making it. Everything we make is going to pay for Seminary and the new baby, we need more money." We weren't economically challenged. We were flat broke. We were sharing a small apartment with several hundred cockroaches and often were only able to eat a partial…

In her book here Am I, Lord - Send Somebody Else! Jill Briscoe tells of a wealthy man who labored many years on earth to build several beautiful homes in which he lived, This man accepted Christ on his deathbed. The man's gardener was a faithful Christian who knew that his own life did not consist of…

Should We feed our Kids? We decided not to feed our kids this month. We think this will save us quite a bit of money, and we need it. Why? We have some unexpected medical bills, the doctors want their money; we have to pay our bills. What will people think of us if we don't? Our Anniversary was a couple…

Over 4 in 10 evangelicals believe it is a sin not to tithe, but relatively few actually do tithe. The average American minister has held a paid job in the ministry for 19 years. The average American pastor has been the senior pastor of his or her current church for 7.7 years. More than 22% of Americans…

The film Schindler’s List chronicles the heroic efforts of a German industrialist during World War II, who, having learned what was happening at Auschwitz, began a systematic effort to save as many Hews as he could. He found that he could “buy” Jews to work in his factory, which was supposed to be a…

First is in a sense, Invisible Money. This is money that you have, but you don’t have it to spend as you would like. Think about the $5 your mom gave you when you went on a field trip in elementary school: “Now, David, don’t lose this money or spend it. Take it to school and give it to your teacher.…