Pillars and Practices // Give and Serve // Tim Lovell // September 07, 2025

Faith

Pillars and Practices // Give and Serve

GIVING IS ABOUT AUTHORITY

Deuteronomy 8:18 (ESV)

“You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Proverbs 3:9-10 (ESV)

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

GIVING IS ABOUT OBEDIENCE

Luke 6:38 (NIV)

“Give and it will be given to you.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 (NIV)

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

GIVING IS ABOUT PRIORITIES

Proverbs 11:24–25 (NIV)

“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 (ESV)

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

GIVING IS A VALUES ISSUE

Malachi 3:8–12 (NLT)

“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Our heart motive matters more than money. The story of The Widow’s Offering (Mark 12:41-44) illustrates God’s hope for our motivation toward generosity.

GIVING IS A TRUST ISSUE

Matthew 6:26-33 (ESV)

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Luke 6:38 (TLB)

“If you give, you will get! Your gift will return to you in full and overflowing measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use to give–large or small–will be used to measure what is given back to you.”

GIVING IS ABOUT GOD’S KINGDOM ADVANCING

1 Corinthians 16:2 (ESV)

“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.”

SERVING IS THE SAME IN MANY WAYS - Generosity with our Time and Talents

As we give of ourselves, we get our eyes off ourselves.

We become less aware of our own needs as we serve others.

Finding Personal Fulfillment in Giving

You are never more like Jesus than when you serve and give. Matthew 20:28 says, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Will We Allow God to Have Authority?