What did you learn from last week’s sermon, “Movement“?
Q1: Was Paul trying to teach lessons on tithing in chapter 16?
Q2: Does God want us to give a fixed amount on a regular schedule?
Q3: Who is appointed to watch over the church’s money?
Q4: Is it good for church money to be squirreled away and saved for a rainy day?
Q5: Should the Christian life be a life of safety or of risk?
Sermon Summary & Answers
As we transition from chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians to chapter 16, we go from talk of resurrection to the discussion of money. How odd.
1 Corinthians 16:1-3
Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
We see here that Paul’s instructions were that every believer set aside weekly money to be placed in the church treasury (Greek translation correction). This money needs to be proportionate to the believers’ income and current bills. You don’t want to be putting your groceries on a credit card to give to the church. This would just create more bills for you and take you further away from “positioning yourself to give generously from the heart.” Paul is not talking about tithing. You can revisit Pastor Wilson’s series on money and Tony Walker’s 2nd Hour lessons to get more detail about giving and tithing. Paul also points out that elders are appointed to watch over this money.
After all of Paul’s instruction and reminders of how Christians should live, he attempts to show the Corinthians how to apply all of what he’s said.
“The promise of a future Resurrection and inheritance should effect your ATTITUDE & ACTIONS regarding money and relationships.”
Pastor Steve Wilson
Every day we plan for stuff. We plan and save for our vacation or new iPhone. This is called “positioning yourself” financially to get what you want. Paul calls us to position ourselves to give to kingdom work in the church because God’s kingdom should be something we really want for ourselves and others (Matthew 6:19-20). Our attitude toward giving and our love for others is what is in view here.
1 Corinthians 16:8-9
But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
Paul tells us that this kingdom-work or ministry endeavor that the church supports him in isn’t based on his preferences. God provided the funds and the opportunity. He was going to find opposition and resistance – this is how he knew it was where and when he was supposed to go. His love for God’s people drew him. God’s work should always come first, even over our love for people.
As we look closer at Paul’s ministry throughout the Bible, we see that he was always in a team. This is a Biblical principle that we use today in our various ministries. The money collected in a church has to have “Movement.” It has to do work moving the kingdom forward. God’s money cannot sit idle. Yes, there is risk in investment and ministry.
“The Christian life is necessarily full of risk. We must not get caught up in the false illusion of safety. For the Christian…only one thing is certain…God’s Will will be done. Take the risk. Move. You can’t stay where you are and go with God at the same time.”
Pastor Steve Wilson
We, as Christians, need to take sanctified risks for God’s kingdom. This is a Chrisitan’s MOVEMENT throughout life. Are you a risk-taker for kingdom endeavors? If not – find out how you can be here and now. Grab an elder and say, “I need to know God’s Will so that I can be a risk-taker for Him.”
Answers:
- No, he was trying to teach that your attitude will drive your actions regarding your kingdom-work.
- God wants us to position ourselves to give generously to the church from the heart and prepare for this weekly.
- The elders
- No, God’s money must be active, doing things to move the kingdom forward. It cannot sit idle.
- Full of sanctified risk for ministry endeavors.
Did you find this quiz and sermon summary helpful? Log on to gccbg.com/blog each week for the latest Q&A. Jessica will send the link out in the Midweek church emails. I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please email me at thepew@gccbg.com.
