Giving
The Council of the Church are extremely grateful for the generosity and support of its members over the many years. The financial support of the ministry of St Paul’s, Hadley Wood is entirely dependent upon members of the church family as there is no outside funding from the Church of England and certainly no government funding.
Biblical Giving
There is no shortage of biblical material on giving, with over 2,300 verses in the Bible on money, wealth and possessions. Jesus talked about it frequently, and over one-third of his parables relate to these topics.
Christian giving should be:
Biblical Giving
There is no shortage of biblical material on giving, with over 2,300 verses in the Bible on money, wealth and possessions. Jesus talked about it frequently, and over one-third of his parables relate to these topics.
Christian giving should be:
- a priority – our giving should be a first call on our disposable income. We give what’s right, not what’s left over. (Deut 26:2-3, 1 Cor 16:2, 2 Cor 8:5)
- prayerful – an act of worship and thanksgiving. (1 Chron 29:10-14)
- planned – but not prescriptive, and allowing spontaneous generosity. (2 Cor 9:7)
- proportionate – a realistic proportion of our income. (1 Cor 16:2, 2 Cor 8:11-13)
- given in community – the act of giving shifts our focus from individual wants to a communal need, working together in mission. ( Acts 2:42-47, 2 Cor 8:13,14).
- sacrificial – there is a cost to our giving. We will have less to spend on ourselves, and our lifestyles will reflect this. Those who have more to give, will give more. (Luke 21:1-4, 2 Cor 8:2-4)
- cheerfully and joyfully given – from the heart, as an offering to God. (2 Cor 9:7,8)
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