The challenge to preachers is to provide a much wider context for church members than simply that of raising giving to meet the needs of the parish over the next year. Three key points :
- Issues of stewardship and generosity are vital discipleship topics. In our transformation to become more like Christ, and as we seek to serve Him, we need to consider how we will use the time, skills, money and resources at our disposal. As we nurture discipleship, it is important to focus on the giver, rather than the gift.
- There is no shortage of biblical material. Over 2300 verses relate to money, wealth and possessions and one third of Jesus’ parables relate to these topics. Yet all too often money related preaching is focused on giving to the church. Our church members face spending, finance and lifestyle issues on a daily basis, and there are some distinctive Christian angles on these issues. It is therefore crucial that we incorporate aspects of money wider than giving to the church into our diet of preaching.
- The generosity and grace of God should be the starting point of our preaching. An overflowing generosity is at the heart of God’s character. God can do no other because God is love and the essence of loving is giving. Our preaching needs to point to the connection between the lives of our audiences and the grace of God.
Preaching stewardship should be a joy and a pleasure – there are no shortage of opportunities from the lectionary. It should not be simply the fundraising sermon for the year! As well as the resources below, we have a brief introductory video to the topic…..
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Sermon Resources :
Stewardship For Sundays (pdf file 255kb) – Stewardship ideas for sermons and the offertory based on the Common Worship lectionary, contributed by Brian Morris, to whom we offer grateful thanks.
Stewardship for Harvest (pdf file 212kb) is an excellent resource from the Diocese of Winchester. It forms a five sermon series on Luke chapters 14 to 17; including “The Cost of being a Disciple”, “The Lost Sheep & The Lost Coin” and “The Rich Man and Lazarus”
Giving in Grace includes extensive sermon resources with five different sermon tracks exploring: 5 passages from Matthew, 4 passages each from Mark and Luke, plus the Exodus narrative and Paul’s detailed teaching on giving in 2 Corinthians. Note that the Exodus and Luke resources also include all age worship materials.