GIVING - Why we give and Why we give online

Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV ©1984)

9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

James 4:13-15 (NIV ©1984)

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

Scripture clearly tells us that God owns everything and that we are to give back in recognition of this fact. We give from the first of our labor - before we pay taxes, before we pay our bills, and before we spend on needs. Giving gives us a chance to show that our trust is in God to provide for everyone of our needs. He provides so that I can honor the authority over me by paying taxes or by making sure that today I have my daily bread for my family.

Giving is seen as early as Cain and Abel and actually leads to the first murder in the Bible. Someone was jealous of someone else's offering. A giving spirit is vital to the process of becoming more like Jesus. Jesus laid everything he had down, came to earth and gave his life so that we could become God's children, not just a broken creation.

To learn more about what God says about money and biblically based personal money management, please contact Pastor Danny about the next Financial Learning Experience. We do not encourage debt as a way to pay your tithes but encourage you to consider a debit card as an alternative when giving.

Online giving allows for a safe and secure way to give to Hope Community Church that is convienent and simple. When we purpose in our hearts to give to God a portion of what he gives us to manage, we recognize His power to provide. Online giving creates an easy way to show that we trust and believe God to cover all the bases of our lives if we put him first.

Faithfulness - The Bible tells us that giving recognizes that we do not own what we have but are stewards of the gifts God has given us. Our giving should be from the first and not from the last or leftovers in our lives. Proverbs 3:9-10 and James 4:13-15 reminds us that God is in charge of everything we own, not us. We are caretakers and stewards. Life moves so fast that it is easy to let what we believe about giving be compromised. Recurring giving means that we will be giving our first and best to God.

Ease - Have you ever wanted to give and did not have cash or your checkbook? Online giving takes care of that problem. You can give whenever God asks you to give toward His work. Whether it's the Rwanda Clean Water Project or an ongoing event at Hope Community, online giving allows you to give whenever and wherever.

Cheerful Witness - Going to this form of giving allows you to give knowing that you are on the cutting edge of what God is doing. It cuts waste of paper, time, and simplifies our church's acounting system.



**** Hope Community Church reserves complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds. ****