--PRE-SERVICE PRAYER--

Focus: Generosity- The Forget It’s All about Me Principal!!

Foundation Scripture: Philippians 2:2-8 KJV

Prayer Points:
1. Fulfill His Joy, give from the Heart to Enhance the Lives of Others!
2. Have the Mind of Christ, lead with Generosity!
3. Be Obedient, Choose to Sacrifice and God will Choose to Reward
4. Pray for Powerful, Transformative Sunday Services

--MESSAGE--

Introduction:
According to Church Trac Tithing Statistics:
· ~ 5% of churchgoers tithe (Church Development).
· ~ Out of the 247 million U.S. citizens identifying as Christians, 1.5 million people tithe (Sharefaith). That’s less than 1%.
~ 77% of tithers give more than 10% (Health Research Funding).

Tithe - Put simply, a “tithe” is the first tenth.That means the verb “tithing” is the process of giving one-tenth, or 10 percent, of all income to God before a single penny is spent.

Offering - In the Bible, the offering is an act of gratitude to God. A gift or present that demonstrates appreciation for all He has done for you.

7. Motivated by others.

1. Paul boasted of the southern generosity, so that the northerners will give generously. (V.1-2)

2. Then he urges the southerners to give generously, so that the northerners will not be disappointed in them. (V.3-5)

8. Focus on the harvest.

Two harvest principles:

1. We reap more than we sow.(V. 6-9)

2. We reap for a double purpose.(V9-11)

Bread for food (immediate consumption) Seed for sowing (future needs).

Next week we’ll pick up with point 9, “The Significance of Our Giving.