Sermon Illustrations on Stewardship
Background
Everything is Required?
“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord,” reads Leviticus 27:30. It may come as something of a surprise but there are more remarks in the Old Testament about tithing than there are about the afterlife…
Why is it that a tithe of everything is required by God, even spices and condiments like dill, mint, and cumin (see Matt. 23:23)? The answer is simple—because it is a reminder to God’s people that everything belongs to God. Everything! It’s not a matter of parceling things out between God’s portion and our portion, God’s property and our property. lt all belongs to God, and the tithing of the very first fruits of any and all crops and other things is a constant reminder of this fact.
Ben Witherington III, Jesus and Money: A Guide for Times of Financial Crisis, Brazos Press.
Hold It Lightly
Take what you have—whatever you have—take it into your hands and hold it lightly, very lightly. Then bless it—thank God for what you have and make it holy by giving it away for love. Then break it—sorry, but you have to tear it up to share it, there is no way to keep it all in one nice piece. And finally, give it—to whoever is standing in front of you, beside you—spread it around, and never mind that there does not seem to be enough for everyone.
The Issue of Money
In his book on the subject, Philip Yancey describes the tension he himself deals with as a Christian related to money:
Many Christians have one issue that haunts them and never falls silent: for some, it involves sexual identity; for others, a permanent battle against doubt. For me, the issue is money. It hangs over me, keeping me off balance, restless, uncomfortable, nervous. I feel pulled in opposite directions over the money issue.
Sometimes I want to sell all that I own, join a Christian commune, and live out my days in intentional poverty. At other times, I want to rid myself of guilt and enjoy the fruits of our nation’s prosperity. Mostly, I wish I did not have to think about money at all. But I must somehow come to terms with the Bible’s very strong statements about money.
Jesus & Money
15 percent of everything Christ said relates to this topic [of money and possessions]—more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined. Why did Jesus put such an emphasis on money and possessions? Because there’s a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money.
Land Stewardship and Care for the Vulnerable
A friend of mine once remarked that how we care for the land often mirrors how we care for those dependent on it, especially women and children. Is our attitude one of entitlement and privilege? Do we see the land as serving us and our interests? Or is it one of stewardship and responsibility? Do we see the potential for life and goodness bound up in both?… In God’s economy, inheritance is not about possession; it is about stewardship. Whatever we receive, we receive in trust, borrowing it from future generations. And so rather than preserving the ego of one man or expanding his wealth, the goal of the levirate marriage was to preserve a family and the land on which they depended. Even if it meant doing so at great personal cost.
Hannah Anderson and Nathan Anderson, Heaven and Nature Sing: 25 Advent Reflections to Bring Joy to the World (B&H Books, 2022).
No Need to Hold Anything Back
In the sport of cycling, one of the most important things necessary to be successful in a race is the ability to manage the timing of when “to burn a match.” This is a phrase that all bike racers know and refers to when one must put in a big effort to either stay with the pack, get up a hill, or to break away at a key moment. Knowing when to “burn a match” is critical because in any given race, one only has so many “matches to burn!” If you were to do any entire race going your hardest at every moment in that race, then it would be impossible to make it all the way to the finish line, little alone to win. Thus, knowing when and how hard to go at any given point in a race is constantly on your mind and after every big effort, the anxious thoughts begin: “How many more of those efforts do I have? What happens if there’s a hill around the next corner? How many miles until the finish line? I’ve got to take it easy if I’m going to make it to the finish!”
However, if you could somehow line up on the start line of a race knowing that you were going to win no matter what happens on the road, all anxiety over when to “burn a match” would suddenly disappear. There would be no need to manage your physical resources or monitor how hard you are going. You could just go all out any time you wanted, free of any worry that your investment of effort would go to waste or put your race in jeopardy.
This is just like serving the coming King Jesus. We can have to confidence to use whatever we have for His kingdom and His glory in the knowledge and assurance that He is returning, that we live for another Kingdom, and that no investment for Him goes to waste.
Jeff Volkmer
Stewardship: A Word (and Concept) Worth Keeping
The word stewardship has recently fallen on hard times. To many it’s no longer relevant to the day in which we live. To some it’s a religious cliché used to make fund-raising sound spiritual. It conjures up images of large red thermometers on church platforms, measuring how far we are from paying off the mortgage.
Because of these bland associations, I was tempted not to use the word in this book. But it’s such a good word, both biblically and historically, that it deserves resuscitation rather than burial. “A steward is someone entrusted with another’s wealth or property and charged with the responsibility of managing it in the owner’s best interest.” A steward is entrusted with sufficient resources and the authority to carry out his designated responsibilities.
Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity: A Comprehensive Guide to What the Bible Says about Financial Stewardship, Generosity, Materialism, Retirement, Financial Planning, Gambling, Debt, and More, Tyndale Press, 2011.
Ten principles about Christian Giving
Ten principles about Christian giving:
- It is an expression of the grace of God.
- It can be a charisma, that is, a gift of the Spirit.
- It is inspired by the cross of Christ.
- It is proportionate giving.
- It contributes to equality.
- It must be carefully supervised.
- It can be stimulated by a little friendly competition.
- It resembles a harvest.
- It has symbolic significance.
- It promotes thanksgiving to God.
Taken from The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor by John R. W. Stott Copyright (c) 2007 by John R. W. Stott. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com
Stories
Catch & Release
I’ve been going to professional baseball games and trying to get a souvenir baseball as far back as I can remember. A foul ball, a home run ball or even a batting practice ball—anything would do.
I was taking in batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals, and as I watched Mark McGwire and his teammates I got to know a five-year-old boy who was also trying to get a ball. His name was James. He tried hard to pronounce the players’ names as he politely asked for a ball: “Mr. Timwin (Timlin), can I have a ball, please?
Before I knew it, my mission became getting a ball for James. For about 20 minutes, I told him the names of the players who had a ball near the fence we stood behind, and the players turned and smiled as James tried to say their names. Still, no ball. Finally I told James he could have my ball if I caught one (I had been unsuccessful in catching a ball for almost 28 years, so that felt like a safe promise).
I wouldn’t be telling this story if you didn’t know what happened five minutes later. I caught a ball, and yes, I gave it to James. “I wonder how often God waits to give us something until we are willing to give it away?”
The Controversial Cookies
A traveler, between flights at an airport, went to a lounge and bought a small package of cookies. Then she sat down and began reading a newspaper. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to her cookies. Not wanting to make a scene, she leaned over and took a cookie herself.
A minute or two passed, and then came more rustling. He was helping himself to another cookie! After a while they came to the end of the package with one cookie left, but she was so angry she didn’t dare allow herself to say anything. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie in two, pushed half across to her, ate the other half, and left.
Still fuming sometime later when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock and embarrassment, there she found her package of unopened cookies!
Reader’s Digest
The Crucial Importance of Stewarding the Gift
The story is well known in the family: my grandparents had driven up from California the evening before. Stopping at a gas station along the Oregon border, they purchased some snacks, gas, and, as they often did, a lottery ticket. Thinking little of it, they stuffed the ticket in a pocket and continued journeying north. At their hotel that night, Grandpa stayed up to watch the news. The lottery numbers were to be announced. As the numbers were picked from a whirling globe of balls, the first number matched. And the second number. Then the third number.
At this point, he shakes Grandma awake. She wipes her eyes as they watch the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh numbers match. All seven numbers. Jaws dropped. Their minds could not ascertain what had transpired in just a few short seconds. Unimaginable. Unthinkable. How much did they win? What does this mean? The host announced the winning amount. That night, Grandma and Grandpa won $4.6 million. After a sleepless night, they drove to our home and placed the lottery ticket on our dining-room table.
The winnings helped our family in profound ways. Debts were paid. Vacations were had. Tuitions were covered. But the story has a dark side. A profound gift that created momentary bliss eventually led to bickering, infighting, and anger in the family. After nearly fifty years of marriage, Grandma and Grandpa’s marriage ended. Family members stopped talking. And a cold bitterness took over. I don’t retell this difficult story to shame a single soul. By the grace of God, healing and reconciliation has begun in our family. Yet the fact remains: no one knew how to steward such a gift.
The Elderly Contractor
An elderly master carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.
He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”
Source Unknown
Finding Happiness
Have you ever heard the story of the mother who wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson? She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl.
When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.”
Source Unknown
For Use, not For Ownership
As a novice in a Catholic religious order, Ronald Rolheiser was taught the importance of religious poverty by having to write “Ad Usam” inside every book he was given. This was to teach him that the book was given to him for his use, not for his ownership. He was a steward, not an owner. And this applied to everything he was given, no matter what. They were only had ad usam.
One of Ronald’s friends, another novice, eventually left the community and pursued a career in medicine. Years later Ronald picked up one of his medical textbooks and found “Ad Usam” inscribed inside it. Asked about it he replied that, “Even though I no longer belong to a religious order and no longer have the vow of poverty, I still like to live by the principle that our novice-master taught us: in the end, we don’t really own anything.”
Summary by William Rowley, source: Ronald Rolheiser, Our One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist (Image, 2015)
Leaving It Behind
A wealthy plantation owner invited John Wesley to his home. The two rode their horses all day, seeing just a fraction of all the man owned. At the end of the day the plantation owner proudly asked, “Well, Mr. Wesley, what do you think?” After a moment’s silence, Wesley replied, “I think you’re going to have a hard time leaving all this.”
Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity: A Comprehensive Guide to What the Bible Says about Financial Stewardship, Generosity, Materialism, Retirement, Financial Planning, Gambling, Debt, and More, Tyndale Press, 2011.
One Less Responsibility
A distraught man furiously rode his horse up to John Wesley, shouting, “Mr. Wesley, Mr. Wesley, something terrible has happened. Your house has burned to the ground!” Weighing the news for a moment, Wesley replied, “No. The Lord’s house burned to the ground. That means one less responsibility for me.”
Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity: A Comprehensive Guide to What the Bible Says about Financial Stewardship, Generosity, Materialism, Retirement, Financial Planning, Gambling, Debt, and More, Tyndale Press, 2011.
Preaching on the Same Topic
John Chrystostom was an early church father and Bishop of Constantinople from 347-407. The name “Chrysostom” is not a surname, but rather an epithet “golden tongued,” given to him because of his excellent preaching. But this did not keep him from angering some of his followers after he developed a proclivity to preach regularly on the subject of giving. When criticisms began to mount, Chrystostom refused to back down, and instead began incorporating the criticisms into his sermons (don’t get any ideas here, though fellow pastors!). John would go on to argue that even if his critics attained perfection in their Christian walk with respect to giving and love, then, John argued…he still wouldn’t stop preaching on giving for fear they would give the discipline up.
In reality, John observed a truth that Martin Luther would propose around a thousand years later:
People go through three conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart, and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not all at the same time.
And so, if the church remained unhappy with his choice of subjects, they ought to complain, not to him, but to themselves for not living in such a way that he could focus on other subjects. He suggested with a word of cunning, “For indeed you do the same in blaming me, as if a little child, hearing often of the first letter of the alphabet and not learning it, were to blame its teacher, because the teacher is continually and forever reminding the child about it.” “Therefore, let us give as if giving to Christ” was the cornerstone of John’s preaching, a reminder not just to his reluctant congregation, but to ours as well.
Stuart Strachan Jr.