Sermon quotes on stewardship
Wendell Berry
The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.
John Bunyan
You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.
Barbara Bush
Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.
Billy Graham
God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.
John Hagee
Since my money is God’s money, every spending decision I make is a spiritual decision.
Richard Halverson
Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man’s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man’s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man’s character and how he handles his money.
Ignatius of Loyola
Teach us to give and not to count the cost.
James L. Kraft
The only investment I ever made which has paid consistently increasing dividends is the money I have given to the Lord.
Jack London
A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.
Martin Luther
I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.
Francis Quarles
He that gives all, though but little, gives much; because God looks not to the quantity of the gift, but to the quality of the givers.
John D. Rockefeller
I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.
Robert Louis Stevenson
You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.
Corrie Ten Boom
The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.
Matt Groening
Bart Simpson says Grace: “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing.” (For contrast)
Gordon T. Smith
When we speak of being the steward of our life, something else must be stressed. We are called to be the steward not of some ideal life or even the life we wish we had; rather we are called to be steward of the life that we have on our hands.
Taken from Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith. ©2011 by Gordon T. Smith. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com
Martin Luther
People go through three conversions: The conversion of their head, their heart, and their pocketbook. Unfortunately, not all at the same time.
Parker Palmer
Self-care is never a selfish act—it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have.
Chris Willard & Jim Sheppard
Generosity embraces a biblical understanding of stewardship:
- God is the owner of everything.
- What we have has been given to us by God.
- The resources we possess are assets to be invested in the kingdom.
Contagious Generosity (Leadership Network Innovation Series), Zondervan, 2012.
Gordon T. Smith
When we speak of being the steward of our life, something else must be stressed. We are called to be the steward not of some ideal life or even the life we wish we had; rather we are called to be steward of the life that we have on our hands.
Taken from Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith. ©2011 by Gordon T. Smith. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com
John Ortberg
Our lives are not about self-preservation and fulfillment, but are to be acts of stewardship. To fail to be good stewards of what God has given us is a form of robbing him.
If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001).
French Proverb
Money is a good servant but a bad master.
Frederick Dale Bruner
Talents have been variously described in interpretation, but the literal meaning of a talent is money. And each disciple has, in fact, been entrusted with a certain amount of money. A talent may also be thought of as time. More fruitful is the idea that a talent is any opportunity at all, each day, and this would include many realities: work, family, play, community, and even interruption.
Hilda Of Whitby
Trade with the gifts God has given you.
Randy Alcorn
Whenever we think like owners, it’s a red flag. We should be thinking like stewards, investment managers, always looking for the best place to invest the Owner’s money.
The Treasure Principle, Revised and Updated: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving, Multnomah, 2017.
Richard Halverson
Jesus Christ said more about money than about any other single thing because, when it comes to a man’s real nature, money is of first importance. Money is an exact index to a man’s true character. All through Scripture there is an intimate correlation between the development of a man’s character and how he handles his money.
Martin Luther
If silver and gold are things evil in themselves, then those who keep away from them deserve to be praised. But if they are good creatures of God, which we can use both for the needs of our neighbor and for the glory of God, is not a person silly, yes, even unthankful to God, if he refrains from them as if they were evil?
John Calvin
Away, then, with that inhuman philosophy which, while conceding only a necessary use of creatures, not only malignantly deprives us of the lawful fruit of God’s beneficence but cannot be practiced unless it robs a man of all his senses and degrades him to a block.
Jim Elliot
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
John Tillotson
He who provides for this life but takes not care for eternity is wise for a moment but a fool forever.
Horace Bushnell
One more revival—only one more—is needed, the revival of Christian stewardship, the consecration of the money power to God. When that revival comes, the kingdom of God will come in a day.
Charles Finney
It is just as much a matter of discipline for a church member practically to deny his stewardship as to deny the divinity of Christ.
Ashley Hales
Our time is a precious gift that will be multiplied only when it is corralled by the good story of the gospel.
Taken from Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much by Ashley Hales Copyright (c) 2009 by Ashley Hales. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL. www.ivpress.com
Matthew Sleeth
Human ownership is an illusion. How can creatures that die own anything? No matter what you temporarily lay claim to or control, one this is certain: In one hundred years, you will no longer own it.
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