{"id":16457,"date":"2017-10-25T12:32:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T16:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=16457"},"modified":"2017-12-02T14:10:46","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T18:10:46","slug":"pastors-ponderings-the-grace-of-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=16457","title":{"rendered":"Pastor’s Ponderings: The Grace of Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bishop Robert Schnase in his book, The Grace of Giving shares about the importance of God\u2019s people to be generous. Generosity presents itself in multiple ways as we express our faith through the church and in our daily lives. Below is a small part from that important book. I would invite all of us to prayerfully consider these words and reflect upon them and what God might be saying to us.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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There are many scripture references in the following text!\u00a0 Notice that all of them are hyperlinks which will take you to the Bible Gateway rendition of the passage (most use The Living Bible translation).\u00a0 Click on these links to put the cited passage into context.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

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At some point in our following Christ, we realize all that we are comes from God and belongs to God; this leads us to the practice of Extravagant Generosity. Hundreds of Scriptural stories, parables, and verses focus on possessions, wealth, poverty, giving, gifts, offerings, tithes, charity, sacrifice, generosity, and sharing with those in need, providing a strong theological basis for giving.<\/p>\n

Old Testament<\/span><\/h4>\n

In the Old Testament, people of faith practiced first fruits, (which is) the giving of the first and the best of the harvest, livestock, or income for the purposes of God. Abram (Abraham) offered up a tithe, or tenth, of everything, and Jacob returned one\u2013tenth of everything to God (Genesis 14:20<\/a>; Genesis 28:22<\/a>).<\/p>\n