Here a sample of the Bible Study used with the capital stewardship campaign in the first year of fund raising.
The Church Stewardship Program
Bible Study Outline
Part 1
Lesson One
I. THEME
Growing in Joy Through the Grace of Giving - Study 1 of 6
II. TITLE
Foundations for Honoring God
III. SCRIPTURE TEXT
Genesis chapters 2 and 3
IV. CENTRAL IDEA
Obedience and faithfulness over God’s reserved portion of the created order establishes liberty and dominion over the whole of the created realm.
V. INTRODUCTION
Pleas for money - everyone knows how embarrassing they can be. We know all about the stories of waste and abuse. People squirm in their seats when the pastor starts to beg for funds. “Hopefully, he doesn't’t do it when I bring my neighbor.”
The Bible takes a totally different approach. God doesn't’t beg people for money. He establishes within the created order a pattern to encourage stewardship - not because He’s poor and needs funds, but to free man from the poverty and dominion of his own self-centeredness.
There’s more in the Creation story than ammunition to fight evolutionists. There’s a pattern for learning God’s pathway to joyous freedom in ruling my life with His priorities and blessing. And God’s way always works best – always!
VI. KEY PRINCIPLES
1. Man was designed for unbelievable dominion over God’s creation - We know that some have twisted this truth all out of shape. But the Word of God still teaches precious truth here:
Genesis 1:27-28 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (NIV)
The words of the text are rich and passionate. God “created” them. God “blessed” them. God destined them to be “fruitful”. And clearly, he designed them to “rule” over the rest of the created order.
In other words, there was an incredible amount of joy and freedom that man was to exercise
and partner in over the rest of the created environment in which God had placed him. Life was never meant to be a jungle. Man was to tend the created order under God’s blessing to a fruitful end.
2. Dominion over the whole was dependant upon stewardship over the part - This is more than some weird, implied, mystical truth. It is clearly stated in the text:
Genesis 2:16-17 - “And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (NIV)
There is marvelous freedom in verse 16 and binding responsibility in verse 17. And please notice, the freedom and dominion of enjoying “and tree in the garden” is lost if man transgresses the boundaries of verse 17 - “when you eat of it you will surely die.”
In theological circles people have debated this first sin - the fall. This whole created world is not the way it is supposed to be. That much is obvious. But it’s the nature of the disobedience that we want to look at. What kind of sin did man commit?
Certainly, this was not an issue of food or satisfying hunger. Adam and Eve had plenty to eat. These were not poisoned apples or magic fruit. No. The central issue of the fall was man’s failure to recognize the limitations of his rights. He failed to distinguish between what was his for use and what was not.
The test was what will man do with the part God says is off limits to his own discretion - “There are lots of trees you can eat from. Don’t touch this one. Those are yours. This is mine.”
3. The ongoing temptation of the creature against his Creator - This sin of the fall continues to this day. Adam’s impulse to overstep what was his ripples down through the centuries. Let’s look at it for a minute:
Genesis 3:1-5 (NIV) - “Now the serpent was more crafty than of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The women said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Satan convinces Eve and Eve convinces Adam that they will be better off if they have both their assigned portion and God’s reserved portion of the created order as well. In fact, they come to believe they need - they must have all of the trees in the garden in order to be happy and satisfied. Satan convinces Adam and Eve that God is holding out on them and that Adam and Eve will better secure their futures on their own terms rather than God’s.
4. How proportionate giving untangles the bondage of the fall in our lives - Now we have come back to the idea set out in the introduction of this study. Actually, giving has very little to do with raising money. It is all about freeing hearts. And this is where our minds have to be reoriented and fixed if we are ever to understand the rest of the Bible’s teaching
on money and giving.
As long as we see giving as misusing some of my total resources then God and His kingdom will always be a threat to my pleasure and security. God’s viewpoint is totally different. He views my gifts as a means to establishing His rule in my life, my home, my business, my church.
And as a Christian, when God’s on your side, you cannot help but find freedom, joy and fruitfulness in every area of life.
VII. RELATED ISSUES FOR STUDY & DISCUSSION
1. Many evangelical churches teach the practice of tithing (the giving of a tenth to the Lord as a base of honoring Him with the stewardship of material resources). Others teach the theme of proportionate giving (making sure that my gifts to the Lord are in keeping with His blessing on my life).
Either way, how do the Scriptures tie my faithfulness
in giving to the kind of blessing and fruitfulness (not just wealth) I experience in other areas of my life? See Malachi 3:6-12 - Israel had committed many sins. There was rampant idolatry, exploitation of the poor, adultery, and much more. Yet when the people specifically ask God “How are we to return?” (Verse 7) the first thing God mentions
is their giving. Why?
2. II Corinthians 8:1-5 - How does Paul link the gift of the people of Corinth to the ministry with the Lordship of Jesus over their entire lives? How is their offering related to the untangling of the effects of the fall we saw in Genesis 1-3? How do you account for their joy in giving even though they barely had enough to get by with for themselves?
3. What is the greatest barrier people must overcome in their proportionate giving to the Lord? Do you see this barrier in effect in Genesis 3:1-5? When Eve believes the temptation
of Satan, what does she reveal about the ambitions of her heart? And, more importantly,
what does she doubt about God?
VIII. APPLICATION
1. What steps do you need to take to align your financial decisions with the truths discussed
today?
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