Three Aspects of Tithing

In one paragraph

This was the second and final week of Brian's series on tithing, wrapping up a summer triplet of conversations on worship, scripture memory, and giving. He walked through Matthew 6, Luke 7, and John 6 to build a case that giving is not a church fundraising mechanism but a spiritual discipline tied directly to love, trust, and surrender. The congregation joined in discussion throughout, making it a...

Read together

1. Matthew 6:19-21 core text for the sermon, on storing treasures in heaven vs earth and the heart following treasure
2. Matthew 6:22-34 extended reading covering the eye as lamp, serving two masters, and not worrying because God provides
3. Luke 7:47 Jesus says the woman forgiven much shows much love, used to connect degree of gratitude for forgiveness to generosity
4. John 6:5-13 feeding of the five thousand, used to illustrate giving God something to work with and his multiplication of small offerings
5. Romans 3:23 briefly cited as 'for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' to counter comparative moral accounting
6. James 2:10 cited as keeping all the law but stumbling at one point makes a person guilty of all of it, to dismantle the Pharisee accounting system
7. Isaiah 53 referenced loosely as 'in Isaiah, no one is righteous, no not one' to reinforce universal sinfulness

What was said

• Open Matthew 6:19-34 this week and read it slowly, noticing which verses you have seen only as standalone quotes and what they mean when you read them together.
• Think honestly about one area of your life where you are relying on your own hustle or control rather than trusting God, and bring it to him in prayer each morning this week.
• Ask yourself whether your calling and your occupation are aligned, and if something feels off, spend time this week in prayer asking God what surrender in that area would actually look like.
• Fill out a connect card so the Tribe staff can pray over your specific prayer request this week.
• If you are not already getting the Tribe text updates, add the number to your contacts so you stay in the loop on what the community is doing.

Talk about it

1. Brian said that Jesus talks more about finances in the gospels than he talks about hell, and that Jesus understood the connection between the affections of our heart and our bank card. Where do you see that connection most clearly in your own life?
2. Brian used the story from Luke 7 about the woman who anointed Jesus's feet to make the point that the degree of our generosity is connected to how much we feel we have been forgiven. Do you find that connection convincing, and does it show up anywhere in your own experience of giving?
3. Brian described a false moral accounting system where we measure our sin against other people's sin rather than against God's standard, and said the Pharisees in that room were doing exactly that. In what areas of life are you most tempted to use that kind of comparative accounting?
4. Brian drew a distinction between belief and trust using the image of a tightrope walker and a wheelbarrow, saying that giving is one of the ways we actually get in the wheelbarrow. What makes it hard to move from believing God will provide to actually acting on that trust, especially with money?
5. At the end of the sermon Brian talked about the difference between confusing your calling with your occupation and having a genuine alignment between the two, using Isaac the electrician as an example. How would you describe the relationship between your own calling and what you do for work, and where does trust in God fit into that?