“Whatever I have given away, I have never, ever missed it…” How being generous with a little helps us to be generous with a lot. And a story featuring the Ford Motor Company.

"The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1)

Why talk about the stars in a stewardship blog? When we appreciate God's gifts to us, we can share with others.

Why am I here? In preparing for a family funeral, Lori wonders: what values do her actions demonstrate?

In this third post on giving and prayer, I have eight words of stewardship advice:

Pray

Say thank-you

Tell stories

Pay attention

Pray. (This is one worth repeating. We’ll talk about the Holy Spirit and pre-authorized giving!)

Clergy and Christian leaders can act on this simple counsel immediately.

How can a shrinking church increase generosity? Generosity is a spiritual discipline, part of following Jesus. Reducing expenses doesn’t increase generosity.

When we are scared, we hold on to what we have too tightly. Sort of a death grip, which is ironic because none of the things we are squeezing are ours to keep. As I’ve said before, dying with a big pile of money under the bed is the same as dying with a big pile of zucchini under the bed….Like an angel’s visit, gratitude interrupts our fear and reminds us of God’s faithfulness.

Encouraging ways to nurture generosity for churches who are worried about keeping the lights on

Regardless of your faith tradition, everyone dies in the end. Please remember with gratitude people who have left money to the church in their wills.

Generosity means caring for the people around us, and accepting care in return. Like other forms of caregiving, generosity is not a “once and done” deal. Generosity repeats.

To learn the spiritual discipline of giving, we’ll have to practice. Many of you will cook dinner today. Again. You’ll have opportunity to be generous in a variety of ways.

Do not grow weary, my friends! Anything worth doing is worth doing over.

If Matthew, a twenty-something male, makes an online donation to your church, what happens next? Generosity demonstrates trust. Matthew is telling you that he trusts your church enough to make a financial gift. There’s many, many voices calling for his money. He chose to give the church. That’s a big deal.