November 2025 Blog
Let us bring our first fruits to the Lord not our leftovers
A few Sundays ago, I asked the question: “would Jesus find a serving and giving community at St Mark’s should He return in the very near future?” I suggested that He would definitely find a serving community, as so many people serve in many ways giving of their time, gifts, skills, experience and creativity. But I wasn’t so sure whether Jesus would find a community who gave generously and sacrificially, although of course some do.
We reflected on two passages, one from the OT and one from the Gospel.
‘Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you? In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me – the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of Hosts’. (Malachi 3:8-12)
I will finish this blog with the second reading (quoted later on in this blog). A book called ‘The Art of Giving’ by Matthew Porter, a bishop in Manchester, has really challenged me recently and helped me. He bases his teaching on these two readings from the Bible, and it is very much the teaching that I have been taught, but I am aware that some people think tithing (offering 10% of your income) back to God was only for the period of the OT, and this I recognised in my talk.
Please do listen to it on our church website to hear the whole message, but I want to summarise it in this blog because many people were away. You will all know, I hope, from reading our weekly ReMarks that our financial situation is challenging, and we had to hold an extraordinary PCC to see how we can navigate our way through this financial difficulty. There were only a few areas where we could tighten our belts, but none that would make a significant difference apart from us all re-looking at our giving and having an honest conversation with God. Are we giving cheerfully, regularly, occasionally, collectively and expectantly?
Cheerfully: We give with thankful and grateful hearts in response to what God has given us. ‘Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7)
Regularly: ‘On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made’. (1 Cor. 16:1-3) Plan your giving – failing to plan is planning to fail.
How much? That is between you and God, but it should be generous and sacrificial, and we should be giving our first fruits, not our leftovers. I have been taught to give 10% of my income as my tithe, and then the offerings talked about in Malachi are the charities that I choose to give to, and I sponsor a child, and you will have other offerings that you contribute to. Some people give 5% to God, and 5% as offerings. This is a conversation between you and God.
How often? Some people will give weekly, some monthly and some annually, but we plan to give regularly. To give my first fruit I find it helpful to give by standing order so that it goes back to God the day after my income has come into my bank account.
Occasionally: ‘And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:16)
This is occasional giving that again we do with cheerful hearts. If we give legalistically then occasional giving will be hard, but there will be occasions when God does ask of us to help others in a myriad of ways, small and large. Or the church may have a special project where financial support is needed, or we respond to a world climate crisis. On these occasions we give prayerfully, with compassion, when invited, with immediacy and with obedience.
Collectively: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35)
We give collectively, together, not leaving it to the few. ‘The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members’ (Coretta Scott King) and ‘People are motivated to give to others when they identify as part of a common community’ (Adam Grant)
Expectantly: ‘Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap’. (Luke 6:38); ‘see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing’ (Malachi 3:10). Being expectant to see God move is not preaching the Prosperity Gospel, but preaching a Gospel of Generosity. We give to expand the Gospel, and to care for the poor and weak. However, many of us will have heard stories of, or experienced ourselves, God’s generous provision, when we have stepped out and given as the widow did – giving her last two coins.
‘Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put on everything she had, all she had to live on’. (Mark 12:41-44).
Thank you to all who faithfully serve and give to the work of God at St Mark’s; but can I ask you to pray and talk to God again about what you give back to Him and allow Him to speak to your hearts and minds afresh? Are we giving cheerfully, regularly, occasionally, collectively, expectantly, generously and sacrificially. And are we giving God our first fruits or our leftovers?
Autumn blessings,
Hennie