The Bible says so much about money, stewardship, and generosity. For church leaders planning a preaching or teaching series on money, it can be difficult to decide upon a single theme to keep things succinct yet powerful. Three common themes are:
Holistic stewardship series
More than just financial management, this kind of series covers the stewardship of time, talent, God’s Word, relationships, finances, and more. This may be a good choice for a pastor who is preaching on the topic for the first time or who is wary of just focusing on money alone. It’s also a good way to let members know you’re not just after their money. Example: the Generous Living series by Fellowship Bible Church, Brentwood, Tennessee.
Holistic financial stewardship series
Strictly on financial stewardship, this kind of series covers giving, debt, budgeting, savings, and other principles from Scripture on how we manage money. It’s another good theme for pastors wary of preaching just on giving, and it helps people in their day-to-day struggles to be good stewards. Examples: the Balanced and LO$T series by North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia.
Generosity series
This kind of series is strictly focused on the benefits of giving and generosity. Three options include:
- Generosity: moving toward life that is truly life – This four-week devotional by Gordon MacDonald is being used by churches as the basis for month-long sermon series, small groups, and personal devotions. Easy to digest, it’s built around four “moving” themes – transformation, freedom, trust, and life – that inspire readers to aspire to a true life of abundant, joyful generosity.
- Treasure Principle – Many churches are taking the keys of this classic book by Randy Alcorn and preaching a 3-4 week series on these themes. This book presents the theology of eternal rewards in a very compelling way, so it’s a great resource to share with your congregation for them to read as your sermon series progresses.
- “How to Be Rich” – North Point Community Church presents this series each year, and it’s one of the freshest and most compelling messages on generosity around. Based on 1 Timothy 6: 17-19, the series teaches that from a global perspective, almost everyone in today’s American church is already financially rich, and we need to admit it. So the key is that it’s not about learning how to get rich, but about how to learn to be rich in good deeds and generosity.
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Note: This blog post is excerpted from GenerousChurch.com’s free download resource, How to preach on money, stewardship, and generosity.
