110905 - Numbers 17-20 - God's plan for giving

S: This shall be yours of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs and every sin offering of theirs and every guilt offering of theirs, which they render to me, shall be most holy to you and to your sons. (Numbers 18:9)

O: Note God's care for the priests - 1/12th of Israel received 1/10th of the offering. If everything worked out OK, they would have received more than 1/10th even after giving back 1/10th. Of course, we know from the Biblical record that the offerings weren't what they should be.

A: Even though we're under a New Covenant that doesn't explicitly set giving percentages as the Old Covenant did, if we followed the same basic guidelines, all would be well: 15 people of average income could start a church, pay a pastor an average income and even rent a building. It doesn't work because average giving is around 2%, not 10%. With those stats, you need a church the size of the average mature church in the US: 75 people. (http://goo.gl/bAoti) It's no wonder church planters have such a hard time! This is not God's plan. (1 Corinthians 9:7-11)

P: Lord, restore your people to faithfulness, that all nations may call us blessed.

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