July 12, 2026 SERMON

Living Differently by Giving

I Corinthians 16:1-4

Last week we were looking at First Corinthians chapter fifteen where Paul talks about our resurrected body designed by God the Father Himself. 

We found out that death is a very real fact. You are closer to death now than you’ve ever been. And “your heartbeat,” as someone has poetically said, “is a muffled drum beating a funeral march to the grave.” 

The only thing between you and that grave is that faint heartbeat in your bosom. But, when you die as a Christian, your body goes to the grave, but your spirit ascends to God. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 8: “to be absent from the body … [is] to be present with the Lord.” 

Some years ago, somebody asked John Quincy Adams, when he was an old man “How is John Quincy Adams today?” He said, “Well, John Quincy Adams is quite well and thank you for asking. But “the house in which he is living is becoming quite dilapidated, and before long, it will be unlivable and I must move out. But John Quincy Adams is doing quite well, thank you.”

He realized that his body was a house that he just simply lived in, and your body is a house that you live in. And, one day, you will move out. 

The Bible calls the body “our earthly house” (2 Corinthians 5:1). But God is not finished with your body. Your body, one day, will be raised up.

Your body goes to the grave, and you move out. And then, God will raise up your body, renewed, restored, and made like unto the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will move back into your risen, glorified body.

You see, when God saved you, He did something very wonderful for you, but He’s not finished with you yet. The Bible says, “He [who] hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 

When we get saved, we are justified in our spirit, we are sanctified progressively in our soul, and we will be glorified ultimately in our body. God is not finished with us yet. There is more to come. Our body is not yet redeemed. There is coming the resurrection of the human body.

What an encouragement and joy to know that we who trust in Jesus have the promise of life forever with the One who died, was buried and then rose again on that third day. His resurrection from the grave is our assurance of life after death and an eternity with Him.

The fifteenth chapter is a high point in all of the New Testament. It grounds us in our faith and gives us reason to continue to trust the Lord, even in the struggles and disappointments often experienced in this life.

Someone said that this promise we have in Jesus is not “Pie in the sky” it is “Steak on the plate.” It’s a complete spiritual meal that strengthens us now and gives us hope for the future.

The Corinthian church needed to be reminded of this truth because it was a church with a number of problems that needed correction. This is the purpose of scripture, to guide, direct and correct individuals and the church. Without such guidance anyone, or group of people, can be led astray, either by willfulness or by deception. 

That must be why the sixteenth chapter of this letter gets back to some basics of how to live as a Christian. And somewhat surprisingly, it deals with stewardship, how to honor God in our giving.

So, Does money matter? Now, before anyone tightens up or checks their wallet and gets upset, let’s get something straight—this sermon isn’t about getting your money.

It’s about understanding money. Because when it comes to money, most people only think about one thing: getting it.

But Scripture shows us there’s another side of money that we don’t talk about nearly enough— 

giving it.

And here’s why this matters: Money shows up everywhere in Scripture. There are roughly 800 verses in the Bible that deal with money and possessions.

Jesus talked about money more than He talked about heaven and hell combined. Out of His 39 parables, 11 directly address money.

In the Gospel of Luke, one out of every seven verses has something to say about money. So yeah—MONEY MATTERS TO GOD.

Yet the moment money is mentioned in church, people squirm. We act like it’s inappropriate… or unspiritual… or somehow off-limits. But the Bible never treats money that way. Why?

Because money isn’t just about finance, it’s about faith, trust, and obedience.

Before we read our passage, let’s clear something up. When we talk about money in church, we often reduce it to tithes and offerings—and that’s part of it—but there’s something deeper going on.

A tithe is simply a tenth—one tenth of what God has already given us we give back to Him.

It’s not a payment. It’s not a fee. It’s an act of obedience and worship.

Tithing teaches us something important: When God asks for something, He’s not trying to take from us, He’s trying to shape us.

Jesus said in Luke 14:33: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

That’s not about loss. That’s about lordship.

Now, let’s hear what God’s Word says.

16:1-4 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. 4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me. 

The Amplified reads: NOW CONCERNING the money contributed for [the relief of] the saints (God’s people): you are to do the same as I directed the churches of Galatia to do. 2 On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send on those whom you approve and authorize with credentials to carry your gift [of love] to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems worthwhile that I should go too, they will accompany me. 

As we look at this passage, Paul shows us that biblical giving isn’t random, emotional, or pressured. It’s intentional.

In I Corinthians 16:1 the apostle Paul says to the church, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also.” 

Money was being raised to meet the need of the Christians in the area of Jerusalem in Judea. Those who had money or property used what they had to help others in need. They voluntarily gave from what they had. Because of the care and love of the believers, each had what was needed.

In Acts chapter eleven we read of a famine in Judea, so churches outside of the area rallied to the need and provided assistance to the Christians there. The current need mentioned here in First Corinthians 16 seems to be caused by continued famine and also persecution.

Churches saw a need and knew it was their responsibility to meet it. This was a project that involved many outside of Judea. The Galatian churches were in what is today the country of Turkey, Corinth is in Greece.

In verse one the Corinthians were told, “you must do also” what the Galatian churches were doing. It was expected, even commanded, that the Corinthian church be part of this project.

Even today, the Lord expects us to be willing to give and have a heart for the needs of His Church and His people. But giving should not be a haphazard thing. Just as in the use of spiritual gifts, all things need to be done “decently and in order.” It is true of our giving as well. 

The specific instructions given to the Corinthian church should guide us in how we approach the subject of stewardship. So, let’s take a look at giving that honors God as explained in these first four verses of First Corinthians chapter 16.

First, we see giving that is God honoring is regular giving. Verse two begins with the instruction. It says, “On the first day of the week”, they were to bring their offering. The first day of the week had already become the day when Christians met to gather for worship because it was the day Jesus rose from the dead. 

We commemorate that event each first day of the week as we meet together to give praise and worship. And we follow the pattern of Acts 2:42. It says, “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

The bibledictionarytoday.com says that “the biblical meaning of fellowship is a multifaceted concept that encompasses community, shared faith, and mutual support.” In other words, it includes giving and sharing, even offerings. So, the Corinthian church was reminded to bring their offerings on the day they came together, the first day of the week.

Does that mean that you have to divide your planned giving into equal parts so that you make sure that you put something in the offering box each Sunday? I am aware that many are retired and receive a social security check once a month. So, giving is usually on the first Sunday of the month. Is that wrong?

Most certainly not. It is not wrong because it is still regular giving as determined by each individual. Now there may be some who give their tithe on the first Sunday of the month, but then still give an offering throughout the month. The biblical point is that there should be a plan in one's giving, and it is to be regular.

Secondly, we see giving that is God honoring is a responsibility of each person. Verse two says, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside.” 

Giving and sharing is to be contributed by everyone so that no one person has to carry the whole burden. Everybody is included; no one is excluded! The rich are to give; the poor are to give. The young are to give, the middle aged are to give, the senior citizens are to give.

In Mark 12:42, a certain poor widow that gave reminds us that no one is too poor to give. In Luke 19, Zacchaeus giving out of his wealth reminds us that no one is too rich to give.

There is the story of a traveler who stopped to observe the curious behavior of a farmer who was plowing his field with a single mule wearing blinders hitched to a plow. He noticed the farmer yelling, “Giddyap, Pete; Giddyap Herb; Giddyap Joe; Giddyap Bill.” After watching the farmer carry on like this for a while, the traveler asked, “Say Mister, how many names does that mule have?” The old farmer said, “Just one. His name is Pete.” The traveler said, “Then why do you call out Herb, Joe, and Bill?”

The old farmer said, “It’s like this, if old Pete knew that he was doing all this work alone, I couldn’t get him to do a thing. But if he thinks he’s got three other mules working alongside of him, he does the whole job by himself.” We may not know who else is pulling the plow, but we know that the Lord expects each of us to do our part.

Thirdly we see giving that is God honoring is done in proportion to what a person has. Verse two says, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper.”  I like the King James Version here. It says, “as God hath prospered him.” The NIV says to, “set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income.” 

So based on the income that God has provided, a portion of that is the appropriate amount to give. So how do you determine what size that portion should be? Well, the best guide to that is Biblical giving always mentions the tithe, one tenth of the total. To some that sounds like a lot.

But now, even TIPs are at least 18%. And that is the low end. So, 10% percent doesn't seem to be an extravagant expectation in our giving to the Lord. Especially since He has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:3).

Still, for some it can seem to be a challenge. A young man told his minister that he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At the time, he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00 a week. In a few years his income had increased, and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on his minister to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, for it was too costly now. The minister said, “I don’t see how you can be released from your promise. But we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you would have no problem tithing $4.00.”

On the other hand, some people say that they would only start giving after they begin to earn more. But if one can’t give now when earning little, it is unlikely there would give when earning much. 

The Bible tells us that attitudes are much more important than amounts. That is why God developed tithing. It's the fair thing. Biblical giving is according to what we have, not according to what we don't have. That's why the tithe works.

When God looks at our giving, He's not impressed with the amount, large or small. That is not what is important, it is the proportion that is important. Give in proportion to how God has prospered you.

The fourth thing we see is giving that is God honoring should not be under pressure. Look at verse two again. It says, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” 

The offerings for this special need were to be in place ahead of time. By planned giving, ahead of time, that removed the last minute pressure church members would feel in their giving. 

There would be no need for the apostle Paul to look at each person and say, “It's time to give, it's time to give!” That is why regular planned giving out of love for our Lord and Savior to promote His work and Kingdom is the best and most biblical way to give.

The final thing that honors God in our giving is to make sure that there is accountability. Verses three and four say, “And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.” The apostle Paul wanted the church, not himself, to select the people who would be in charge of the money.

Paul was not going to touch the collection himself. He would entrust it to people the Corinthian believers chose, those they had proved worthy. In this, he is assuring these believers that their donations would be handled with integrity, that their money will go where they intend it to go. And we should do the same. 

So, there you have it. God honoring giving is regular, each one is to participate, give in proportion to how God has provided for you, don't give under pressure but plan your giving, and make sure that those handling the collection are kept accountable. Giving in this way is honoring to God.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!