Financial Faithfulness: Leading Families and Church to the Cross

Yearly Topic Connection

This year, our focus is Strong Families, Strong Church—showing how the faithfulness we practice at home builds up the Lord’s church.

August’s theme is Stewardship: Managing God’s Gifts, and today’s lesson on financial faithfulness is the part that connects our personal and family finances to the church’s ability to do God’s work.

When we honor God first with our resources, we bless our families and empower the church to reach the lost and glorify Christ.

Lesson Objectives (Bloom’s Taxonomy Order)

• Remember key biblical principles of financial faithfulness and stewardship.
• Understand how stewardship flows from God's grace and the cross of Christ.
• Apply the gospel’s call to obedience—hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized, and live faithfully—in personal and congregational life.
• Analyze current family and congregational financial practices in light of Scripture.
• Evaluate spending, giving, and debt against biblical standards.
• Create a personal and congregational plan for ongoing faithful, Christ-centered stewardship.

Strong Hook

If you really want to know someone’s priorities, look at two things: their calendar—and their checkbook. Both are a mirror of the heart. Every transaction is a vote for what matters most. The Bible doesn’t shy away from this reality—our heart follows our treasure (Matthew 6:21). And where our heart is, there also is our faith—or our lack of it. Financial faithfulness, properly understood, is not about guilt or pressure—it’s about grace received and grace given. And all grace leads one place: the cross.

Introduction

• A common mistake is seeing money management as “practical” while separating it from the “spiritual.”
• But in Scripture, the two cannot be separated. Jesus spoke more about money and possessions than He did about heaven or hell—not because coins have eternal value, but because what we do with them reveals who rules our hearts.
• When families are financially faithful—honoring God first, giving joyfully, living debt-free when possible—the church has more than funds; it has disciples ready to serve in freedom. It has power to reach the lost, meet urgent needs, and glorify God.

And this does not end with careful budgeting—it ends at the cross, because our giving mirrors God’s giving: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).

1. Honoring God with Our Wealth

• Scripture:
  "Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce" (Proverbs 3:9, NASB 1995).
• Exegesis:
  "Honor" (kabad, Hebrew) means to make weighty, to give highest importance, to treat with glory. Giving God “the first” recalls Israel’s bikkurim—the first and best portion of the harvest, set aside before any personal consumption (Exodus 23:19; Deuteronomy 26:2). This act declared, “The LORD owns it all” (Psalm 24:1). Failing to give the first slice implied distrust in God’s provision.
• Cross-references: Trusting God with the "First Slice"
  • Malachi 3:10 — "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…and test Me now in this".
  • Matthew 6:33 — "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness".
  • 1 Chronicles 29:14 — David acknowledges that all comes from God.
• Illustration:
  Consider parents whose child offers them the first taste of their ice cream cone—not the drips at the end. That first bite says, “You matter to me more than this treat.” God calls for that kind of heart before Him.
• Application:
  Families: write the check (or set aside the cash) for God before paying any bills.
  Church: budget Evangelism and benevolence as primary—never as “what’s left over.”

2. Giving as an Overflow of Grace

• Scripture:
  "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart…for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7, NASB 1995).
• Exegesis:
  "Purposed" (proaireomai, Greek) is to decide ahead of time with the will and mind engaged. This is not impulsive giving but thoughtful, prayerful planning. "Cheerful" (hilaros) describes a deep joy that bubbles up freely without reluctance. Just as God’s giving in Christ was willing, so ours mirrors His grace (2 Corinthians 8:9).
• Cross-references:
  • Philippians 4:18 — Paul calls generous gifts "a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God".
  • Romans 5:8 — "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".
  • Psalm 96:8 — "Bring an offering and come into His courts".
• Illustration:
  Imagine someone whose life was saved by a stranger—they seek out ways to honor that person and help others, not from a sense of debt repayment, but from gratitude. Grace fuels joyful giving.

3. Avoiding Debt and Waste

• Scripture:
  "The borrower becomes the lender’s slave" (Proverbs 22:7b, NASB 1995).
• Exegesis:
  "Slave" (ebed, Hebrew; doulos, Greek) refers to one in bondage, without full freedom to act. Debt is dangerous not because borrowing is inherently sinful, but because it can enslave decision-making, stifle generosity, and refocus loyalty on creditors instead of God’s work.
• Cross-references:
  • Romans 13:8 — "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another".
  • Luke 14:28 — "Who does not first sit down and calculate the cost…"
  • 1 Timothy 6:6–10 — Contentment over greed.
• Illustration:
  An explorer encumbered with too much gear cannot climb freely or help others. In the same way, financial burdens slow evangelism momentum.
• Application:
  Families: identify one debt to aggressively pay off this year—free those funds for kingdom use.
  Congregation: audit all expenses annually—eliminate what no longer serves the mission.

4. Generosity Leading to Salvation Invitation

• Scripture:
  "God is able to make all grace abound to you…you may have an abundance for every good deed" (2 Corinthians 9:8, NASB 1995).
• Exegesis:
  "Abound" (perisseuo, Greek) means to exceed, to overflow. God’s provision is not merely for our comfort—it equips us to pour into good works that point to Christ. Generosity without gospel intent is philanthropy (donation); generosity with gospel intent is evangelism in action.
• Cross-references:
  • Romans 6:23 — "The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
  • Galatians 6:10 — "Do good to all…especially the household of the faith".
  • Acts 2:38 — "Repent…and be baptized…for the forgiveness of your sins".
• Illustration:
  Like one candle lighting another, gospel generosity spreads light. When we give with open hands we contribute to the preaching of the Gospel, a benevolent act to a neighbor—these open hearts for the message of Christ.
• Application:
  Families: match financial generosity with personal invitations to worship or Bible study.
  Congregation: pair benevolent works with clear gospel teaching.

Conclusion: Building to the Cross and the Gospel Invitation

Stewardship is not a financial program—it is a discipleship practice rooted in the nature of God Himself. God’s giving reached its climax at Calvary when Christ bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24). That act was intentional, sacrificial, and joyous—not unlike what God calls from us in our giving.

Plan of Salvation

• Hear – "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17).
• Believe – "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).
• Repent – "Repent…and turn, so that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:19).
• Confess – "With the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:10).
• Be Baptized – "Be baptized, and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16).
• Live Faithfully – "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

Invitation:
If you have never obeyed the gospel, or if your finances and life have drifted from God’s priorities, the cross calls you back. Give Him your heart, your life, your eternity—starting today.

Takeaway

Every dollar, like every moment, is a stewardship of grace. Direct them toward eternal outcomes. Let financial faithfulness be one more way we say: “Jesus is Lord, and I trust Him.”

HEBREW/GREEK Word Study Table