The Steward and the Keys: Christian Stewardship

Lesson 12 • The Steward and the Keys: Christian Stewardship — New Members (discipleship class).

Tithes · Offerings · Vows · Possessions · Time

Marcas do Evangelho (church in Cariacica, Brazil) — Assemblies of God • New Members Class • 3rd Quarter of 2026.

✶ Golden Text — 1 Corinthians 4:2

"Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2)

• Study texts — Genesis 28:22 · Malachi 3:8-10 · Luke 16:10-13 · 1 Corinthians 4:2 · 2 Corinthians 9:7
• Bible version — Scripture quotations: KJV / BSB. Hebrew and Greek transliterations follow the standard academic convention.

The Man Who Carried the Keys

Beloved new member, I want you to come with me to a large first-century household — one of those Roman estates with lands, servants, crops, a barn, and a money chest. In a house like that, there was a man who carried the keys. He opened the barn, paid the workers, bought at the market, sold the harvest, distributed the family's food, and guarded the safe. All the wealth of that household passed through his hands every single day.

And that man owned absolutely nothing. Neither the land, nor the barn, nor a single coin from that safe. He was a slave, and everything belonged to his master. And one day the master would return from his journey, sit down, and ask for the ledgers.

That man has a name in the New Testament. He is called a steward. And the Lord Jesus used this figure to explain your relationship with everything that is currently under your name.

Pay close attention to this, because it changes the entire game. A Christian is not an owner who shares a little piece with God. A Christian is a steward who manages what belongs to God. And our Church Covenant says exactly that, in plain words:

"We understand that the proper exercise of stewardship is much broader than simply contributing. It also involves the responsibility of managing well all the resources that are received as blessings from God in our lives."

— Church Covenant of ADME

Notice: much broader than simply contributing. In this lesson we are going to deal with the tithe, the offering, and the vow — and you will understand each of them well. But if you walk out of here thinking that stewardship is a matter of money, I will have failed. Stewardship is a matter of ownership. It is the question of whose life yours really is.

The question was never how much of my money I give to God. It is how much of God's money I keep for myself.

Part 1 — The Foundation: Whose Is This?

1. The Question That Decides Everything

Before speaking of percentages or the church treasury, Scripture settles a prior question. And as long as it is not settled in your heart, no practical guidance will do any good.

"The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1)

The Lord's. Not partially, not in partnership with you: the entire earth, with everything it produces and the people who walk upon it. That is why He declares in Haggai 2:8 that the silver and the gold are His (Haggai 2:8). And that is why God never appears in the Bible asking for money out of need, saying that if He were hungry He would not tell us, because the world and all its fullness are His (Psalm 50:12).

The most beautiful prayer about this came from the lips of David, at the height of the collection for the Temple:

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You." (1 Chronicles 29:14)

Read that again, new member: everything comes from You — and from what is Yours we have given to You. When you contribute, you are not transferring assets from your estate to God's. You are placing back into His hand what already came out of His hand. Your salary, your job, your health to work, the intelligence that sustains your profession, this very day in which you woke up alive — you manufactured none of that.

2. The Word the Bible Uses for You

Let us go to the original, because the Greek word is an entire lesson by itself.

⚓ In the original — the man with the keys

οἰκονόμος (oikonómos) — "steward, household manager, administrator". It comes from oîkos (house) and némō (to manage, to distribute). He is exactingly the man with the keys whom we described: the one who manages another's possessions as if they were his own, knowing all the while that they are not.

οἰκονομία (oikonomía) — "administration, management, stewardship". It is the office, the function, the entrusted responsibility. From this word comes our term economy. And from it also comes the idea of dispensation — the periods in which God administers His work in history in distinct ways. God is the great Administrator; we are lesser administrators within His house.

And Paul closes the matter with a single requirement:

"Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2)

One single requirement. A steward is not asked to be brilliant. He is not asked to be rich, charismatic, successful, or admired. He is asked to be faithful. That whatever passed through his hands was managed the way the owner wanted.

3. The Two Masters

Now I need to show you why this subject is so serious, and why it cannot be treated as an administrative detail of the Christian life.

"No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24)

⚓ In the original — the rival master

μαμωνᾶς (mamōnâs) — a word of Aramaic origin meaning "wealth, possessions, money". But notice what the Lord did with it: He personified it. He did not say that you cannot serve God and money, as one who compares a person and an object. He said God and Mammon — two masters, two thrones, two rival deities competing for the same heart.

That is what most people fail to see. Money is not a neutral tool that sits quietly in your wallet waiting for you to decide — it has a calling to be a god. It promises what only God can give: security, identity, freedom, a future, respect. And it demands what only God can demand: your trust, your time, your worship.

Mammon does not want your pocket. It wants your throne.

That is why the Lord Jesus spoke so much about money: not because the church needed cash, but because He knew where the battle lay. The wallet is the most honest thermometer of the human heart. A man can lie about his prayer life and pretend in spiritual conversation — but his bank statement tells the truth about what he truly loves.

4. What Stewardship Covers

Before we get down to the tithe, let me broaden the view, because our church does not reduce stewardship to money. You are a steward of at least six things:

• Of your money and your possessions — what you earn, what you own, what you owe, and how you spend.
• Of your time — the hours of your day, which are a scarcer resource than money, because they cannot be recovered.
• Of your body — your health, your strength, what you do and fail to do with it.
• Of your work — diligence, honesty, and excellence in your secular profession.
• Of your family — the children God entrusted to you and the upbringing you give them.
• Of the property of the Lord's house — the temple building, the furniture, the equipment, the cleanliness, the upkeep.

We will go through all of them. But we begin with money, because that is where God chose to place the test.

Part 2 — The Tithe

5. The Word, and a Chronological Surprise

⚓ In the original — the tenth part

מַעֲשֵׂר (ma'aser) — "tithe, the tenth part". It comes from the root of עֶשֶׂר (eser), the number ten. It is simply one-tenth of the total, set apart and handed over.

Pay close attention to the chronology, because here lies the argument that answers the biggest objection you will hear out there.

The first time the tithe appears in the Bible is not in the Law of Moses. It is in Genesis 14, when Abraham returns from battle, meets Melchizedek, and gives him a tenth of everything — about four hundred and thirty years before the Law existed. And the second time is also before the Law: Jacob, fleeing from home, sleeps at Bethel, dreams of the ladder, wakes up, and makes a vow.

"And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth." (Genesis 28:22)

In other words: the tithe was not a Mosaic invention. It was already there, practiced spontaneously by men of faith, before stone tablets existed, before the tabernacle existed, before the Levitical priesthood existed. The Law later regulated it — but did not create it. Anyone who says "the tithe belonged to the Law, and we are not under the Law" starts from a premise that Genesis tears down. The tithe precedes the Law, passes through the Law, and is confirmed by Christ.

And when the Law came, it gave the tithe a decisive qualification: that all the tithe of the land is the LORD's and is holy to the LORD (Leviticus 27:30). Two things in that statement. First: it is the LORD's — the tithe already belongs to God before it leaves a man's hand. Second: it is holy to the LORD — set apart from the common, consecrated.

6. The Tithe Is a Symbol, Not a Calculation

Now I want to undo the biggest misunderstanding on this subject. Someone will say, with an air of spiritual depth: "in the New Testament it is not ten percent, it is one hundred percent — everything belongs to God." And that is completely right: everything belongs to God, the ten you hand over and the ninety that remain, in the Old and New Testaments alike.

Except that the conclusion these people draw is the opposite of what Scripture draws: "since everything belongs to God, I do not need to hand over the ten." Notice the cleverness. They raise the standard in theory so they can abandon it in practice. They talk about one hundred percent and hand over zero.

Whoever uses the one hundred percent as an excuse not to hand over the ten is not being more spiritual. He is being more clever.

The truth is that the tithe was never a mathematical sum. It is an emblem. God does not need your money — He owns the gold and the silver. When He asks for the tenth part, He is not solving a cash-flow problem in heaven: He is testing a heart.

It is the same principle as Abraham on Mount Moriah. When God asked for Isaac, it was not Isaac He wanted — God does not accept human sacrifice. He wanted Abraham; He wanted to know whether there was anything in that heart competing with Him. So it is with the tithe: a small, concrete measure placed in the path of every believer to reveal who occupies the throne.

7. We Do Not Give the Tithe. We Return It.

Keep this distinction, because it changes your vocabulary and changes your heart.

Out of habit we say, "I give my tithe." The expression is wrong in both words: it is not giving, because giving presupposes that the thing was mine; and it is not mine, because Scripture has already said that it belongs to the Lord.

You do not give the tithe. You return the tithe. And it is not yours — it belongs to Another.

That is why Malachi could use the word he used. If the tithe were mine and I decided to keep it, that would be stinginess. Since it is not mine and I keep it, it is something else — and the prophet gave it its exact name.

And from this follows a second truth: the tithe is firstfruits, not leftovers.

Many people hand over to God whatever is left after all the bills are paid. If there is anything left over, they hand it in; if nothing is left over, it waits until next month. But Scripture does not know that order.

"Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;" (Proverbs 3:9)

Firstfruits are the first yield, what is set apart before everything else. God has never presented Himself as the God of leftovers. Haggai says that when the people brought the remnants, God blew on it and scattered it (Haggai 1:9), and Malachi denounced those who brought sick animals to the altar — whatever would not be missed at home. That is not an offering; it is disposal with a religious appearance.

So the Christian order is this: when money comes in, the first thing set aside is the Lord's portion. Then come the rent, school, groceries, and the rest. Whoever sets it aside last never sets it aside.

8. Malachi 3 — The Promise and the Invitation

"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, yet you— the whole nation— are still robbing Me. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this, says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.”" (Malachi 3:8-10)

⚓ In the original — the verb the prophet chose

קָבַע (qaba') — "to rob, to defraud, to take by force, to plunder". It is an extremely rare verb in Hebrew, and the prophet chose it on purpose. He is not saying that the people were stingy or ungenerous. He is saying that the people kept what belonged to another. The accusation is theft.

Notice also the phrase all the tithes. It is not a part of the tithe. It is not the tithe of what was left over. It is not the tithe of some income and not of others. All.

And now pay attention to what comes right after the command, because it is one of the most striking passages in all of Scripture. God makes an invitation that He makes nowhere else in the Bible: He tells His people to test Him in this, says the LORD of Hosts (Malachi 3:10).

God offers Himself to be tested. Throughout Scripture we are warned not to put the Lord our God to the test. Here, and only here, He makes an exception and invites His people to prove His faithfulness — precisely in the area of tithes and offerings.

God did not ask us to believe with our eyes closed. He said: test Me in this.

And the promise He pledges has three parts. Read the text to the end:

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this, says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.” I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit, says the LORD of Hosts. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts." (Malachi 3:10-12)

First, abundance: such a blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Second, protection: God rebukes the devourer, so that what is already in your hand is not destroyed. What good is it for much to come in if everything leaks out? God promises to stop the leaks. Third, testimony: the nations will look and recognize that the hand of God is upon that people.

Notice the breadth of this blessing within the text itself. It is not just money coming in. It is crops that thrive, the devourer rebuked, the vine that does not fail to bear fruit, the land that becomes delightful, the name of the people honored before the nations. God blesses completely — home, work, health, family, labor, reputation. Prosperity, in Scripture, is a wide word.

Whoever is faithful to God in tithes and offerings is blessed by God. That is what the text says, and that is what we believe and preach in this house.

9. Tithes, Offerings, and Vows Have an Address

Now a point that must be made crystal clear, because today the idea has spread that each person may dispose of what belongs to the Lord according to the sympathy of the month — a little for an internet preacher, a little for a television campaign, a little for a need that popped up.

Scripture never treated what is brought to the Lord that way. There has always been a fixed address.

"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this, says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.”" (Malachi 3:10)

The storehouse. In the temple it was the treasury, the chamber where what sustained the worship service and those who ministered was collected. And the Law was explicit: the people had to bring the tithes to the house of God, and not to just any place (Deuteronomy 12:6). And it added a striking warning:

"and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land." (Deuteronomy 12:19)

Why the Levites? Because in the division of the land, the tribe of Levi received no inheritance at all. The others received territory, farmland, and pasture; Levi received nothing, because God told Aaron that He Himself was his portion and his inheritance among the children of Israel (Numbers 18:20). The Levites lived exclusively from what the people brought. Withholding the tithe was not merely disobeying; it was leaving the family of those who served at the altar without bread.

And that is exactly what happened in the days of Nehemiah. The people stopped bringing it, the Levites had nothing to eat, and they left the service of the temple and fled to their fields in order to survive. Nehemiah returned, saw that, and asked the right question: why the house of God had been forsaken (Nehemiah 13:10, 11).

The tithe is the spiritual thermometer of a people. When Israel grew cold, the tithe disappeared. When revival came, the tithes returned to the house of the Lord.

And the New Testament maintains the exact same principle, in other words:

"Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings? In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14)

And pay close attention to this: the Law did not separate the categories when stating where to deliver them. It joined them all in the same commandment, pointing to the same place.

"To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks." (Deuteronomy 12:6)

Read the list carefully: tithes, heave offerings, vows, and freewill offerings. All in the same sentence, all with the same destination — there, the place the Lord chose to make His name dwell. And the chapter repeats the same list in verse 11, so that no doubt at all remains.

So, new member, here is the practical conclusion. Your tithe, your offerings, and your vows belong to the local church where you are a member. Where you are pastored. Where someone prays for your name in the 5-Hour Prayer Journey. Where you are visited when you fall ill, counseled when you err, and buried when you depart. It is to this house that you bring what belongs to the Lord.

It is not a matter of each person distributing it on his own according to the sympathy of the month. Scripture does not know that practice. What God commanded to be brought, He commanded to be brought to His house. And it is the church, through its leaders and its auditing committee, that allocates it to the work, to the church workers, to the needy, and to missions.

10. We Cannot Subtract, and We Cannot Administer

From this point come two very common mistakes among sincere believers. Let us deal with both.

First mistake: subtracting from the tithe.

This happens when a person starts making deductions on his own. Do I take it from the net or the gross? Do I deduct what I gave to that brother? Do I subtract the Bible I bought for my daughter? Do I tithe on my regular salary, but not on my year-end bonus, because that is extra?

Pay attention: Scripture speaks of all the tithes, and on Jacob's lips it speaks of all that God gives him. The tenth part is of everything that comes in. Salary, year-end bonus, overtime, commission, sale, cash gift, pension, rental income. Everything that comes into your hand already has the tenth part marked.

And no one has authority to turn a good deed into a deduction from the tithe. Helping a brother directly is almsgiving, a work of mercy, and beautiful before God — and it deducts nothing. An offering, in this lesson and in this house, is what is brought to the altar. Personal charity is another category, equally praiseworthy, and it neither replaces nor reduces what belongs to the Lord.

Second mistake: administering the tithe.

This one is subtler, and therefore more dangerous. It happens when a believer decides to allocate the tithe himself because he thinks he knows how to do it better: "I prefer to give directly to the poor," "I disagree with the way the church spends," "I am going to set it aside and use it when I see a real need." Do you understand what happened there? The person assumed ownership of what is not his and began administering another's property. If the tithe belongs to the Lord and the Lord determined the address, deciding on another destination is not generosity — it is misappropriation.

God did not appoint us judges of the tithe. He appointed us bearers of it.

And what about those who administer it? Those who receive and manage the tithes will give an account to God, and they will give an account strictly. Their responsibility is enormous, and Scripture's warning against anyone who takes advantage of the Lord's house is not small. But notice carefully: their accounting is not your obligation. Your obligation ends when you bring it. From that point on, the account is between them and God.

Does that mean being blind and silent? Not at all. You can and should follow how the leadership handles the resources: ask questions, exhort, and expect the transparency that our own Covenant requires. That is healthy, and in this house we insist on it.

But if one day you conclude, with proof, that the leadership of a church is dishonest and unrepentant, the biblical way out was never to stay in the church withholding the tithe in silent protest. The way out is to go to the leadership, confront the issue, and — if there is no repentance — leave that house and join a church faithful to the Scriptures. What does not exist is a third way: remaining a member, continuing to eat from the altar, and deciding on your own that that altar does not deserve what God commanded to be brought.

And let me speak of our house specifically, so that you may bring what belongs to the Lord with peace of mind. The people who handle the money of this church are faithful and reputable brothers, chosen for proven character. The auditing committee checks all the accounts — all of them, without exception. Nothing comes in and nothing goes out without a record, and no record escapes verification.

This is not distrust of anyone. It is protection for everyone. It protects the church, protects the Lord's money, and protects the very brother who handles the funds, so that not even a single suspicion can ever be raised against him.

11. The Objections You Will Hear

You are going to hear many things out there, especially on the internet. Let me prepare you for the four most common ones.

• "I earn very little and there is nothing left over." That argument assumes that God receives leftovers. But the tithe is firstfruits, not remnants. And it is precisely when things are tight that faithfulness proves whom you look to for your livelihood — the Provider or the provision.
• "I already give an offering, so I am exempt from the tithe." Malachi speaks of both things separately, because they are two different things. Imagine owing ten thousand to the bank and, instead of paying the debt, taking a two-thousand-dollar gift to the manager expecting to be even. The gift is nice, but the debt remains.
• "I do not feel a desire in my heart to give it." The Christian life is not driven by feelings. You get up in the morning without feeling like it, take bitter medicine without feeling like it, fulfill commitments without feeling like it. In the Christian life, doing usually comes before feeling — and feeling comes afterward, as the fruit of obedience.
• "The church does not need it, or does not manage it well." God never conditioned your obedience on the performance of third parties. Follow up, exhort, require transparency. But your faithfulness is not a response to the leadership's behavior — it is a response to the lordship of Christ.

12. How We Practice It at Marcas do Evangelho

Our Covenant is direct on this point, and you need to know what you are agreeing to:

"We will cheerfully commit ourselves as members of ADME to contribute regularly and faithfully with our tithes, offerings, and vows. All our members will be tithers; we will serve the Lord with all our possessions."

— Church Covenant of ADME

All our members will be tithers. It is a strong sentence, and it is intentional. Not because the church needs your money to survive — God sustains His work with or without you. But because there is no mature membership in this house with a wallet kept off the altar. Whoever surrendered his life and kept back his wallet has not surrendered his life.

A pastoral word, because I know the reality of our families

If you are unemployed, in debt, or going through real hardship, do not stay away from the church out of shame. Seek out the leadership and talk. Shame before your brothers and sisters is something the enemy plants.

And let it be clear how this house works: we help needy brothers and sisters in their emergencies. Wherever there is a family at Marcas lacking what is necessary, the church moves into action. That is neither a favor nor charity — it is the body caring for itself, just as in Jerusalem, where there was not a needy person among them (Acts 4:34). Whoever has, brings; whoever is in need, receives. And whoever was helped yesterday will be on the giving side tomorrow. Stewardship also includes wisdom to get out of a hole, and here we sit down together to put a plan in place.

What we do not accept is something else: the silent complacency of someone who has the means and has decided that this does not apply to him.

Real hardship, the church welcomes and helps. Comfortable disobedience, the church does not call hardship.

Part 3 — Offerings and Liberality

13. The Offering: What Springs from a Moved Heart

If the tithe already belongs to God before it leaves your hand, the offering is something else entirely. It is what you decide to give over and above, freely, moved by love.

⚓ In the original — two words that define the offering

תְּרוּמָה (terumah) — "heave offering, lifted contribution". It is the word in Exodus 25:2, when God commands materials to be collected for the tabernacle, telling Moses to receive His offering from every man whose heart moves him willingly (Exodus 25:2). Notice the condition — a heart moved willingly. God refused in advance any contribution extracted by pressure.

ἱλαρός (hilarós) — "cheerful, joyful, radiant". It is the word in 2 Corinthians 9:7, which declares that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). From it comes our word hilarious. God does not want your money handed over with a sour face, out of embarrassment or fear. He wants the giver who smiles as he gives.

"Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

As he has purposed in his heart. The offering is planned, not emotional. It is decided at home, before God, and not wrung out in the heat of an appeal. And our Covenant adds a sentence that changes the way you will view that moment in the worship service:

"We will strive in all our worship services always to present a voluntary offering to the Lord, believing that this is part of the worship service."

— Church Covenant of ADME

14. Five Words That Describe the Offering

When Paul organized the great collection for the saints in Jerusalem, he used several different words to name it. Each one shows a different facet.

⚓ In the original — the five faces of the offering

λογεία (logeía) — "collection, gathering". It was the term used for the contribution collected in temples. And it was the opposite of a tax — no one was compelled. Giving an offering is an extraordinary way to bless those in need.

χάρις (cháris) — "grace, favor, undeserved gift". Paul calls the collection of the churches of Macedonia the grace of God bestowed on the churches (2 Corinthians 8:1). For him, the ability to give generously is not a virtue a person produces — it is grace that God grants. That is why it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

διακονία (diakonía) — "service, ministry, relief". The offering is practical service rendered to the body. Whoever gives an offering is ministering — even without stepping up to the pulpit.

λειτουργία (leitourgía) — "public service, sacred ministry". It is the word in 2 Corinthians 9:12. From it comes our word liturgy. In other words, for Paul, the act of giving an offering is not an administrative intermission in the middle of the worship service. It is liturgy. It is as much a part of the worship service as praise and preaching.

εὐλογία (eulogía) — "blessing, generosity". Paul asks that the offering be prepared as a generous blessing and not as a grudging exaction (2 Corinthians 9:5). And the opposite word he uses there is πλεονεξία (pleonexía) — covetousness, greed, the appetite to always have more. Every offering comes out of one of these two places in the heart.

So the next time the offering is collected in this house, do not treat it as an intermission. You are worshiping. With your wallet.

15. Seven Principles of Christian Giving

In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, Paul left a short instruction that organizes everything. The seven points are worth memorizing.

Principle	What it means
Specific	concerning the collection for the saints (1 Corinthians 16:1) — there was a defined target and a clear purpose. A serious offering knows where it is going
Ordained	as I directed the churches of Galatia (1 Corinthians 16:1) — giving an offering is not a nice suggestion; it is an apostolic ordinance for every church
Systematic	on the first day of every week (1 Corinthians 16:2) — every week, on the day of the worship service. It is neither sporadic nor seasonal
Individual	each one of you (1 Corinthians 16:2) — everyone gives an offering, regardless of the amount. The offering Jesus praised was that of a poor widow
Prepared	should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income (1 Corinthians 16:2) — set aside beforehand, calmly, in prayer. No one was pressured to decide on the impulse of the moment
Proportional	in keeping with how he has prospered (1 Corinthians 16:2) — in the measure of what God has given. God never asks for what you do not have
Well administered	so that no collections will have to be made when I come (1 Corinthians 16:2) — with order, care, and transparency, so that no one could suspect the character of those handling it

16. Generosity and Liberality

And here, new member, I want to take you one step above the tithe. Because faithfulness is the floor — it is not the ceiling.

⚓ In the original — the unfolded heart

ἁπλότης (haplótēs) — "simplicity, sincerity, liberality". It is the word Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 8:2 and 9:11, which our Bibles translate as generosity or liberality. The root means that which is not folded, having no hidden layer. The generous person according to the New Testament is the man without a fold in his heart — who gives without hidden calculation, without ulterior motives, without expecting a return.

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. … You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:6,11)

Notice Paul's logic. God enriches the believer in everything — and for what purpose? For all generosity. Not to hoard, not to show off: to be able to give more. God supplies the sower so that he may sow, not so that he may fill the barn and sleep on top of it.

God does not bless you so that you can stop needing Him. He blesses you so that you can become a channel.

That is why liberality is the mark of the mature Christian. The faithful tither has fulfilled his duty, and he does well. But the liberal believer has gone beyond duty, and that is where God's heart rejoices, because there it is no longer obligation — it is love. Think of the difference between paying the electric bill and buying a gift for someone you love: both cost money, but only one of them says something about your affection.

17. The Churches of Macedonia: The Model Paul Praised

"Now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches of Macedonia. In the terrible ordeal they suffered, their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity." (2 Corinthians 8:1-2)

Look at the impossible mathematics of that passage. Deep affliction plus deep poverty resulting in abundant generosity. That does not balance on any spreadsheet. It only balances in grace.

And Paul says further on that they gave according to their ability, as he himself testifies, and even beyond their ability, of their own accord (2 Corinthians 8:3). Beyond their ability. Those poor believers gave more than they could afford, and no one forced them — they begged earnestly for the privilege of taking part.

But the secret is in verse 5, and I want you to keep this truth for your entire life. Paul says that they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to the apostles by the will of God (2 Corinthians 8:5).

First they surrendered themselves. Then they surrendered their money. In this order — and it never works in the reverse order.

That is why insisting on money with people who have not surrendered their lives is a waste of time and a distortion of purpose. When the heart belongs to the Lord, the wallet follows without a fight. When the heart does not, no preaching on finances will fix it.

Part 4 — The Vow, and the Three Side by Side

18. The Vow: Your Word Pledged

Here is a subject that almost no one teaches, and that appears three times in our Covenant. You commit yourself to tithes, offerings, and vows. But what is a vow?

⚓ In the original — the solemn promise

נֶדֶר (neder) — "vow, solemn promise made to God". It is a voluntary commitment in which a person, out of gratitude or in search of help, promises the Lord something specific. No one is obligated to make a vow. But once made, it ceases to be optional.

It was a vow that Jacob made at Bethel. It was a vow that Hannah made at Shiloh when she asked for a son. It was a vow that Paul fulfilled at Cenchreae. The vow is biblical, it is legitimate, and it is taken very seriously by God.

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it." (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5)

It is better not to vow than to vow and not fulfill it. That is God speaking. Deuteronomy 23:21-23 says the same: if you refrain from vowing, there will be no sin in you; but whatever goes out from your lips, you must keep and perform.

And the most serious case in the New Testament is that of Ananias and Sapphira. Pay attention to what Peter asks: while the land remained unsold, did it not remain his own, and after it was sold, was it not at his disposal (Acts 5:4)? The property was his, the money was his, and he was not obligated to give anything. The sin was not keeping it. The sin was promising the whole and handing over a part, lying to the Holy Spirit before the church.

So here is the pastoral counsel: do not make a vow in the heat of emotion during a worship service. Go home, pray, calculate, talk with your spouse, and only then pledge your word before God. A vow is not an impulse — it is a contract.

God does not demand the vow you never made. But He demands, and demands seriously, the vow you made and did not pay.

19. Tithe, Offering, and Vow: The Differences

Much confusion in this house and in all churches comes from mixing up these three things. Let us separate them once and for all.

	TITHE	OFFERING	VOW
What it is	Return of the portion that already belongs to God.	Voluntary gift, above the tithe, born out of love.	Specific promise that you made to God.
How much	The tenth part. A fixed measure, given by God.	What you purposed in your heart, in keeping with your prosperity.	Exactly what came out of your lips.
Is it voluntary?	The portion is already His. Handing it over is obedience, not a donation.	Entirely voluntary. God refuses what is wrung out by pressure.	Making it is voluntary. Paying it, once made, is not.
Where it is delivered	At the church where I am a member.	At the church where I am a member.	At the church where I am a member.
Biblical basis	Leviticus 27:30; Proverbs 3:9; Malachi 3:10	Exodus 25:2; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7	Deuteronomy 23:21-23; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
If I do not do it	Scripture calls it robbery. It is an unpaid debt.	There is no debt — but I lose the joy and the blessing of giving.	It is sin. Better not to vow than to vow and not fulfill it.

Notice the logic: the tithe is a debt, the offering is a gift, and the vow is a contract. You do not pay off a debt with a gift, and you do not turn a signed contract into an optional courtesy.

And yet all three spring from the same root — the recognition that everything belongs to Him. The faithful tither who never gives an offering has not understood generosity. The generous giver who withholds the tithe has not understood obedience. And whoever makes vows he does not pay has not understood the seriousness of speaking with God.

20. The Missionary Offering

There is also a specific commitment in our Covenant: "We will cheerfully give offerings for missionary work." And the church holds a missions worship service every two months, on the last Sunday.

Paul wrote to the Philippians, the only church that supported him financially with consistency, and the words he used to describe that offering belong to the language of the altar:

"I have all I need and more, now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God." (Philippians 4:18)

A fragrant aroma was the expression for the sacrifice that rose from the altar and pleased God. That is what your missionary offering is in His eyes. When you give an offering for missions, you take part in preaching that your mouth did not speak, in a city where your feet did not step, to people whom you will only meet in heaven.

And here the same rule of address applies: the missionary offering is delivered through the church, in the missions worship service, and not sent on the side. It is the house that forwards it, with proper records and accountability, to the fields and the missionaries we support.

Part 5 — Stewardship that goes beyond money

We now return to what the Covenant said right at the beginning: stewardship is much broader than contributing.

21. Time, body, and work

⚓ In the original — time bought up

ἐξαγοραζόμενοι (exagorazómenoi) — "redeeming, rescuing, buying back." It is the participle in Ephesians 5:16, about redeeming the time because the days are evil. The image is that of a buyer who spots a good opportunity and snaps it up before it passes. Time slips away by default — whoever does not deliberately buy it back loses it.

Time is the only resource that cannot be recovered: lost money can be remade, a lost hour cannot. Moses prayed: "So teach us to number our days, that we may present a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12). Your time statement is just as revealing as your bank statement. No one has a lack of time — we all have a lack of priority.

And what about your body? "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The same logic of the steward applied to your flesh. What you eat, how much you sleep, what you do with your body — none of that is exclusively your own business, because your body is not yours.

Your secular work is also stewardship. The Covenant commits members to be "diligent in secular work and activities," and Paul wrote: "Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men," (Colossians 3:23). The believer of this church does not arrive late, does not slack off during working hours, does not take company supplies home, and does not cut corners when the boss is not looking. Your work is your pulpit during the week.

22. The house of the Lord and the children

"We will care for the church structure with love and joy. We will gladly take part in cleaning, tidying, organizing, and seating. We will preserve the church's property, and we will also teach this to our children."

— ADME Church Covenant

The chair you sit on, the air conditioning, the restroom, the sound system, the paint on the wall — everything was bought with a brother's or sister's offering, often with sacrifice. Whoever breaks, dirties, or wastes the property of the house is wasting someone's sacrifice. And notice the last sentence of the commitment: we will also teach this to our children. The child who sees their father pick up a piece of paper from the sanctuary floor without anyone asking is learning stewardship without a single class.

Regarding children, the Covenant is even more specific: educating them from a young age to be faithful in tithes, offerings, and vows, and teaching them to manage everything they earn — from their allowance, their first paycheck, the birthday money from their grandfather. A child who learns at six years old to set apart the Lord's portion before spending the rest will not need a sermon on tithing at thirty: the habit will already be in their bones. And it also teaches them to manage — showing the electric bill, explaining why we cannot buy everything, teaching them to wait, to save, and not to get into debt.

23. The accountability of those who administer

And what about the leadership? Do those who call for faithfulness also give an account? They do. Our Covenant requires it:

"The leadership commits to transparency in all acts of the financial and accounting administration of ADME, as well as submitting to the review of the disciplinary council and the approval of the auditing committee."

— ADME Church Covenant

This is not modern bureaucracy. It is the apostolic standard. When Paul organized the great collection for Jerusalem, he did not administer it alone — he took brothers chosen by the churches to travel with the money. And he explained the reason with a candor that puts much of today's leadership to shame:

"We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift. For we are taking great care to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men." (2 Corinthians 8:20-21)

Before the Lord and before men. It was not enough for Paul to have a clear conscience before God — he wanted no one to be able even to raise a suspicion. That was why he took brothers chosen by the churches to travel with the collection: not because he doubted himself, but so that no one could talk.

That is the exact principle of our auditing committee. Those who administer are faithful — and precisely because they are faithful, they do not fear an audit.

Where there is no accountability, money corrupts even the sincere man.

Part 6 — The day the Lord asks for the books

24. The test of the very little

"Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11)

Pay attention to what the Lord Jesus just did with money: He called it very little, and He called it unrighteous wealth — in the sense of wealth of this age, passing, without eternal value in itself.

In other words: for Christ, money is the small thing, the training ground. It is where God tests the steward with what is of lesser value, to find out whether He can entrust to him what is of greater value — the true riches: souls, ministry, spiritual authority, responsibility in the Kingdom.

God will not entrust to you what is eternal while you are not faithful with what is temporary.

The steward of the Roman household did not know the day his master would return from his journey. He only knew that he would return. And it was that undated certainty that kept him honest on an ordinary day, when no one was watching.

We live in the exact same way. We believe that the Lord Jesus may come for His Church at any moment, and afterward each one of us will appear before Him to give an account of what we did with what we received (2 Corinthians 5:10). It is not a judgment of condemnation for the saved — it is the settling of accounts between the steward and his Lord. And there it will not matter how much you accumulated. What will matter is what you did with what passed through your hands.

Three questions for you to take from this class

1. Do I see myself as an owner who shares with God, or as a steward who administers what belongs to Him? The way I spend answers that question better than my mouth does.
2. Am I faithful with the tithe, regular with the offering, and honest with the vows I have already made — or is there some old promise, made to God, that I have never paid?
3. If I had to give an account today of my time, my body, and my work, and not only of my money, would the Lord find me faithful?

Verse to memorize

"Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2)

Final word

Beloved new member, I did not teach this class to raise an offering. We do not do that in this house, and you will not hear from me any promise of getting rich in exchange for giving.

I taught this class because, within a few weeks, you are going to sign a Covenant that says all members of this church will be tithers, and I do not want you to sign without understanding why. The reason is not the church's treasury. The reason is your heart.

Because there is a line, in the life of every Christian, that separates those who say Jesus is Lord from those for whom He truly is. And that line, with striking frequency, runs right across the wallet. It is easy to sing that everything is His. It is another thing altogether to open your banking app on Monday and act like someone who believes it.

The keys to your house, your car, your locker, your drawer — you carry them in your pocket just as the steward carried his. But they are not yours. You are the administrator, and the Owner trusts you.

May He find you faithful.

Closing prayer

Let us pray together, and I ask you to pray with me out loud, wherever you are.

Lord our God, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We confess today that nothing that is in our name truly belongs to us. Everything came from Your hands, and of Your own we give to You.

Father, forgive us where we have lived as owners. Forgive the stinginess that held back what was Yours, and forgive also the ostentation that spent on vanity what should have served Your Kingdom.

Lord Jesus, deliver this house from the dominion of Mammon. May none of us serve two masters. May money be a servant in our hands, and never a master over our hearts.

Holy Spirit, give us the grace of the churches of Macedonia — that we may first give ourselves to You, and that afterward our generosity may come without struggle and with joy. If there is among us any vow made and left unpaid, bring it to memory and give us the courage to make it right.

Teach us to number our days. Teach us to care for our body, our work, the house of the Lord, and the children You have entrusted to us. And on the day You come to ask for the books, may You find Your stewards faithful.

In Christ. Amen.

The 12 Marks of the Church · Marcas do Evangelho (church in Cariacica, Brazil) · Assemblies of God · Cariacica/ES · Pastor Jairo

"Scripture governs; everything else, on its knees."

Teacher's Guide

Essence of the class

Stewardship is not a matter of money; it is a matter of ownership: the Christian is not an owner who shares a little piece with God — he is a steward who administers what belongs to God, and the only requirement made of a steward is that he be found faithful.

Map of the class

Time	Stage
0–5 min	Opening (the hook: the man who carried the keys)
5–14 min	Point 1 — Whose is this? The question that decides everything
14–21 min	Point 2 — What stewardship covers (the six keys)
21–26 min	Class activity (the keyring)
26–36 min	Point 3 — Tithe, offering, and vow: the three things separated
36–41 min	"If they ask you this" + the pastoral word to those who are hard-pressed
41–45 min	Wrap-up + challenge of the week + prayer

Watch the clock: this is a class with a lot of content, and the temptation is to spend 30 minutes on the tithe. Do not do that. If time gets tight, cut details about the tithe — never cut the block on the six keys or the pastoral word to those who are hard-pressed. A class that turns into nothing but tithing has betrayed the lesson.

Start like this

Arrive with your own keyring in your hand and show it to the class. Say:

"I want you to imagine a large Roman estate in the first century. Lands, servants, harvest, a full barn, a money chest. And one man who carries the keys to all of it. He is the one who opens the barn, pays the workers, buys at the market, sells the harvest, guards the safe. All the wealth of that house passes through his hands every single day."

Pause and ask: "How much of it do you think was his?"

Let the class answer. You will hear "a share," "a commission," "a salary." Wait until they finish, and then answer: "Nothing. Neither the land, nor the barn, nor a single coin. He was a slave. Everything belonged to the master. And one day the master would return from his journey, sit down, and ask for the books."

Then close the hook: "That man has a name in the New Testament. He is called a steward. And the Lord Jesus used that exact figure to explain your relationship with everything that is in your name today."

Note to the teacher: many people walk into this class with their guard up, expecting to be pressured for money. This hook disarms them because it begins with ownership, not with the pocketbook. Do not ruin that by mentioning tithing in the first ten minutes.

Point 1 — Whose is this? The question that decides everything

• In the class material: the Church Covenant in the section on stewardship — "We understand that the proper exercise of stewardship is much broader than simply contributing. It also involves the responsibility of managing well all the resources received as blessings from God in our lives." Read this passage aloud right after the hook: it immediately overturns the expectation that the class is about money.
• What to teach: before any percentage, Scripture settles a prior question — whose is this? The whole earth is the Lord's (Psalm 24:1), the silver and the gold are His (Haggai 2:8), and He Himself declares that He would have no reason to ask for anything out of need (Psalm 50:12). Hence David's statement at the height of the collection for the Temple: that we give to Him only what has come from His own hand (1 Chronicles 29:14). Conclusion: contributing is not transferring assets from your estate to God's — it is returning to His hand what already came from His hand. Close by introducing the oikonómos and the single requirement made of him: faithfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2), never brilliance, never amount.
• Anchor verse: "The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1)
• Key question: "Did you make anything you have today out of nothing, all by yourself, without receiving anything from anyone?"
• Likely answers (+ going deeper): "I worked very hard for this," "nobody gave me anything," "I struggled for it." These are honest answers and you should not belittle them. Go deeper with respect: "You really did work hard, and that has value. Now answer me: who gave you the health to work? The intelligence for your profession? Today, when you woke up alive?" That is when it clicks.
• If no one speaks: start yourself. Say out loud one concrete thing in your life that passed through your hands and that you did not manufacture — your job, your house, recovery from an illness — and hand the question back to them.

Point 2 — What stewardship covers

• In the class material: the closing sentence of the Covenant — "We are stewards of everything God has given us, and everything we have we must use for the glory of God." Point out to the class that the Covenant does not say "of everything we earn": it says of everything.
• What to teach: this is the block the class cannot afford to miss. Open the six keys — money and possessions, time, body, work, family, and the property of the house of the Lord — using the list from the Study. Press the uncomfortable point: there are people who are strictly faithful in the first key and completely negligent in the other five. Close on the foundation, which is not financial: we are not our own, because we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And remind them that time is the only resource that cannot be recovered — no one has a lack of time, we all have a lack of priority.
• Anchor verse: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
• Key question: "Of the six keys, which one have you been carrying as if the door belonged to you?"
• Likely answers (+ going deeper): time comes up almost every time — "I waste the whole day on my phone," "there's no time left for anything." The body and the family also come up. Go deeper: "And why do we find it natural to demand faithfulness with money and not demand it with time, when time is the only one that never comes back?" Pastoral care: no one needs to state numbers, amounts, or salary. If someone begins to expose their financial situation in detail in front of the class, thank them and gently redirect — "thank you for trusting us, let's talk after class."
• If no one speaks: read the six aloud, slowly, with a pause between each one, and say: "you don't need to answer out loud. Just mark in your head which one made you pause."

Point 3 — Tithe, offering, and vow: the three things separated

• In the class material: the commitments of the Covenant — that the members of this house are tithers and serve the Lord with all their possessions; that we strive to voluntarily present an offering in all worship services, believing that it is part of worship; and the commitment regarding vows. Show the class that the three words appear together in the Covenant — and that the lesson exists so that no one signs without understanding.
• What to teach: use the three-column table from the Study, which is the heart of this point. Tithe: returning what is already His (Leviticus 27:30), prior to the Law (Genesis 28:22), firstfruits and not leftovers (Proverbs 3:9). Offering: voluntary, planned at home, and cheerful (Exodus 25:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7). Vow: free to make, mandatory once made (Deuteronomy 23:22; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). In Malachi 3:10, teach the invitation as covenant faithfulness and show the breadth of the promised blessing within the text itself — harvest, protection from the devourer, and a testimony before the nations; make it clear, as the Study does, that in this house no one is promised wealth in exchange for giving. And with the vow, the brake comes right along with it and without exception: it is better not to vow than to vow and not pay, and never in the heat of a worship service.
• Anchor verse: "It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it." (Ecclesiastes 5:5)
• Key question: "What is the difference between paying the electric bill and buying a gift for someone you love?"
• Likely answers (+ going deeper): "one I'm obligated to do, the other I want to do," "one is a duty, the other is affection." Perfect — that is the exact difference between a tithe and an offering. Go deeper: "And where does the vow fit in? Is it a bill or a gift?" Lead them to the third word: contract.
• If no one speaks: draw the three columns on the board with one word at the top of each — DEBT · GIFT · CONTRACT — and ask the class to say which of the three is the tithe, which is the offering, and which is the vow. They always get it right, and the class explains itself.

Class activity

• Goal: to get the idea out of the class's head that stewardship is a matter of money — and to do so without anyone having to talk about money at all.
• Materials: a board or poster paper and a marker. Your own keyring.
• Step by step: place the keyring on the table, in plain sight of everyone. Ask: "Whose doors do these keys open?" Let them answer — the house, the car, the work locker, the church room. Then ask: "I carry the key to the church room. Is the room mine?" Now divide the board into six columns with the headings MONEY · TIME · BODY · WORK · FAMILY · HOUSE OF THE LORD, and ask the class to fill them in together with concrete things that passed through their hands this week. Write down what they say. Rule stated aloud before starting: no amounts, no numbers, no salary — only the thing itself. When the board is full, circle only the first column and ask: "Out of everything on this board, why do we usually call only this column stewardship?"
• Wrap-up (back to the text): "Look at the board. You did not manufacture any of this. You did not create the time of this week. You did not assemble the body that got out of bed. And yet the only column we feel pressured about is the first one. Our Covenant says that stewardship is much broader than simply contributing. You do not own any of these six columns. You carry the keys — and the owner returns."

If they ask you this

• Question: "A coworker told me that the church only wants my money. What do I answer?" Short answer: Answer from the text itself, without taking offense, because his suspicion is reasonable — many people have used God's name to take money from others. Say that the God of the Bible is the only one who dismisses giving out of need, and that He Himself said so: "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof." (Psalm 50:12). A church that needs the believer's money to exist is preaching another god. And add the practical fact, which usually disarms people completely: in this house there is no public pressure, no list, no roll call, and no one asks how much a brother or sister earns — but there is an auditing committee checking everything, without exception.

• Question: "My husband (or my wife) is not a believer and does not accept money leaving the house. What do I do?" Short answer: This is one of the most frequent and most poorly answered questions in church, so be careful. Never advise anyone to contribute behind their spouse's back — that is not faithfulness to God, it is a breach of trust within the marriage, and the pastoral damage is huge. Advise them like this: talk openly, start with what is possible within what is yours and what is agreed upon at home, and pray over that situation with patience. Remind the class of the order in 2 Corinthians 8:5 — first a person gives themselves to the Lord, and the rest follows. If the case is difficult, refer the brother or sister to the leadership for pastoral care, without exposing anything in class.

• Question: "I saw on the internet that tithing belonged to the Law and ended with Christ." Short answer: Go straight to the chronology, because it settles the matter. The tithe appears for the first time in Genesis 14, with Abraham and Melchizedek, and for the second time in Genesis 28, with Jacob — both times before the Law, the tabernacle, or the Levitical priesthood existed. In other words: the Law regulated the tithe, but did not create it. It precedes the Law and passes through the Law. And add the argument that usually closes the conversation: whoever uses "everything belongs to God" in order not to hand over the ten percent is raising the standard in theory precisely to abandon it in practice — talking about one hundred percent and handing over zero.

• Question: "I see rich pastors on television. Why should I hand it over?" Short answer: Agree with the indignation before answering, because it is fair, and Scripture is harsh with those who take advantage of the house of the Lord. Then separate the two things firmly: your faithfulness was never a response to the behavior of any leadership — it is a response to the lordship of Christ. God never conditioned His people's obedience on the performance of their leaders. Keep track, demand transparency, exhort when needed; and if one day there is proof of dishonesty without repentance, the biblical way out is to confront it and, if necessary, change churches — never to remain a member while withholding the tithe in silent protest. And remind them that those who administer will give an account to God strictly — only that account is not yours.

Wrap-up + challenge of the week

• Wrap-up: "Go back to the keys in my hand at the beginning of class. The steward of that Roman household carried everything and owned nothing — and what kept him honest on an ordinary day, when no one was watching, was knowing that the master would return. We live like that. The keys to your house, your car, your locker, your drawer — you carry them in your pocket just as that man carried his — but they are not yours. You are the administrators, and the Owner trusts you. And notice that this does not fit only in your wallet: it fits in your time, your body, your work, at home. May He find you faithful."
• Challenge: this week, sit down once with paper and pen and make your steward's inventory — the six keys, one below the other, and a single line under each one saying whether you have been acting there as an owner or as a steward. Then choose one where you wrote "owner" and carry out, still this week, one concrete act of returning it to the owner. Without spending money and without showing the paper to anyone. On Sunday, come back with the story.

Note to the teacher on the challenge: when following up the next Sunday, ask about the action, never about the list and never about amounts. If someone wants to share that the key was money, that is fine — but no one should say how much. And make it clear to the class, when assigning the task, that someone who is unemployed can complete this entire assignment, because it costs nothing.

Teacher's kit

• Before: read Malachi 3:7-12 in full, in one sitting, and then 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 back to back — it is by reading 2 Corinthians 8:5 (that they gave themselves first to the Lord) that the class finds its axis and stops being about money. Read also 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 and Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. Then open the Church Covenant to the section on stewardship (the sentence about being "much broader than simply contributing"), the commitment to offer in every worship service, and the commitment to tithes and vows — those are the three places the class quotes. Mark in your Bible: Psalm 24:1 · Haggai 2:8 · Psalm 50:12 · 1 Chronicles 29:14 · 1 Corinthians 4:2 · Matthew 6:24 · Leviticus 27:30 · Proverbs 3:9 · Malachi 3:8, 10-12 · Deuteronomy 12:6, 19 · Exodus 25:2 · 2 Corinthians 9:7 · 2 Corinthians 8:5 · Deuteronomy 23:22 · Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 · 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 · Luke 16:10-11.
• Bring: a Bible, a board or poster paper and a marker, and your own keyring for the hook and for the class activity. Bring also, written down, the practical path of this house for anyone who wants to talk about financial hardship — whom to look for and how. It is very likely that someone will come to you at the end of class, and it is frustrating not to know what to answer.
• Pray beforehand: pray for anyone in this class who is unemployed or in debt and is going to hear a class touching on money today — that they may leave welcomed and not crushed. Pray for anyone who has already been financially exploited in God's name and walked into the room with their guard up. Pray for anyone carrying an old unfulfilled vow who has never had the courage to talk about it with anyone. And pray for yourself: that the class may not end in pressure, but in what the text says — that He may find us faithful.

Homework

Your mission for the week

Sit down once this week, with paper and pen, and make your steward's inventory. Write at the top of the sheet: it is not mine. Below that, list the six keys, one per line — money and possessions · time · body · work · family · the house of the Lord — and write a single line under each one, answering honestly: in this one, have I been acting as an owner or as a steward? Then choose one where you wrote "owner" and carry out, still this week, one concrete act of returning it to the owner. Just one.

If the key is time, return an hour that was yours and give it to God or to someone. If it is the body, correct one thing that you know is harming what is not yours. If it is work, do properly what you had been doing halfway. If it is family, give someone in your home the undivided attention you had been giving halfway. If it is the house of the Lord, arrive earlier on Sunday and take care of something that no one asked you to take care of.

This task costs no money and the paper is not to be shown to anyone. It is possible for those who are unemployed, for those who are in debt, and for those who are hard-pressed — and it was written with that exact reality in mind.

Why

Because the entire lesson hangs on a single sentence: "The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and all who dwell therein." (Psalm 24:1). If everything is His, then the question was never how much of yours you give to God — it is how much of what is His you are keeping for yourself. And the only requirement made of a steward fits into one line: "Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:2). You are not asked to be rich. You are asked that what passes through your hands be administered the way the owner wanted — and the body that administers those keys is not yours either: you were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20).

How to know you did it

The paper exists, with the six lines written down, and there is one act that happened on a day you can name. If you can complete the sentence "on Wednesday I ___," you did it. If the answer is "I thought a lot about the subject," the part that was yours to do is still missing.

On Sunday, come back with the story

The next class begins with those who did it. Share which key you chose and what you did with it — no amounts, no numbers, without needing to show any paper. Do not stay out.