Why We Tithe

Our church body believes in giving (or tithing) as mandated in the scriptures. That means we believe in tithing, offerings and missions giving.

There are four biblical principles that call for this type of giving. The first is the law of the first fruits. We are instructed in Exodus 34:2 and Deuteronomy 18:4 to bring God the first fruits of our labor. That’s giving to Him first and giving to Him what is best. The first of our labor is also called a tithe or ten percent. Malachi 3:10 and other scriptures instruct us to bring the tithe to God’s house. The question with First fruits and tithing is “Do I really Trust God to provide for me?” The rest of Malachi 3:10 indicates this, in fact God says “Test me and see if I don’t provide for you.”

This leads to a maxim we teach in our church, which is this: Have your giving in order and the Father will take care of the rest. One great truths of tithing is that it makes each of our gifts equal.

The third biblical principle is that of increasing returns. We don’t give to get, however the scriptures teach us that if we give our tithes and offerings it will be given to us pressed down, shaken together, and running over. This happens because you are giving in obedience to God. The caveat is that by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. (Luke 6:38) So again the question in giving “Do I really Trust God to provide for me?”

The last biblical principle is that as the churches of the New Testament took offerings for missions and to send missionaries, following that biblical example, we as a body give to missions and send missionaries.

Stewardship at Sunset ministry is taken very seriously yearly, generally in October, we will ask you to pray and make a pledge of your tithes and offerings for the year. For many this will be a faith pledge, however, in trusting God we make our pledges and present them to him on what we call Commitment Sunday. Our yearly budget is then based on these pledges.