Reflections in Christ

by Archbishop Mark

Stewardship Part 6:  Our offerings to God—and others

Over the past several weeks, we have discussed Scriptural giving in Genesis.  As we know, salvation history begins properly with the call of the Patriarch Abram, later known as Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees and the Lord’s promise to bless him and his descendants after him.

In our last lesson we discussed Jacob, the grandson of Abraham and his…

Stewardship Part 5:  “I will give a tenth to Thee”

As we continue our study of stewardship in the book of Genesis, we will take a look at Jacob, grandson of Abraham.  Since Jacob was quite a character and scoundrel, I will provide a brief background.  Jacob and Esau were twin boys born to Isaac and Rebekah.  At the time of their birth, Esau was born first, but Jacob was grasping his heal.  Jacob’s…

Stewardship Part 4: Giving Thanks unto the Lord

In the first Chapters of Genesis, we were taught that all that exists was created by God, whether things visible or invisible, and nothing exists without originating from Him.  All of Creation has God as its Source and ultimately belongs to God.

Secondly, we learned from the offerings of Cain and Abel that one’s attitude is of the utmost…

Stewardship Part 3: What can we offer to the Lord?

There are several passages in Genesis which make mention of offerings, designed to honor the Lord and serve as an expression of repentance, gratitude and thankfulness. There are even times nothing is said about why the person is making an offering.

The first one of these types is found in Genesis chapters 6-9, which speaks of Noah and the flood.…

Stewardship Part 2:  Offering our best

A few weeks ago, I offered some comments on God as Creator of all things visible and invisible. All that exists has the Lord God as its source including us. With this is mind, there is nothing we can offer to God that does not already belong to Him, with the exception of our “free will.”  Thus, while we belong to Him, we must freely choose to…

Stewardship Part 1: Scriptural Giving

At the 18th All-American Council in Atlanta, the Assembly voted to move to proportional giving in the coming year. As we prepare for this transition, I will prepare articles, based on the Holy Scripture, to help us to better understand the Biblical precepts of Proportionate Giving through tithes, offerings and sacrifices. We will make use of both…