Principles of Christian Finance

A. Everything belongs to God.

a. Psalm 24:1 "The Lord's are the earth and its fullness;

the world and those who dwell in it

b. Haggai 2:8 "Mine is the silver and mine the gold,

says the Lord of hosts"

 B. We are merely stewards of what belongs to God.

1. stewards (or managers) and not masters

 C. It is God who enables us to acquire wealth.

a. Proverbs 10:22 "It is the Lord's blessing that brings

wealth, and no effort can substitute for it

b. Ecclesiastes 5:18 "Any man to whom God gives

riches and property, and grants power to partake of

them, so that he receives his lot and finds joy in the
fruits of his toil, has a gift from God"

 2. Without God's blessings, we would not have the

good things we have.

a. 1 Corinthians 4:7 "Name something you have that

you have not received. If then, you have received it,

why are you boasting as if it were your own?"

 3. Our minds, our education, business opportunities,

"good luck", all are ours only by God's grace.

 4. We should use our finances (wealth and

possessions) to glorify God and participate in the

spread of His Kingdom.

Tithing
The tithe consists of ten percent (10%) of an

individual's income after taxes from whatever source,

i.e., wages, rents, investments, business, etc.
The tithe is given to the immediate body of Christ of

which one is a part, and where one draws support for

one's Christian life. For us, that basically means SFC
and our parish.
Support the mission/work of the Lord

 Malachi 3:7b-10.

7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned

away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to

me, and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty.
But you ask, How are we to return?
8 Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
But you ask, How are we robbing you?
In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curseyour
whole nationbecause you are robbing me.10 Bring the
whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in
my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and
see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that there will not be room
enough to store it.

 1. We rob God if we don't tithe.

2. food in God's house Food is life-giving
3. open the floodgates God can never be outdone in

generosity

 Tithing is not part of our covenant in SFC. But it is

certainly an essential part of our life as a growing

Christian.
Christian maturity

 1. The only source of income of CFC Singles for Christ

is from contributions, basically from its members.

 2. SFC uses its income from tithes and contributions to

pay for the following:

Evangelization
Support for missionaries
Formation of members
Community activities
Administration (salaries and wages, transportation,
repairs, office supplies,
communication, licenses, etc.)
Donations (for needy members)
Purchase of assets as needed
International mission

 3. SFC members are encouraged to be generous in

supporting financially the work of the Church, both in

the parish as well as the CFC mission.
4. SFC members are encouraged to remit their tithe

monthly.

 5. Let us not lose the proper perspective.

a. not because it is needed, but because it is right

b. God owns the universe

 c. The practical need for money is just His way of

giving us the privilege of being His co-workers in

Kingdom-building.
Focus not so much on the 10%, but on the 90% we keep

for ourselves!
It is Gods money, but he lets us use it

 6. What if I do not have enough

a. The poor widow

b. No one has too little that he has nothing to give.

Iktongs story

Roadmap to Financial Stability

A. Remember that God desires our abundance
1. We use different units

-PHP, $,
-friends/relationships, good health
2. We use different standards

 B. Trust God for Provisions

Consider the lilies

 C. Do our part
1. Increase income
2. Decrease expenses
LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS

 Increase our sources of funds

a. salaries

b. passive income (rent, mutual funds, stock market

investment)
c. business

 d. debt

Good debt vs Bad debt

Credit card
Loans from coops

 b. Decrease our uses of funds

Live simply

Check your room and cabinets: How much stuff in their do

you really need?

Material things will fail to satisfy
We need not spend. HINDI KAILANGANG (laging)

GUMASTOS PARA MAG-ENJOY

 b. Learn how to save

The formula should be:

Income expense = savings, and not
Income savings = expense.

 c. Make a budget
Compare your previous and present expenses
Beware of one-time expenses. (minsan lang naman to)
Sales (na di naman talaga sale). Need vs want

CONCLUSION
A. Be generous - Give, Give, Give!
B. Pay the proper taxes. Even our Lord paid taxes.
C. Share with the Poor.
D. Remember Gods Promise - floodgates

 1. Make a pie chart of how you currently use up your annual pay after

taxes. Group them into categories (e.g., Food, Rent/Housing

Amortization, Clothing, Education, Entertainment, Transportation,
Communication, Tithing, Outreach, Support for Family, Others, etc.)

2. Identify how you can save up on each pie (e.g. for Food, bring packed

lunch instead of eating in the office cafeteria, softdrinks on weekends

only, Clothing buy only once every quarter instead of once a month

3. Estimate how much you save per year on each item you identified.

Add up the estimated total savings.

4. Make a revised pie chart, with the identified savings area. In the

revised chart, it is mandatory that you set aside 10% of income for
tithing.

5. Discuss your work with the group.

6. If time will allow, open the floor for 2 or 3 sharings.