Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:

“If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”

In other words, the scripture teaches that those who minister to you are supposed to receive from you, that’s a biblical command. It’s really sad; there are a couple of things that go on in church life. Some people say, “I’m mad about something.” So they pull back their giving and don’t honor those spiritual leaders in their midst. Some people try to use their money in the church to control a decision or something that happens, but God wants us to make sure that we are faithful in our giving to our local church. Some people also say, “I give my time.” You know what? Time doesn’t pay an electric bill, time doesn’t pay a utility bill, and time doesn’t pay a payroll. Bless God if you give your time, but you also need to invest your resources into your local house of worship, wherever that is. As I consider this in my own life, how do we do this? The way Sandi and I have done it, you’ve heard the story of counting our blessings where we would look back on the last seven days and see how God provided for us. We took our expected income, the main source of income that we were counting on for our life, we would take a tenth of that and made sure that went to our main ministry, which is our local church. That’s how we made it a priority. In my case I actually do an electronic funds transfer, it’s a tenth of my income that’s transferred electronically to my church on a monthly basis because I want to be 100% faithful to the Lord in giving to my local church. The reality is that in most of our lives, in addition to the main income there might be a second income, bonuses, a spouse’s income, inheritance, or all kinds of other things that go on in your life. What we have found is that we give a tenth of my main income to our local church, but all these other things go into a blessings fund and we sometimes still give offerings to our church for a special project, but to missionaries, people in need, or camp or media ministries we care about we give out of those resources. I always encourage people to make sure to make it a priority to give faithfully to your local church. 1 Timothy 5:17-18:

“Pastors who do their work well should be paid well and should be highly appreciated.”

What have you done recently to let your pastor know you appreciate him? Being a pastor is very hard. When I became a pastor, I thought I had an S on my chest -- Superman or Spiritualman or something. Do you know what pastors have? I don’t know if they have an S on their chest, but they do have a bull’s-eye on their back. It’s hard work to be a pastor because sometimes people want to talk about the pastor but they don’t want to talk to the pastor. Sometimes they get a lot of shots across the bow in different ways. I don’t know about other pastors, but I have a file called “Letters of Appreciation” and they don’t come very often, but when they do I read them and keep them. There are some days you’re just absolutely convinced that nobody is for you and everybody is against you. It’s tough to be a pastor, but it’s those words of appreciation and encouragement, and sometimes even gifts of encouragement. There are people that have brought us food, given us gift cards, people that have done all sorts of kind things for myself and my family and it just lifts the burden when you know there’s an appreciation and people bless you with resources, little gifts, or something. What have you done recently to encourage your pastor? None of us serve for thanks, but when no thanks come it’s hard to keep serving. A little bit of thanks and appreciation can sometimes carry someone who is serving for months. It isn’t just pastors, it’s people serving the Lord. Let them know you appreciate them, talk to them, thank them, tell them how they have made a difference. Use your lips, your hands, and your life to show appreciation for those in ministry. I have a little quote, “No church ever has a money problem, only a faithfulness problem.” We’re living in a time when the news reports are that church giving is going down around the country. There are churches beginning to lay off staff, cut back on programs, and they think it’s a money problem. It is not a money problem, it’s a faithfulness problem. In the average church 1/3 give absolutely nothing, 1/3 give under $500 a year, and 1/3 give over $500 a year. The issue is not a lack of money, the issue is that people aren’t faithful in giving what God has given to them because the Lord has provided resources to His people, but they stay tight-handed and don’t release them. In your life, may it always be true that you’re one who faithfully supports your local church and congregation not only with your gifts, but with your service, appreciation, and so forth.