Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath!  Just a reminder that tomorrow we will have Sabbath School in all three congregations.

Do you tithe?

I actually get this question fairly often. When people find out I attend a church, they sometimes ask me if I tithe.  I answer of course that I do, but what surprises me when I begin to talk to people is that a fair number of other denominations actually do adhere to the Biblical principle of tithing.

Growing up, I had sort of assumed that tithing was like keeping the Saturday Sabbath.  People might have heard of it, but they didn’t practice it. I’m always pleasantly surprised to learn when they do.

What is a tithe anyway?

A tithe is just another word for 1/10th. Biblically speaking, it was used to support the priests and Levites. Today, we use it to fund the work of the church. In addition, we keep a second tithe in order to celebrate the Biblical Festivals of the Lord. There’s another tithe which is used to take care of the poor and those who are otherwise unable to take care of themselves.

A lot of questions come up around tithing. What should I tithe on? Just my paycheck? What if I don’t get a regular paycheck? If I’m self-employed, can I deduct my expenses? Does Social Security count as income? What if I’m already supporting the poor in another way?

Why tithe?

Those are all valid questions, but there’s an even bigger question to ask: why tithe? Sure, God says so, but what is the reason (or reasons) behind it? Is it just to fund the church in its mission to preach the gospel, or is there more to it than that?

In tomorrow’s message we’ll not only answer some of those questions on how to tithe, but see there are several reasons why God lays out this command for His people.