TITHING BIBLE STUDY

You can perform what God has asked ya know!

I'm gonna show you how to get started. First of all give your tithing program a name. Here are some suggestions:

Blessings On A Budget
Tin Can Tithing
Gifts for God
Jar of Generosity

You can come up with a clever idea of your own if you like, I'm sure you can come up with a great one. The next thing to do is to get a can or a jar or an envelope and write down the name of your tithing program on it. That's the second hardest part ... But the hardest part of this is not actually finding the money to give, but putting the money in the jar! If you procrastinate, you WILL spend the money on something else instead.

Now I'm going to give you a list of things you can do, to save $2 a month. If you do only 5 of these things, once a month, you will have $10 to tithe! After the first month, you'll be finding dozens of ways you can save a buck here and there, and the amount of your next tithe will surprise you.

Before we get started, I want to encourage you to write us with any suggestions you may have for others who are on a budget but want to begin tithing, like yourself ... For instance: teens, stay at home wives, elderly, homebound, and anyone else who may feel like tithing is difficult to afford for any reason.

One more suggestion. For those who pay for things by check, it may be best if you actually make an entry in your register for the savings that you plan to tithe, each time you save, then write one check at the end of the month for your tithe. To keep a visual record for yourself though, and so you can keep track of where you stand, also write down the amount you save and how, on a small slip of paper and put it in your jar, can or envelope.

Ready? Here we go!

Save $2 per month for tithing by:
Giving up a magazine subscription. Read your Bible instead, or read the Christian Walk Studies at Christianity Oasis during the times when you'd normally be reading your magazine. On large amounts like this that you want to spread out through the year, write yourself that check for $24 that you would spend on a year subscription, cash it and put it in a special envelope that you can take $2 out of each month for your tithe.

Save $2 per month for tithing by:
Looking in the Food section of the newspaper, the weekend coupon section, or there are also many places on the web where you can even print your own manufacturer's coupons for groceries. Sometimes on the packages or inside the packages themselves of the items you buy, there may be coupons you can use. Each time you go to the store and use them, put the amount of money you saved into your container for tithing and/or subtract it from your check register. You can certainly find $2/month worth of coupons for the things you buy ... That's only one 50¢ coupon per week! The hardest part ... Actually putting that savings in your jar.

Save $2 per month for tithing by:
Switching from name brand to generic on a few things that you normally buy. This can really add up on things like over the counter medicines, lotions, shampoos, detergents, etc. You'll find that the ingredients are EXACTLY the same, only the prices are different ... And drastically I might add. Put the money you save into your jar, and/or subtract the amount you save from your check register and put your slip of paper in your jar.