Truly life: why preaching matters
Preaching is the keystone of stewardship. With depth and breadth it creates a culture in which other stewardship tasks can flourish.
Preaching about giving isn’t just another way to raise funds for our church. It’s the keystone of stewardship. It holds everything else in place. The bible invites us into, ‘the life that is truly life’ (1 Tim 6:17-19). Without preaching we’re just running campaigns. We want to grow generous disciples, communities of generosity.
Moving in the right direction
The 2025 Anglican Giving Survey is encouraging. 67% of people said they had heard a giving sermon in the last year and 62% of those folks said it had made a difference to their thinking about giving. Way better than the same report five years earlier. The evidence is that those who hear stewardship sermons give more. Challenges remain. A surprising number give nothing to their local church.
More sermons, more money?
In Giving in Grace our letters, brochures and response forms ask for a specific financial response. No apology for that. But stewardship preaching, like all preaching, is about what God has done for us in Jesus. It reminds us who we are in Christ. It’s joyful, hopeful, and rooted in Scripture. It invites a personal discipleship response. When we preach we don’t let money dictate our money talk.
A new way of talking
Our money talk in church is often about budgets, bills and balance sheets. Of course, they matter. But the bible gives us richer words, a new vocabulary: grace, gift, gratitude, generosity. The bible gives us powerful stories that change hearts and lives, from the widow’s oil (1 Kings 4:1-7) to Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). The bible reminds us that God is the owner of all things and that giving is the overflow of God’s grace (2 Cor 8:1-9). Words like contentment, obedience and cheerful speak into the discipline of generosity in a consumer society; a discipline of giving that releases our hearts to be generous and free.
The preacher’s task.
One giving sermon a year won’t cut it! Preaching generosity is not begging for a little more. Preach confidently; and consistently. The Bible has over 2,000 verses on money. They are found in Law and Wisdom, Gospel and epistle so preachers take this rich diversity seriously. They cover saving and spending, borrowing and budgets, debt and money anxiety; social justice. And generous giving.
Above all, preachers are story tellers. Preachers tell a story of God’s abundance in the midst of scarcity. Preachers are storytellers of hope and promise, not fear. Preachers know themselves and tell this story with humour, honesty and humility.
Confident preaching
Stewardship preaching doesn’t just fund ministry. It forms generous disciples. It forms communities of generosity.