The spiritual riches of prayer life This is a free study guide for congregations from the president of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. "Do you feel you need perspective on your prayers or on how prayer may transform you in the process? The writings of Martin Luther say much about the promise of prayer, which is a gift from God. Not only is prayer a gift from God, but it is also a command." Click here for ""The Riches of Prayer Life." from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

A Bible study for church leaders who hate to ask for money. Here is a wonderful Bible study that explores the problems that result when leaders are afraid to ask for money. "We need a new attitude. Stewardship is an essential part of the gospel. Scripture calls Christians to be responsible for the mission and ministry of the church." Click here for this study, from the " Living in Abundance" series at Luther Seminary.

20-day stewardship study devotional. Good for your stewardship committee, congregation council or general membership, here is a resource that will get your folks thinking and brainstorming. Each Bible-based daily devotion challenges and inspires. Click here for the Stewardship study devotional. From Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City. (PDF file requires Acrobat Reader. Click here for your free copy of Acrobat.) (08/29/05)

Sharing God's Planet Wow! Here's a free resource you -- and your congrergation -- can really sink your teeth into! It's a 72-page PDF report outlining the challenges facing the our world's environment today, how our Christian faith calls us to think about these challenges and how we can meet them. Meticulously researched and well written.  Click here for "Sharing God's Planet," from The Church of England. Episcopal Life. (PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.) (08/22/05)

Stewardship Bible study. This Bible study is designed for use on Stewardship Sunday, but of course you can use it anytime you deem appropriate. The study examines II Cor. 8 and 9, when the Apostle Paul is giving advice on giving and generosity. Click here for "Stewardship Bible study," from Pastor Edward Marquart's Sermons from Seattle. (08/15/05)

Generations of Generosity' Bible study. This study explores stewardship through several passages of scripture. Each segment of the study asks participants to examine the role of money in our lives, our faith, our congregations and our society. Click here for the Bible study. One of many resources available from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's 2005-2006 resources. Click here for previous years' offerings. (07/04/05)

20 Questions: How healthy are your money values? Here's a great tool congregations can use to help their members understand their financial stewardship. It's a friendly questionnaire to help families gauge how well they're balancing charitable giving, spending, saving and investing. Click here for the 20 Questions. From Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. (5/09/05)

Listen, God is Calling: Growing into Christ. This Bible study of texts from Ephesians and Matthew covers God's plan for the world and us, and how we can use our God-given talents and abilities to help fulfill it. Click Here for ''Listen God is Calling." Just one of many fine resources available at the stewardship page of Women of the ELCA. PDF file requires Adobe Reader -  click here for free download. (02/21/05)

GIVE: Living faith in daily life. Here's four-session small-group Bible study exploring generosity and giving in our culture. Sessions are entitled, "Giving Starts with Receiving," "Not Counting the cost," "The great struggle between greed and generosity," and "The spiritual power of generosity." Meaty, in-depth and challenging! From the ELCA and posted on the stewardship page of the New Jersey Synod. Click Here for the Bible study. (PDF file - requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.) (02/07/05)

Rediscovering God's Mission: A Challenge for 21st Century Christians. Here is a free study designed to help you and other members of your church to think anew about what the "mission of God" means to you. The study features two lessons. The first takes a look at the total context for mission today. The second explores the levels in which mission is carried forth. Each section concludes with a brief set of questions to consider as an individual or in a class. From Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat. Click here for your free copyof Acrobat.

Bible Study: Kingdom, mission and Money. Here is an insightful two-week study is to help us better understand what the Kingdom of God is, and how all Christians are called to the mission of seeing God's Kingdom come 'on earth as it is in heaven'. Includes participant and leader guides available for free PDF download. From Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader: Click here for a free download. (11/22/04)

The Bible and Money. Pastors, start your stewardship sermons! Generous Giving has a handy index of Bible stories and passages related to stewardship. For sermon illustrations, look up some fund-raisers in the Bible (such as Ezra and King Josiah) or generous givers, false givers, money advisors, etc.  From Generous Giving.(09/13/04)

8 Biblical stewardship Principles. Perfect for inspiration or reference alike, theologians from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod came up with a wonderful list of eight biblical principles for stewardship, available in a variety of languages (how many Lutherans read Portuguese?) and versions for presentation to different age groups. Uses a Q-and-A format similar to Luther's catechisms.  (8/16/04)

A theology of stewardship. Growing in stewardship involves four distinct phases, according to this study guide that provides a biblically based program for a classroom or workshop series. Can be done on its own or incorporated or adapted for your own stewardship drive. Good stuff from Joy Lutheran Church (ELCA), Gurnee, Ill. (08/30/04)

Widow's walk ... does Jesus idealize poverty? Stewards love Jesus' story of the "widow's mite" as the ideal illustration of sacrificial giving, here's a fresh wrinkle. " Our culture counsels us to became like the honored scribes, but Jesus counsels us to become like the dishonored widow. We are to model our lives on one we would normally overlook, being too busy admiring the lifestyles of the rich and famous." By Mary Anderson, pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Columbia, S.C., printed in The Christian Century.(6/7/04)

  Confirmation Emphasis: Environmental Stewardship. Here's a six-part program for confirmands to explore a complex issue that affects us all. "Given today’s serious environmental challenges, both locally and globally, it is appropriate to make stewardship of the environment a much higher priority than in the past. This is an excellent opportunity to talk with youth about situations that impact their lives on a daily basis." In the Lutheran Laity Movement Archives. (04/05/04)

Study guides, written for the SPECIAL ISSUE: What Good is my Giving? The entire May issue of The Lutheran magazine is devoted to stewardship and mission support because the ELCA, as all denominations, is facing a budget crunch. The articles cover a wide range of issues on mission support and stewardship. Every ELCA congregation will receive one magazine copy per family, but anybody can read the articles online.

Send Lazarus. A hard-hitting look at how Jesus' story of Lazarus and Dives applies to our own thinking about outreach to the poor. "Now, Luke's parable lacks the sort of data that people like  to have when deciding whether and how to help. It doesn't say, for example, if Lazarus was deserving or lazy,"drug-addicted, mentally ill, or a good Joe down on his luck. We don't know whether he cornered Dives with pathetic spiels every time he left the house, or whether he just lay there, annoyingly mute, day after day. All we know is that he was at the gate, sick and hungry. And that, Luke seems to say, is all we need to know to predict the reversal ahead. By J. Mary Luti in the Christian Century. (2/16/04)

Leaf Composting on the Prairie. "Solid waste disposal facilities are at a premium. It becomes clear than that these facilities cannot afford to accept materials that can be easily composted.  But that's not the only to consider composting leaves! Composted leaves are a valuable resource. It can be used to fertilize lawns and gardens, as an excellent mulching material, and can even be utilized as part of a potting soil mix."  By the Rev. Kathleen Kinney, in the Lutheran Laity Movement Archives. (4/26/04)

Bluebird Nesting Boxes: A Project for Youth and Adults. "This project, which also involves building bluebird nesting boxes, is designed for a two hour youth group session for children about nine to twelve years of age. The project opens with a call to worship that gathers the children into a community to focus on their response to God’s call to become caretakers of the world." By Richard Carter and Edward Ebersole, in the Lutheran Laity Movement Archives. (4/19/04)

8-Week Program: With God's Permission. Here's a complete resource for a congregation to begin using an asset-based approach to financial stewardship. "This simple program can help your congregation fund God’s mission in a fresh and exciting manner, providing enjoyment and energy to the task of asking for and receiving commitments for financial support from your congregation members." Available for free PDF download.  From the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries. (03/01/04)

Life-giving Breath of God: Protecting the Sacred Gift of Air. On April 25 or another dedicated Sunday, celebrate God’s gift of air with the 2004 Earth Day Sunday Resource, “Life-Giving Breath of God.” Resources from the National Council of Churches of Christ. Includes printable flyer and bulletin insert, as well as materials for worship, study, discussion, sermons and advocacy. (4/12/04)

Stewardship As A Lifestyle As the principle that underlies every aspect of our lives, Stewardship gives us coherence and priority. A paper and study guide by the Rev. H. George Anderson, former Presiding Bishop of the ELCA.

The Hows and Whys of Money Leadership. Wow! Here's a free, seven-part curriculum for leaders who want to plumb the depths of their congregation's financial soul. It covers attitudes about money, congregational finances, leadership, money and theology and other topics. A real gem for congregations that find themselves stuck and don't know how to get going. Developed cooperatively by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Alban Institute and Lilly Endowment, it was principally written by Mark Vincent, lead partner for Design for Ministry, a consulting firm in Wisconsin. (05/31/04)

Christian Service Workshop. From the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, a creative and thoughtful service to get your members thinking and acting. With handouts and other resources.

The Upward Call Attitudes for Christian living, the foundation of stewardship, explored in Philippians 3:12-14.

Tithing: Giving to the Church. What does the Bible reveal about giving? Plenty, but the answers are not easy. God challenges us in remarkable ways.

Baptism and Stewardship. Explore the privileges and responsibilities conveyed in our baptism by looking at Paul's letter to the Romans and the baptism rite of the Lutheran Book of Worship.

The Stewardship of Prayer. We learn from Jesus' example that prayer is an essential component for fulfilling our mission as stewards of God's creation.

Preparing Your Own Bible Study A step-by-step guide for creating and leading a Bible study in your church or home.

Servant and Steward. We are all called to be loyal servants of God, and therefore entrusted to manage wisely all of our master's secrets and possessions.

Zacchaeus, Patron Saint of Stewards. "Zacchaeus did not promise to read scripture more faithfully nor to attend the synagogue more regularly. ... This commitment was to re-order his financial priorities and his stewardship of material things. " by the Rev. Glenn Schoonover, from the Lutheran Laity Movement Archives.

Bible Passages on Stewardship. A list of some of the classic Bible references to stewardship, giving and related issues.