Most pastors admit that they are hesitant to preach on money. I understand their reluctance because I once shared it. However, I learned that my fears were not validnothing terrible happened because of my stewardship sermons. In fact, the results were just the opposite of what I expected.

Here are some reasons why I honestly love to preach on money:

1. Because I Love Knowing God Is Pleased With Me When I Do. According to Acts 20:20 and 27, faithful pastors will not shrink back from preaching anything that is profitable for their people. When I preach on money, I am refusing to be intimidated into shrinking from my duty. That makes God happy with me and I like feeling His pleasure.

2. Because I Love Teaching the Major Themes in God's Word and Money Is One of Them. I love preaching the great themes of the Bible such as sin, grace, justification, God's love, and redemption. Great themes have great power and are a delight to proclaim. Financial stewardship is one of those great themes.

You've heard the statistics. The Bible has over 2,000 references to money and the management of money. The book of Proverbs alone is filled with them. Jesus talked more about money than about any other subject, including heaven and hell. Of Jesus' thirteen parables, sixteen deal with money. One out of every ten verses in the gospels has to do with money or possessions, a total of 288 verses.

If God thought it important to devote so much of His word to the subject of money, I want to devote some of my time to preaching it. When I do, I find it extremely satisfying.

3. Because I Love Teaching on Subjects That Fascinate People. Sermons with immediate, practical life applications are fun to preach because you know people have a felt need for them. When I preached through Romans, it was hard to focus people's attention on the imputation of Adam's sin in chapter 5. None of them were lying awake at night wondering, "When is Rod ever going to preach on the doctrine of imputation?" However, it's easy to keep your audience's attention when preaching on money, because everyone is interested in it! Most lay people tell me they wish their pastor would preach more sermons about biblical money management and giving!

4. Because I Love to See My Preaching Transform Lives in a Huge Way. I've never been satisfied to preach a sermon for its own sake. I want to see it make a difference in my people's lives. I can't think of any other biblical theme that does this so quickly. Every year I saw people's lives transformed overnight by my stewardship preaching. Moms came home to raise their kids, couples quit fighting over money, people cut up their credit cards, and tippers were transformed into tithersoften after just one sermon. Ministry just doesn't get any better than that.

5. Because I Love the Satisfying Feeling of Tackling a Tough Subject Head on for the Good of My People. Truthfully, most of our anxieties about preaching on giving never materialize. But the first few times you do it with butterflies in your stomach, you go home Sunday afternoon knowing you did a courageous and noble thing for your dear flock. I love that feeling.

6. Because I Love Talking to People Who Can't Thank Me Enough for Preaching About Money. During the fifteen years I was a senior pastor, I received more gratitude for preaching about money, than for any other subject. When God used my stewardship sermons to get people out of debt, reduce marital conflict, and bring them into financial blessing, they couldn't thank me enough. I confess, I like being thanked.

7. Because I Love to Have Fun. Some of the most fun preaching experiences I shared with my people were in sermons on biblical giving. It's not hard to find plenty of things to laugh about when talking about money. And it helps disarm the defensive: "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."

Pastor, don't miss out on the fun. Schedule a stewardship series. Go into the pulpit with a positive attitude and lots of humor. Watch God work.

And have a great time!