Sermon Tone Analysis
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So here’s the backstory...
Elijah - Yaweh is my God
Tishbite, from across the Jordan
Never experienced natural death
Trusted God enough to confront Ahab
In today’s text, was being prepared for something big
Never experienced natural death
Never experienced natural death
Ahab -
King of Israel, but not Judah (the kingdom was divided)
Married Phoenician (gentile) princess Jezebel
Built temple for Baal - god of storms and fertility.
Worshipping him meant child sacrifice and temple prostitution for men and women.
This was vile!
Elijah has warned Ahab that his idolatry will cause rain to be withheld from Israel.
“You’re going to worship the ‘storm-god’?
I will reveal Myself as having power over the rains!”
God’s plan is in motion, Elijah is sent to have his faith grown.
And God is growing his faith through a simple cycle: word of the Lord (rhema/hray’mah), obedience (action), affirmation (fulfillment).
For Elijah, widow, even the ravens!
He still does this today!
Exhortation, comfort, presence, scripture
God’s Provision is Generous
Nothing wasted.
But generous.
chalkboard, niagra falls, guy in a barrel
v.4 I will provide!
The brook for water and ravens will bring food.
God’s provision was generous in that He sent bread and meat twice a day, with a constant supply of water.
A generous supply of food made for a generous supply of faith in Elijah.
Ravens - not the most likely choice for God to send to Elijah
unclean
scavengers
would have no natural desire to be around humans
It took faith to accept and eat what the ravens brought
When the brook dried up (drought) it was time for more generous faith building:
Go to Zarephath - between Tyre and Sidon.
Into gentile land.
Homeland of Jezebel.
Heart of Baalism.
The region was in the grips of the drought.
Worshippers of Baal believed when the rains didnt come, he was dead.
When the rains did come, he lived (again).
A widow will feed you - when the widow was revealed, Elijah realized she has almost nothing with which to minister to him.
Of course!
Ravens.
Ill equipped foreign widow.
All building faith!
He tells her ‘God has promised’, which confessed: I believe Him!
So the flour was never exhausted and the oil never dried up.
Has God been generous to me?
The widow could have eaten that first small cake.
Just to make sure.
Open hands/closed hands
Personal generosity - If I find myself being stingy, I will find myself being miserable.
Maybe only in one area of my life, but it is a truth.
Corporate generosity
God’s Promises are True
By going, the widow proved she believed the words Elijah spoke.
Our obedience is crucial to God’s working in our lives.
“do not fear, first make me a little, then for you and your son”
God’s word, combined with the widow’s obedience, ensured the fulfillment of the promise!
How did God treat Elijah as He was preparing him for something big?
Chances to grow faith
Clear instruction
Generosity
God’s Plan Unfolds Before Us
The more obedient steps Elijah took, the more clarity he had
As God faithfully leads us, we will see His work around us
When we see what He is doing, we will see that we are right in the middle of it!
This time of year… OCC, food boxes in your church family.
Reconnecting with loved ones in your own family.
And right now, conversations of special thankfulness.
How can I thank God for all He has blessed my life with?
Be Generous.
Time, Resources, Affection (How?)
Understanding that generosity doesnt have to come out of excess.
Jesus praised the ones who gave all, He rebuked those who hoarded what they had.
(barns, food, money)
You cant out-give God.
Article | OPEN
A neural link between generosity and happiness
Soyoung Q. Park, Thorsten Kahnt, Azade Dogan, Sabrina Strang, Ernst Fehr & Philippe N. ToblerNature Communications 8, Article number: 15964 (2017)doi:10.1038/ncomms15964Download
CitationCooperationHuman behaviourReceived:21 October 2016Accepted:12 May 2017Published online:11 July 2017
Abstract
Generous behaviour is known to increase happiness, which could thereby motivate generosity.
In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging and a public pledge for future generosity to investigate the brain mechanisms that link generous behaviour with increases in happiness.
Participants promised to spend money over the next 4 weeks either on others (experimental group) or on themselves (control group).
Here, we report that, compared to controls, participants in the experimental group make more generous choices in an independent decision-making task and show stronger increases in self-reported happiness.
Generous decisions engage the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the experimental more than in the control group and differentially modulate the connectivity between TPJ and ventral striatum.
Importantly, striatal activity during generous decisions is directly related to changes in happiness.
These results demonstrate that top–down control of striatal activity plays a fundamental role in linking commitment-induced generosity with happiness.
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