Guests at God's Party
The Greatest Month of Generosity • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsTheme: God is a Generous Giver. Purpose: To live life in constant thanks for God's abundance. Gospel: The Gospel is God's lavishing eternal life on us. Mission: Grow in Trust that God is Good.
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As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.
Introduction: Are you a generous person? What qualifies someone as a generous person? Is it a billionaire philanthropist who gives millions to charity? Or someone contributing time to working at a soup kitchen? Do generous people look at the world differently? One article says, “Generosity makes our world a better place. It improves the life of the receiver. And it improves the life of the giver. Yet, despite the benefits, generosity is still too rare in our world today” (Joshua Becker, “9 Ways Generous People See the World Differently,” Becoming Minimalist, https://www.becomingminimalist.com/more-generosity/).
People Fear Scarcity.
People Fear Scarcity.
Why do countries go to war?
Often for scarce resources - Oil, Water, The concern of Global Warming leading to water shortages leading to more wars.
www.seametrics.com/blog/water-shortage-consequences
I know friends who have a lot of money, their goal in life was to have a lot of money, because they knew what it was like to grow up poor.
Think about how the events of this past week are also about Scarcity (Disparity and faireness) - George Floyd Trials.
God is a Generous Giver.
God is a Generous Giver.
Bible Project Video
How has God been generous? Time of sharing.
When defining generosity, we have to look to the character of God. Throughout Scripture we see that God gives generously, which is ultimately expressed in the gifts of salvation through Jesus. Even from the beginning of creation, God is generous, “With the full implications of Genesis 1 in mind, theologians identify the generous character of God’s creation in at least two ways. First, creation is exnihilo, literally ‘out of nothing.’ Nothing had to exist. Put positively, everything thatexists is and only is as a result of God’s supererogatory, generous act of creation. Second, theologians speak of creatio continuo, the doctrine of continuing creation. Here, they have in mind God’s ongoing attention to and engagement with the created order. The Lord not only created but also renews and sustains, day by day and minute by minute, everything in the cosmos”
(Douglas V. Henry, “Generosity of Spirit,” Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith & Ethics, Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University, 2015,
https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/253573.pdf).
Generosity Multiplies Gratitude.
Generosity Multiplies Gratitude.
The idea of compound interest.
What is the purpose of an apple?
God’s abundance economy is about multiplication.
He wants to multiply through you.
What if you only lived off the generosity of strangers? Leon Logothetis left his stable job, traveled the world, and lived off of the generosity of others. He describes his experience in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gv6R88Z6Vk.
“Generosity is the overflow of a humble heart—an attitude, not a one-size-fits-all act. If it were only about money, many of us would be disqualified from exercising it. But since God has called all his people to generosity of spirit, there’s more to it than meets the eye” (Kristen Wetherell, “4 Creative Ways to Be Generous,” The Gospel Coalition, December 28, 2017, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/4-creative-ways-to-be-generous/).
Conclusion: Generosity is a virtue that comes from the character of God. Throughout Scripture, God gives generously and calls his people to do the same in all areas of life: our time, talents, service, love, and money.
Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 6, 64, 86, 91,94,
Belgic Confession: Article 1, 12, 14, 20, 24 Canons of Dort: Head II: Article 2