11/6 SERMON: THE CHALLENGE OF GENEROSITY

Friends,

Below are the scriptures that I preached through in yesterdays message as well as some thought questions to use in your group if you'd like to go deeper into the message. Have a great week and keep up the great work. God is using you in peoples lives. Sometimes you see the change immediately, and other times the seeds that you plant won't bear fruit for years to come, but please know that lives are being changed through your generosity and service!

THE CHALLENGE OF GENEROSITY

³⁵ Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35 – NIV)

• Kevin opened by asking us the question, do we want to experience the "more blessed" life that God promises? He went on to say that this type of life is only found by having a life marked by generosity. It is found in a life of giving as well as receiving. 
• What do you think about the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35? 
• How have you seen the reality that it is MORE blessed to give then to receive play out in your life?

3 Areas Of Generosity For Every Follower Of Christ 

1) God calls us to be generous with our TIME!

³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

 ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

   ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:30-37 – NIV)

 

• Rick Warren (Pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California) said that there are three things we can do with our time:
• We can waste our time.
• What are some ways that you tend to waste your time?
• We can spend our time.
• What are some ways that you spend your time
• We can invest our time in the lives of other people. 
• What are some ways that you invest your time in the lives of others?
• Jesus' desire for our lives is that we would see people as worthy of having us invest our time in them.
• PRAYER: If you have a hard time investing your time in other people, begin each morning with this prayer: God, please show me the best use of my time today.

2) God calls us to be generous with our TALENT!

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10 – NIV)

• Each of us is uniquely designed by God with gifts, passions, abilities, and talents that He wants us to generously use for the sake of His Kingdom.  
• What are some of your gifts, passions, abilities, and talents?
• How are/can you use these to bless others?

3) God calls us to be generous with our TREASURE (money)!

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  ²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:19-24 - NIV)

• What does it practially look like to store up treasure in Heaven?
• Why does Jesus say that we can't serve both God and money? What does it mean to serve money rather than serving God? 

WHAT DOES GENEROSITY WITH OUR TREASURE LOOK LIKE?

²³ “Woe to you,(watch out and make sure that you don’t do this) teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. (Matthew 23:23 - NIV)

• In Matthew 23:23 Jesus says that we should tithe (give the first 10% of any money that we make back to God through the ministry where we see God moving in people's (including our own) lives.
• Kevin said that Biblical generosity is not tithing, but that it is simply what God calls His followers to do if they want to experience His blessing in their lives.  
• Is that how you read the New Testament teaching on giving? Why/why not (based on the Bible)

• Kevin said that if we want to see God's blessing in an area of our lives, then we need to follow His directives in that area. How have you seen this play out in areas of your own life?

 Financial generosity:

• If the tithe is not Biblical generosity, then what is? Biblical generosity is going above and beyond what is required of us in terms of our financial giving.  It is the above and beyond giving to the things closest to God's heart. 

Closing discussion: 

• What challenged you most in Sunday's sermon? 
• What questions came up for you in the context of generosity (in any of the three areas)?
• Are there things that you're going to put into practice based on what you heard on Sunday?