Messages

It doesn’t matter what we are committing to, it is tempting to walk away. We often commit to something with excitement and joy, but over time that excitement wanes and only the commitment remains. The people in Corinth were once excited about joining in the generosity initiative that Paul was inviting them into, but it seems as if that excitement waned and they needed a little prodding. Today is the day we make a commitment. The question is what do we need to do to keep it?

When we invest in the kingdom of God, it has eternal ramifications. We are thankful for those who invested before us, and others will be thankful for our generosity. We give to God because he first gave to us and we overflow in thanksgiving!

Like a tip that is mandatory, a tax that is required, or a gift that is obligatory, compelled giving doesn’t honor the recipient. This is why God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful giving moves God to act. He promises that he will supply and increase our righteousness. He will enrich us, not so that we will have more, but so we can be even more generous!

Generosity in the church is a shared sacrifice. While not all people can or should give the same amount, we should all give with the same sacrifice. We are called to give according to our means. And our giving will be accepted, according to what we have. In other words, God doesn’t just look at what is given, he also looks at what is left. So, has your giving grown with your means?

Generosity isn’t something we have to do, it is something we get to do. Our generosity is an outward reflection of our devotion to God. It reveals the sincerity of our love for God and others. And our sacrificial giving is a reflection of the sacrificial love of Jesus who went from rich to poor for us!

When it comes to surrendering ourselves to Jesus, often the last part of our lives that we surrender is our money. Jesus expects that as Lord of our lives, he is Lord of all. Yet for many, we live as practical atheists, saying we believe in a Gracious God who will supply all our needs, but we live as if God doesn’t exist. As if the only way to have all our needs met is to disobey what the God we believe in commands us to do.

And for those who have grown in their discipleship and do give, they believe that giving at all is giving enough. Whether it is an amount or a percentage, there is a line to reach and once it is crossed we can check the box forever.

But Paul teaches us that just as we are called to grow in our faith, speech, knowledge, earnestness, and love... we are to keep growing in our generosity.

Even after Jesus had a full day of ministry, the first thing he would do is retreat to a place by himself to commune with the Father. Why did He do this? What benefit would it be for us to do the same? Silence, solitude, praying, and listening to God were intensional essential times for Jesus and His ministry. Therefore we should consider what that should look like for us in our modern time where constant noise competes for our attention.

Special guest Jay Greer from Mustard Seed Network (a church planting ministry in Japan) brings us a message about the importance of spending intentional time praying in humble reverence to our Creator. It's a spiritual discipline that we often feel we are great at, but when we take a closer look at what the Bible says about prayer in our lives, it might be a blind spot we are neglecting.

We live in a culture that values productivity and as a result, many of us are constantly on the move. From our 9-5 to our side hustle, sports tournaments, and hobbies, we have become accustomed to this relentless pursuit of "Busy". But what if there was a practice from the Way of Jesus that directly contradicted the anxious and marginless lives most of us live? As we dive into the spiritual practice of Sabbath, we see that scripture teaches us that Sabbath is more than just a day off... It is the biblical rhythm that God wrote into the DNA of humanity from the very beginning of time.

Being fully transparent with people is one of the hardest things to do. However, we see in James chapter 5 the importance of being a part of a community that has confession. When we live out this spiritual discipline of community with confession we find healing and freedom. Community with confession can produce change and help us become better disciples of Jesus.