Raising the bar on generosity
November 18, 2008
honestly, i had an entirely different sermon planned for this past sunday. as i was going over it late saturday afternoon, i felt compelled to change it. we call that preacher prerogative. maybe it was the holy spirit prompting me to change. maybe it was just my uneasiness. maybe it was just conviction.
i had planned to preach some final words on money and giving, but i didn’t want to. don’t get me wrong. i don’t have a problem in the world with preaching and teaching about money. stewardship of resources is one of the most important parts of discipleship…maybe the single most complicated part of following christ in the 21st century western culture.
in the end, i guess i still did preach a lesson on giving. just not the one i had planned. i preached one that was more important.
figuring out how to be faithful followers of the simple king in the midst of a narcissistic society pushes the best of us. greed, opulence, comfort, self-centerdness, and the pull of unmet want can be overwhelming. but in the midst of it all, we have the call to faith.
not just any faith. but faith in the one who took five loaves and two fish and fed multitudes. faith in the one who took something small and multiplied it.
here’s the lesson to remember: when we follow the savior, giving never depletes our resources. it replenishes them. simple as that.
This is a site to talk about the sermon from this past week...a place to ask questions, to give opinions, to disagree, to encourage, to dig deeper, to seek truth, to offer criticism, to affirm trust, and to build commitment.
I'm up for it. Are you?
November 18, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I know for me personally even though I love giving – of my time, my stuff and money….it sometimes does feel depleting. At those moments I find that I’m focusing too much on the PHYSICAL aspect of something and not the spiritual aspect of it.
The replenishment comes in working for God not the approval of men.
People are going to forget to say “thank you”.
People are more likely to take more than they give.
People are more likely to offer more excuses than just DOING what needs to be done. They are more comfortable with the “could-have”, “should-have” and “would have” that I AM.
People are more likely to create more problems than they are willing to work to provide the answers/solutions to.
People are by sin-filled natures narcissistic and think more of themselves than others.
It is only by draining oneself of self (or as Paul said “I die daily) do we even come close to be ready for God to fill us up daily with the gifts He so freely gives us and that we freely receive.
I know for me it is a struggle to OFFER the loaves and fish of my life and not ALSO do the calculating of Philip in the background. =)