This week's "Reflection" by Jeff Taylor, Pastor of Teaching & Worship
Religious routine, though often noble and well-intentioned, can so easily become mindless. It is these mindless routines that rob us of the lessons that scripture has for us and the new and exciting things that God wants to work in and through our lives.
Being randomly generous is always something that we need to be ready for, but what about being intentionally generous, or as we seek God, being open to be directionally generous to the things and people that God leads us to?
This series has been good for me as it has made me more aware of the need in my life to seek God for opportunities to be generous, rather than just leaving it up to my own awareness. Being open to God to direct my generosity may mean that at some point I will be called to give beyond my comfort zone. It may mean that I am called to give in areas that my heart may be a bit calloused and I don't "feel" like being generous. But as I am called to first give myself to God as a living sacrifice, it means that ultimately I am committing all of who I am and what I have for His good will. That is the place I want to be more than anything else.
Will you join me in continuing to pray for open hearts, a generous spirit, and a mighty move of God that would be defined by generosity through His people?
Growing up in church, I am pretty fluent in the "language of the church." I can use words like atonement, justification, and salvation in a sentence, and even define them for you. But over the years I have also learned some "practices of the church" that I didn't necessarily know the origin or purpose of. I simply did them because the amazing Christian men and women around me were passionately engaged in these practices.
This weekend we are going to wrap up our "Defined by Generosity" series by taking a look at a practice begun by God's chosen people in the Old Testament, and see what place it has in our offering to God today.
See ya Sunday,
Jeff
This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Executive & Teaching Pastor
LOL Giving2 Corinthians 9:1-15
In our third week of talking about being “Defined by Generosity,” the topic of becoming a hilarious giver was discussed. There is no doubt that many people have bad experiences when it comes to the church teaching about giving. Much of this teaching focuses on giving in order to get from God, or making giving a duty based upon the tithe (which, if you really study the Old Testament, results in giving in the 30% range).
Is it possible for followers of Jesus to become hilarious givers despite the many messages of giving as a duty or being guilted into it? I think so, but it will take a willingness to forgive and forget the past experiences and focus on what the Bible teaches about giving.
In our desire to become LOL (Laughing Out Loud) givers there are other obstacles. For example, one obstacle focuses on whether we really believe the truth expressed in 2 Corinthians 9:8. There is a promise in that verse, but do we really believe that promise? Can we trust God with our money? Can we trust Him with this promise? God desires that we become hilarious givers who believe in His generosity with us. What do you think? Is it possible to become an LOL giver today? What are your challenges in giving? How have you seen God respond to the promise in 2 Corinthians 9:8? Let’s talk because this idea of giving is a big one with God, even though it is a sensitive issue in the church today.
LOL Giving
2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Laughing is good for what ails us. We all need a good laugh once in a while. In fact laughing is good for our health. I think about those times that something really strikes me as funny and I just start laughing. And then this laughing becomes uncontrollable and my stomach starts hurting and my eyes start watering and it just feels so very good. And when the laughing episode is over I feel better. Can you relate?
As we continue our series on being “Defined by Generosity,” this week we will look at our giving. Now I realize this can be a touchy subject for many, but the Bible says some pretty interesting things about how we should give. Many of you are probably familiar with the verse that says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” Our passage this week covers that verse and it got me thinking: When I give do I give with the same emotions and feelings I have as I do when I’m laughing uncontrollably? Do I feel as good after I’ve given as I do when I stop laughing? Is it possible to be a “cheerful” giver when I really want to hold onto my stuff?
These are some of the questions we’ll look at this week as learn about being a LOL Giver. See you Sunday!
Gary Keith
If I could think of one word to describe what destroys any contentment that I strive for in my life, it would be this: Ebay. As soon as I feel that I am content with what I have, Ebay is there to tell me of all the better or different stuff that I have yet to accumulate!
Contentment should be our constant pursuit, a pursuit that leads through a relationship with Christ. But all too often the pursuit is one of accumulation; a pursuit of happiness through getting all we can. But what affect does discontent have on our ability to give? What kind of link is there between contentment and generosity? This weekend we are going to explore that link, and see what Jesus has to say about contentment and
giving living.
See ya Sunday,
Jeff
This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Executive & Teaching Pastor
Whose Stuff Is It?
Psalm 24:1
This weekend as we started our new series titled “Defined by Generosity,” I asked the question, whose stuff is it? The answer is found in Psalm 24. It’s God’s stuff; He is the owner and we are the managers of His stuff. The Biblical truth is that we don’t really own anything – God owns it all.
Now this sounds all well and good and it is based on the Bible, but what does this really mean? After all, I do have the pink slip for my car telling everybody that I own my car. The pink slip doesn’t have God’s name on it, so what does it mean to say that God is the owner of everything?
I think the short answer is found in how we look at our stuff – how we use it, whether it controls us or we control it, whether we use our stuff to advance the kingdom of God, and whether we share our stuff with others or hoard it for ourselves. I think that maintaining a mindset that we are simply the managers and not the owner (which is Biblical) will help guide us in the use and care of all that we think we own.
What do you think? I’d love to hear from you.
Whose stuff is it?
The lines were long and the tickets were going fast on Tuesday night as people came to buy that all-important “winning” lottery ticket. You have to admit winning $355 million sounds pretty good, right? I sure could do a lot of good with $355 million. If I had that kind of money I could definitely be a generous person. Yes I could...but would I?
This week we start a four-week series about becoming generous people. The current economic climate has caused everyone to become more aware of their resources (or lack of them). And the tendency is to hold on to all you can. But even in this climate as followers of Jesus we are called to be generous with all that God has blessed us with (even if we never win the lottery). Someone once told me, “I can write the story of your spiritual life by looking at your checkbook.” There is no doubt that one of the measures of our spiritual maturity is the way we handle money and our stuff.
So the obvious question becomes, how should followers of Jesus handle their money and their stuff? That is what we want to talk about for the next four weeks. This week we’re going to start by asking, “Whose stuff is it?” I look forward to seeing you on Sunday! God Bless.
Gary Keith
