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Introduction : Generosity, Money, Giving.   This is one topic that congregations do not enjoy hearing about AND one of the topics that pastors do not like to preach or teach on.   This is an area that I personally struggle with.   But before you stop listening, let me share a secret about my feelings on this topic.   As a pastor, I am not a fan of the way giving, generosity, money has been taught in the church.   Much (not all) of the curriculum or teaching I have discovered focuses too much on guilt and shame to get results.   Today’s passage shows us how generosity is good news not bad news.   Give (Vs. 14-18) ·          Vs. 14-Good to share in my troubles o    The Greek word translated “share” emphasizes that participation. Same root word used in Philippians 1:7. The basic translation, “fellowship,” means a deep partnership of two going the same direction . [1] o    Paul had...

Here is a selection from Everyday Prayers by Scotty Smith: Heavenly Father, we come before you today challenged by this picture of radical grace. This one story alone underscores why we can never emphasize your grace too much. Grace is never to be counterbalanced with law, only multiplied with more grace. Indeed, through Jesus you continue to give us grace upon grace (John 1:16). What an amazing story—the severely afflicted and extremely poor Christians of Macedonia became a model of radical generosity to the much wealthier believers in Corinth. And according to you, their motivation wasn’t fear and guilt; it was multiplied grace. For you love cheerful giving, not reluctant giving compelled by pressure from without (2 Cor. 9:7).  Father, only your grace is powerful enough to give us abundant joy in the absence of affluence, coupled with hearts that beg to give sacrificially beyond our means for the benefit of strangers! The law cannot produce that kind of people—not even ...

Last week, I was reading Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges.  I came across a quote about the goodness of God that jumped off the page.  I hope it will reinforce the importance of not believing Satan's lies about God. "We should not forget that Satan's very first temptation of mankind was based on questioning the goodness and generosity of God (see Genesis 3:1-5). And his vicious attack on the patriarch Job was designed to cause Job to question God's goodness so that he would then curse God (see Job 1:6-11). Satan has not changed his strategy today. This perception of God as the reluctant giver comes right from Satan and must be resisted by us if we are to experience the fullness of God's grace."

Here is my final post on Gospel by J.D. Greear.  I recommend you picking up this book.  The following quotes are from the final chapters of the book. The more we taste the gospel, the more we love it. And the more we learn to love the things of God, the more time we'll spend doing those things, less by discipline and more by desire. We enter into a self-reproducing cycle of life. We are sowing to the Spirit, and from the Spirit reaping life everlasting. The gospel isn't about work, after all; it's about resting in God's work on your behalf. When we grasp how much God has given to us in grace, and we see how great the needs of the world are, we will want to work for God. gospel-centered people offer themselves to God, joyfully, and then do whatever He directs them to do, knowing that only what He empowers them to do will do any real good.  We simply carry out orders; He provides the resources. the only thing that brings true spiritual g...

I finished reading Gospel at the end of April. I highly recommend the book.  Here are more quotes on relationships, generosity, and mission: It's impossible to really experience the grace of the gospel and not be transformed into a person of kindness, generosity, and love. You destroy the evil in someone by showing them extravagant grace. You are confronting them for their sake, because you are saddened by what their sin is doing to them, and what it is doing to your relationship. We should give in grateful response to a God who gave everything for us. When we give to God primarily in order to get more from Him, we are not worshipping God; we are using Him. Gospel-centered giving, by contrast, is characterized by freedom. We give in joyful response to the grace of Christ because there is nothing we'd rather do with our money than glorify Him and see His kingdom come on the earth. a spirit of generosity is simply not something you can produce by establishing a sta...

Today, I am reminded of God's faithfulness, provision, and love. We leave today for vacation in Branson and I am looking forward to time away with family.  Before we left, I needed to run some errands which included purchasing a family pool pass to get the discount (you know I am always looking for a sale).  All of these things--Branson vacation and pool pass were reminders.  Why? Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we can stay at a home in Branson without cost. Because of the generosity of a family from our church, we have season passes to Silver Dollar City for free. Because of the generosity of an anonymous donor, our pool pass was purchased for us. I am thankful for each of these individuals/families for their generosity.  I thank God for them and their love for me and my family.  I am grateful to serve God with these families at Hesston MB. I have prayed blessing over them as they have understood, "it is more blessed ...

This past week, we received a generous gift from a church family.  If you have read my blog over the last four years, you know we have been trying to sell our house in Iola.  We finally closed on October 31, 2012.  We were so excited!  However, due to the down market, we ended up having to pay to sale our house.  I know it doesn't make sense and it really confuses our kids.  But it was our reality.  Only a handful of people knew that we had to take money to closing.  We went to the bank on the 31st and basically depleted our checking and savings accounts to close on the house.  There was just enough money to keep both accounts open.  We were thankful that we did not need to borrow money from anyone.  Then unexpectedly, we received a gift that left us speechless! It reminded me of a verse that has been important to me over these last four years.  Ephesians 3:20-21 says, 20  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably mo...

I have enjoyed Sunday School classes based on materials from Chip Ingram.  But Ingram has a great resource to teach us about generosity called  The Genius of Generosity. Our D6 Dads group will be going through it this year.  I finished the book (it is a quick read) on Thursday.  Here are a few quotes from the final chapter: "On the contrary, it's (sacrifice) a lifestyle.  It flows out of a heart of worship." "He knows our needs and wants to bless us.  That rubs off on us. We want to bless others as well." "Our material possessions are just the start.  Our sacrifice and worship get really serious when we start to offer our time, reputation, future, dreams, and everything else we cling to." "God is not a harsh killjoy; He is a kind and benevolent Father who always has our highest and best interests in mind.  If and when sacrifice is called for, it is always linked to God's intention to give us far better than we could ever imagine."...

As you know if you read my blog regularly, I am reading The Genius of Generosity by Chip Ingram.  This very short book is packed full of challenge and encouragement.  Here are a few quotes I read this week: "That's why the average Christian only gives about 2.5 percent of his or her income to the work of God's kingdom. Giving feels risky." "Generous people give proportionally to the way God has blessed them." "It's much better to drop our assumptions and expectations and ask God to lead us to the proportion that best reflects our heart and our income." "God always blesses those who are generous, but it isn't always a material blessing." "I firmly believe that the perception that stewardship and giving are guilt-laden responsibilities is depriving most Christians of one of the greatest joys of life." "In the big picture, generosity is not deprivation. It's a shrewd investment for today and tomorrow....

I received a free book at the MB Convention in Omaha.  This book is written by Chip Ingram and is called The Genius of Generosity. The MB Foundation provided the book and I can say that the first chapter has been an encouragement to me.  Here are some quotes to get you thinking: "I would learn then that generosity has little or nothing to do with how much money you have or how far along you perceive yourself to be on your spiritual journey.  In fact, I was shocked to learn that being generous has much more to do with being smart, shrewd, wise, and deliriously happy.  In a word, I discovered that generosity is genius!" "Money is the mirror of our hearts before God." "Our stewardship of His resources  isn't just an assignment. It's relational." "We get our greatest treasure by giving and sharing rather than hoarding and accumulating.  When we let go of the temporal and quit focusing on ourselves, and when we embrace instead the eternal ...

This is my fourth post from the LEAD ONE event sponsored by Mission USA. Jon Wiebe of the MB Foundation shared on the the topic of, "Maximizing Generosity in Tough Times: A Realignment of Faith and Fundraising." Here are my notes: Tough Times Giving Realities General Population <1% Roman Catholics 1.5% Mainline Denominations 2.8% Evangelicals 4% A Crisis Exists Few seminaries teaching on generosity Pastors avoid it Fundraisers at Christian Organizations are competing 4 Biblical Principles Urge those who sit as stewards of storehouses to open them rather than hoard them.          (Genesis 41:56-57) Invite those with a portfolio of assets to sell as asset. (Acts 4:34-37) Direct the church to send aid to those in need. (2 Corinthians 8-9) Ask everyone to give sacrificially. (1 Kings 17; Mark 12:41-44; 2 Corinthians 8:1-7) 4 Tools Evaluative Tool Organizational Tool (see 7 steps below) Discipleship Tool Individual Tool...

Last night was our Family Night when we fill Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  This is one of our best attended Family Nights.  We had about 120 people last night.  We had a great meal-thanks Rachel & Richelle & others who helped in the kitchen! After the meal, we sang a couple of songs from Seeds Family Worship.  We did my newest favorite, "More Than Conquerors" and then did "Light of the World" which involved some glow sticks.  Then each family read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and I briefly talked about generosity and how we are to give to others.  At this point, the kids are getting anxious.  We watched a brief video from Samaritan's Purse describing what Operation Christmas Child is and where the boxes go and then it was GO time.  Each family enjoyed making cards for their child, filling it with toys, candy, art supplies, and hygiene items, and then praying for each box.  We finished 77 boxes thanks to the generosity of many people....

I finished reading "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn today. There is a lot of great stuff in this book about giving and generosity. I wanted to share a few that challenged me and hopefully will challenge and bless you. "Tithing isn't the ceiling of giving; it's the floor. It's not the finish line of giving; it's just the starting blocks. Tithes can be the training wheels to launch us into the mind-set, skills, and habits of grace giving." "Ironically, many people can't afford to give precisely because they're not giving." "giving is a skill. With practice, we get better at it. We can learn to give more, give more often, and give more strategically." "What does it mean to give beyond our ability? It means pushing our giving past the point where the figures add up. It means giving when the bottom line says we can't." "The more you give, the more comes back to you, because God is the greatest ...