“Generous.” Would that word describe your church?
“Generous.” Would that word describe you?
Christians are called to be a generous people, for God has been exceedingly generous to us.
As Paul begins this section on generosity he talks about the Macedonian churches in glowing terms. Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ poured out into their lives they were able to be filled with joy. They were able to give generously, abundantly, even though they were suffering and hard pressed. The Macedonian churches gave above and beyond their ability because they had been overwhelmed by the Lord’s generosity to themselves.
The churches that Paul is talking about understood the concept of vs 8 very clearly.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
Jesus left the richness and the riches of heaven and became poor for us in our world. He gave us everything, even His own life, so that we might become rich. Jesus gave His all so that we can be heirs together with Christ.
Our Congregation is reaching out to more and more people. More families are joining us. Together with this there is a pressing need, a growing need for greater pastoral care. Your church needs you to be generous, to excel in this grace of giving so that others can be released from the need to work to allow them to serve full time in ministry. As these people take on certain positions everyone benefits. The church benefits as we mature and grow and expand. The Kingdom of God benefits as we have more resources to put into evangelism, outreach and care and nurture and discipleship. The community around us benefits as we can help and support the needy more and more.
It is my prayer that this church, and indeed all churches in this land, be known in the world as generous churches. It’s my prayer that you and I are generous - as generous as the Lord has been to us.
Prayer:-
- Ask God to bring a spirit of generosity throughout the churches in this land. Pray for those churches that are struggling financially. Pray for those who have an abundance of untapped wealth. Ask God to release these funds for ministry.
- Pray for the churches in country regions in Australia and for the pastors PIM patrols who minister there. Funds are extremely tight as is the man power to take on ministry projects, outreach events etc. Ask the Lord to send in funds and people to reap the harvest. Ask God to provide more and more PIM patrols and pastors to these areas.
Do It Today
Work out your weekly offering and add 15-20% more. Visit your local bank and organise for that amount to be deducted regularly through direct debit.
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