Joy in Giving

Follow Along with the Message

As Americans, we live in a nation that was founded on three ideals: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And yet, we are one of the unhappiest nations in the world. And “the good life” we’re all searching for is often found in the places we least expect. Which is why Jesus regularly made bold claims that turn our vision of the good life on its head.

Matthew 20:16 (NIV)- “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Matthew 23:12 (NIV)- For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Luke 6:28 (NIV)- bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Acts 20:35 (NIV)- In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Matthew 6:19–20 (NIV)- “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Matthew 6:21 (NIV)- For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:22–23 (NIV)- “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 mindset:
If you have an abundance mindset, you look out at the world and you see a world of abundance. You see God as your father and provider; yourself as his child; and all of life as a gift.

 mindset:
But if you have a scarcity mindset, you look out at the world and you see a world of lack.

How do you see the world?

Matthew 6:24 (NIV)- “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

1. Jesus is teaching his apprentices about how to  God and our life in God’s world.

A biblical theology of generosity does not start with tithing or even with Jesus’ command to “be generous to the poor.”

• It starts, before time and space, with who God is.
• Generosity is grounded in the triune nature of God.
• Generosity is woven through the library of Scripture.

Genesis 1:29 (NIV)- Then God said, “I give you every seed- bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Generosity is at the heart of the Gospel itself!

John 3:16 (NIV)- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)- For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Luke 11:13 (NIV)- If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

2. Jesus is teaching his apprentices about the  of our hearts.

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life.”- Billy Graham

3. Jesus is teaching his apprentices about the  of generosity.