Q. Does the church have anything for me? It seems it always wants something from me.
A. We definitely want something for you! We plan to put others before ourselves and give our time, talents, and money for others.
Core values make clear the reason the church does what it does. They drive the church to accomplish its mission. We want our values to align with the Bible so that what we do honors God and leads us to accomplish the mission that He has called us to.
The value that we are highlighting today is Being Generous. Don’t you just love generous people? When you go out to eat you know who is picking up the bill. When that family comes to eat at your table you know they are going to leave a generous tip. When a birthday or holiday comes around you know they are going to buy the best and biggest present. Maybe you see generosity play out in someone giving their time to be with you or be there in a time of need. Maybe you see generosity when someone teaches you a new skill or shows up to practically help you out in some way.
Generosity shows up in many forms. But one thing is certain, and that is it is “more blessed to give than to receive.” These words are well known. We feel it. We experience it. There is just something “blessed” that happens when we give.
The phrase, “it is more blessed to give than receive” comes from an interesting place in the Bible. The words are found in Acts 20:35. Luke, the author of Acts, writes that this phrase is something Paul said to the elders of Ephesus before he sailed off to Jerusalem. Paul, in his farewell speech to these friends says that this quote is something Jesus said. It’s interesting that the gospels do not record Jesus saying this quote.
But Jesus is recorded as saying “Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.” (Matthew 5:42 NLT). God also knows that is better to give than to receive because God is the best giver. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). He gave his one and only Son to sacrifice His life (John 3:16). And God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 2:7).
If it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. What do we have to give? We have our time, our talents, and our money (or some say treasures). Everything comes from God and we should use what we’ve been given for His honor and glory.
The apostle Paul writes that we should plan to put others before ourselves. He writes, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4 NLT).” We do this by planning to give to others. We just don’t happen to fall into these habits. We want to plan to be generous and put others before ourselves. Do you have a generosity plan?
Being Generous. Acts 20:35
We plan to put others before ourselves and give our time, talents, and money for others.