Core Value: Joyful Generosity
We have been blessed in every way, so that we can be generous in every way to advance the Gospel. We joyfully give our time, compassion, talents and money.
- God is extremely generous. Our generosity is a response to His generosity to us. When we are generous then we reflect Him. He is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children.
James 1:17
Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change.
Psalm 103:1-5
With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God!
Yahweh, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me?
You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease.
You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy.
You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!
John 3:15
For here is the way God loved the world – He gave His only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you have experienced the extravagant grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although He was infinitely rich, He impoverished Himself for our sake, so that by His poverty, we become rich beyond measure.
Matthew 7:7-11
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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 good gifts to those who ask Him!
Matthew 20:28
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- God has given us everything we have; our time, talents, provisions and our lives.
Psalm 139:13
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
- We can give our time, compassion, talents and money away to others.
- We give joyfully!
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Here’s my point. A stingy sower will reap a meagre harvest, but the one who sows from a generous spirit will reap an abundant harvest. Let giving flow from your heart, not from a sense of religious duty. Let it spring up freely from the joy of giving – all because God loves hilarious generosity! Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything – every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do. Just as the Scriptures say about the one who trusts in Him:
Because he has sown extravagantly and given to the poor, his kindness and generous deeds will never be forgotten.
This generous God who supplies seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First He supplies every need, plus more. Then He multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow. You will be abundantly enriched in every way as you give generously on every occasion, for when we take your gifts to those in need, it causes many to give thanks to God.
- When we are generous it challenges our poverty mindset and breaks the mindset that there isn’t enough. When we are generous it grows our confidence that God can supply all our needs.
- Generosity is an expression of our trust in God’s provision.
- It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Acts 20:35
“I’ve left you an example of how you should serve and take care of those who are weak. For we must always cherish the words of our Lord Jesus, who taught, ‘Giving brings a far greater blessing than receiving.'”
- Generosity releases joy, blessing and favour into our lives.
Luke 6:38
“Give generously and generous gifts will be given back to you, shaken down to make room for more. Abundant gifts will pour out upon you with such an overflowing measure that it will run over the top! The measurement of your generosity becomes the measurement of your return.”
- You don’t have to have a lot to be generous. Everybody has something to give.
Mark 12:41-44
Then He sat down near the offering box, watching all the people dropping in their coins. Many of the rich would put in very large sums, but a destitute widow walked up and dropped in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. Jesus called His disciples to gather around and then said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on, which was everything she had.”
Acts 3:1-8
One afternoon Peter and John went to the temple for three o’clock prayer. As they came to the entrance called the Beautiful Gate, they were captured by the sight of a man crippled from birth being carried and placed at the entrance to the temple. He was often brought there to beg for money from those going in to worship. When he noticed Peter and John going into the temple, he begged them for money.
Peter and John, looking straight into the eyes of the crippled man, said, “Look at us!” Expecting a gift, he readily gave them his attention. Then Peter said, “I don’t have money, but I’ll give you this – by the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”
Peter held out his right hand to the crippled man. As he pulled the man to his feet, suddenly power surged into his crippled feet and ankles. The man jumped up, stood there for a moment stunned, and then began to walk around! As he went into the temple courts with Peter and John, he leapt for joy and shouted praises to God.
- We can give out of abundance and convenience AND we can give out of lack. When we give out of lack it is a sacrifice and God notices when our giving is costly to us.
1 Kings 17:10-16
So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”
But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”
But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
- God receives our generosity as a gift to Himself.
Acts 10:3-4
One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!”
Do not misunderstand
- Money is not evil but the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Money is a tool and in human hands it can be a blessing or a curse. It should never be our master, but it is a powerful servant.
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
- The motivation for our giving is more important than what we give. We don’t give out of a sense of guilt or manipulation, nor to impress or control God or people.
2 Corinthians 7:7
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
- We follow Holy Spirit’s lead while learning generosity.
- Our generosity should not be at the expense of others. Being generous while not repaying debt or paying bills is not true generosity, as we are giving money promised to another.
Mark 12:17
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.
- Generosity is often expressed in secret, but it doesn’t have to be in order to bring glory to God.
- Generosity is a form of honour that we can extend to both the poor and the wealthy.