Connect to Us: Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
This Week’s Connection Topic: Giving
I will give 10% of my financial resources for the growth of God’s kingdom . Malachi 3:24, Luke 3:12-14.
Purpose: To encourage us to give extravagantly
Human need: Giving helps us become what God wants us to be.
In today’s text, Paul is encouraging Corinthians to be generous. Paul quotes the example of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 as a means of encouraging the Corinthians to practice generosity. At the same time, he is encouraging the Macedonians to practice generosity by quoting the Corinthians. It seems as though Paul was trying to capitalize upon the competitive giving spirit among the churches. So what was Paul’s purpose? Paul is trying to raise money for the Christian church at Jerusalem. One could argue that Paul was trying to get Corinthian and Macedonian churches to pay their apportionments to support the mission of the church in Jerusalem. The church at Jerusalem was poor in comparison to the wealth of the churches in Corinth and Macedonia.
In 2 Corinthians 9, our key text, Paul has grown concerned that the Corinthians may let him down. The purpose of this part of the letter to the church is to encourage the Corinthians to give generously, so that the Macedonians will continue to do likewise. The purpose of this Morningside Letter is to encourage you to give generously.
Ways that We Give
The great theologian, William Barclay, said that there are least four ways that in which people may give their gifts. These four are duty, self-satisfaction, prestige, and love’s compulsion. While duty, self-satisfaction, and prestige are not wholly bad reasons for giving, love’s compulsion should be our primary reason for giving. Therefore, giving the way God intends for us to give is not primarily a matter of how much one has in his or her pocket book, but it is a matter of the depth of God’s love in one’s heart. It is from deep well of love in our hearts that we are able to give extravagant.
What is Extravagant Generosity
So what does it mean to give extravagantly? United Methodist Bishop and author of Five Practice of Fruitful Living, Robert Schnase says, “Extravagant does not correspond with giving that is merely dutiful, required, burdensome, mandated, or simply doing one’s part. Extravagant denotes a style and attitude of giving that is unexpectedly joyous, without predetermined limits, from the heart, extraordinary, over-the-top, and propelled by great passion. Extravagant Generosity is giving to God as God has given to us.”
Connect Heads:
What does it mean to give extravagantly?
Connect Hearts:
Search your own heart. Why do you give? Duty? Self-satisfaction? Prestige? Love’s compulsion?
Have you ever received extravagant generosity from someone else? How did you feel?
Connect Hands:
Write down things that we can do to help us become more generous?
Connection Challenge:
Make a sacrificial offering to the Lord this month.
Read Genesis 3:1-13
Pray each day
Devote 15 minutes to silent meditation.
This Week’s Connection Topic: Giving
I will give 10% of my financial resources for the growth of God’s kingdom . Malachi 3:24, Luke 3:12-14.
Purpose: To encourage us to give extravagantly
Human need: Giving helps us become what God wants us to be.
In today’s text, Paul is encouraging Corinthians to be generous. Paul quotes the example of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 as a means of encouraging the Corinthians to practice generosity. At the same time, he is encouraging the Macedonians to practice generosity by quoting the Corinthians. It seems as though Paul was trying to capitalize upon the competitive giving spirit among the churches. So what was Paul’s purpose? Paul is trying to raise money for the Christian church at Jerusalem. One could argue that Paul was trying to get Corinthian and Macedonian churches to pay their apportionments to support the mission of the church in Jerusalem. The church at Jerusalem was poor in comparison to the wealth of the churches in Corinth and Macedonia.
In 2 Corinthians 9, our key text, Paul has grown concerned that the Corinthians may let him down. The purpose of this part of the letter to the church is to encourage the Corinthians to give generously, so that the Macedonians will continue to do likewise. The purpose of this Morningside Letter is to encourage you to give generously.
Ways that We Give
The great theologian, William Barclay, said that there are least four ways that in which people may give their gifts. These four are duty, self-satisfaction, prestige, and love’s compulsion. While duty, self-satisfaction, and prestige are not wholly bad reasons for giving, love’s compulsion should be our primary reason for giving. Therefore, giving the way God intends for us to give is not primarily a matter of how much one has in his or her pocket book, but it is a matter of the depth of God’s love in one’s heart. It is from deep well of love in our hearts that we are able to give extravagant.
What is Extravagant Generosity
So what does it mean to give extravagantly? United Methodist Bishop and author of Five Practice of Fruitful Living, Robert Schnase says, “Extravagant does not correspond with giving that is merely dutiful, required, burdensome, mandated, or simply doing one’s part. Extravagant denotes a style and attitude of giving that is unexpectedly joyous, without predetermined limits, from the heart, extraordinary, over-the-top, and propelled by great passion. Extravagant Generosity is giving to God as God has given to us.”
Connect Heads:
What does it mean to give extravagantly?
Connect Hearts:
Search your own heart. Why do you give? Duty? Self-satisfaction? Prestige? Love’s compulsion?
Have you ever received extravagant generosity from someone else? How did you feel?
Connect Hands:
Write down things that we can do to help us become more generous?
Connection Challenge:
Make a sacrificial offering to the Lord this month.
Read Genesis 3:1-13
Pray each day
Devote 15 minutes to silent meditation.
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