Benfits of Generosity
Here's a sermon by Greg Surratt, second in the Elephant in the Room series. This guy is a great speaker and pretty much always has applicable and engaging things to say.
Giving has always been a discipline for me - 10% of what I make, before taxes (first fruits). Someone told me to do it this way in high school, and so I did. I think this is great, but then I got married, and giving became a conversation rather than my own decision. I married an incredibly generous woman, and so when I came into giving with my disciplined approach, she asked where my heart was. It was something I haven't thought much about, but since then, it has become a major theme in my life.
2 Corinthians 9:7 - "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."
Jesus was always concerned about the heart of His listeners, and so that should always be our focus for everything, but especially when it comes to money, which really exposes the state of men's hearts.
Luke 6:43-45 - “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
Giving has always been a discipline for me - 10% of what I make, before taxes (first fruits). Someone told me to do it this way in high school, and so I did. I think this is great, but then I got married, and giving became a conversation rather than my own decision. I married an incredibly generous woman, and so when I came into giving with my disciplined approach, she asked where my heart was. It was something I haven't thought much about, but since then, it has become a major theme in my life.
2 Corinthians 9:7 - "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."
Jesus was always concerned about the heart of His listeners, and so that should always be our focus for everything, but especially when it comes to money, which really exposes the state of men's hearts.
Luke 6:43-45 - “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
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