In Sermon Illustrations: "Cheerful Giving"

Winning In Losing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WINNING IN LOSING Both teams that play in the Super Bowl think they will win, so both teams have special t-shirts and hats designed that declare them the victors. It costs about $2 million to have the apparel made--which means for the losing team, $2 million goes to waste, right? Wrong. A recent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Tags: Giving General

Poor Man's Philanthropist  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

POOR MAN'S PHILANTHROPIST In 2005, when Thomas Cannon died of colon cancer in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he was 79. Thomas described himself a "poor man's philanthropist." When Thomas was three years old, his father died. Once Thomas' mother remarried, the family of six lived in a ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tags: Giving General

He Gave Everything Away

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 7, 2011

HE GAVE EVERYTHING AWAY John Kluge was once the wealthiest man in America, he gave his 7,400 acre estate away estimated to be worth more than $45 million dollars. He is recognized for his generosity, yet ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Baptist

The Free-Food Tree

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 7, 2011

THE FREE-FOOD TREE One year, a tree on the campus of Green Acres Elementary School, near Santa Cruz, California, bore strange fruit—mostly sandwiches, but sometimes a cookie, a cupcake, an apple or an orange. It came into full bearing from a seed planted by teachers Sophie Farrar and Sandra Enz, ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Baptist

Cirrhosis Of The Giver

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 27, 2012

CIRRHOSIS OF THE GIVER The disease cirrhosis of the giver was discovered in A.D. 34 by the husband-wife team of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). It is an acute condition that renders the patient’s hands immobile when he is called on to move them in the direction of his wallet or her purse, and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Baptist

The Hunger Games: Laying Down Your Life

Contributed by Jeff Morrison on Mar 30, 2012

THE HUNGER GAMES: LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE In the movie, "The Hunger Games," 16 year old Katness is faced with a dramatic choice when her 12 year old sister is chosen by lottery to fight for their district. She knows her sister is small and frail, and that she would not last in the life or death ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself

Denomination: Baptist

John D. Rockefeller's Transformation

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER’S TRANSFORMATION John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was strong and husky when he was a youth. He early determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Tags: Giving General

Examples Of Generous People

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2012

EXAMPLES OF GENEROUS PEOPLE In a country where getting and having more seems so normal, people who choose to live with a lot less so they can help others seem, to put it mildly, less than sane. Zell Kravinsky is one of those people. Kravinsky got rich in the real estate business, and then gave ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-10

Tags: Giving General

Healing House: "I Thought You Were Dead."  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jan 6, 2013

HEALING HOUSE: "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD." Healing House is in Kansas City, Ks. It's a home for drug addicts started by a woman named Bobbie Jo. Bobbie Jo had been walking the streets for many years but then someone cared enough to share the Gospel with her and she was born again. At the same time, ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

Cirrhosis Of The Giver

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 23, 2013

CIRRHOSIS OF THE GIVER The disease cirrhosis of the giver was discovered in A.D. 34 by the husband-wife team of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). It is an acute condition that renders the patient’s hands immobile when he is called on to move them in the direction of his wallet or her purse, and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 12:1, Luke 9:23, Philippians 4:19

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Baptist

Because What The Enemy Does He Tries To Stop You ...

Contributed by Lorenzo Edwards on Feb 20, 2008

Because what the enemy does he tries to stop you from progressing. If you are not doing the will of God you cannot progress on what God may have for you to do. If you are not walking in your gift and your talent. I don’t care what kind of job you have it just will not satisfy you, I don’t care what ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself

Denomination: Baptist

Money Raised Online For Many Nonprofit ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Money Raised Online for many nonprofit organizations grew from virtually nothing only a few years ago to a median 27% increase an annual amount $362,485 from 7/1/05 to 6/30/06, according to a Convio study. Organizations with the most monthly unique Web site visitors built the largest e-mail ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Charitable Contributions To Colleges And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Charitable Contributions to colleges and universities in the U.S. grew by 9.4% during ‘06, reaching $28 ...read more

Tags: Giving General

The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Christmas ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Christmas campaign mobilized Americans to contribute a record-breaking $117 million, up 5.4% from ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Companies That Nurture A Culture Of Philanthropy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Companies that nurture a culture of philanthropy are more profitable, says Dover Management research. The study found that companies with a solid link between giving and operating earnings outperformed the S & P 500 ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Contributions To U.s. Churches In '05 (Most ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2008

Contributions to U.S. churches in '05 (most recent data available) were 2.58% of members' income vs. 2.56% in '04 according to empty tomb. Giving to "church, other religious organizations" accounted for 72% of funds directed to charity. The under-25 age group gave 87% of their donations to ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Affluent People Are Increasingly Likely To Use ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2008

Affluent People are increasingly likely to use the Internet to make their charitable donations, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy. But charities are turning off some of their biggest donors (those who give $1,000 or more). Some send too many messages to donors who say they don’t want them, ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Direct Mail Doesn't Work As Well

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2008

DIRECT MAIL DOESN'T WORK AS WELL Direct mail sent by charities are not producing as much money as they did in years past, because the number of people who give through the mail is declining. Charities have increased the amount raised per solicitation, but not enough to ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Roughly Six In Ten U.s. Households Contribute To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2008

Roughly six in ten U.S. households contribute to charity routinely, according Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy Panel Study. The ongoing survey asked the same 8,000 families about their charitable gifts made in '00, '02 and '04. While the total percentage of gifting households was similar ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman Tells About The Time He Was ...

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Jun 19, 2008

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman tells about the time he was conducting a prayer meeting when a man gave this testimony: The man said, "I got off at the Pennsylvania depot as a homeless person and for a year I begged on the streets for a living. One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, 'Mister, ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself

Denomination: Christian Church