Sermons

Summary: A Generous Church in a Stingy World – Week 4:- 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1-9 – sermon by Gordon Curley PowerPoint slides to accompany this talk are available on request – email: gcurley@gcurley.info

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 5
  • 6
  • Next

SERMON OUTLINE:

Example #1: The Macedonians (vs 1-5)

• They gave generously (vs 1-2):

• They gave sacrificially (vs 3a):

• They gave voluntarily (vs 3b-4):

• They gave whole-heartedly (vs 5):

Example #2: Jesus Christ (vs 9)

• The Macedonians made a promise to give (vs 6)

• The Macedonians should fulfil their promise to give (vs 8)

SERMON BODY:

• We tend not to get too much teaching on money & giving?

• Over the past few years;

• You could probably count on one hand, the sermons you have heard on this subject.

• Probably because the subject of money and giving we find embarrassing;

ill:

• As a guest speaker in invited to speak at other Churches;

• You may get a gift towards your work, or at least your travelling expenses.

• Not always but most of the time.

• Some Church treasurers like last Sunday evening hand you an envelope;

• And say this is from the Church in appreciation of your visit and work.

• Other Church treasurers, for example where I am preaching tonight,

• Leave an envelope with your name and containing a gift on the lectern,

• Some Church treasurers have other invented ways of passing on a gift.

• On more than one occasion;

• I have had somebody shove an envelope into my back trouser pocket!

• Never a good idea and never in these ‘delicate’ times.

• My colleague Bob Telford had that very experience,

• The treasurer hurriedly shoved an envelope into his back trouser pocket!

• When Bob got to his car and opened the envelope,

• He found it was a bill for the hymn books!

• The treasurer had got his envelopes muddled up!

• So Bob being a joker and speaking at their evening service said to the Church;

• “I don’t mind preaching for free but I am blowed if I will buy your hymn books!”

• TRANSITION: WE get embarrassed talking about money;

• But the New Testament does not!

• In fact it has a lot to say concerning both money & giving:

Ill:

• In Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospels 1 in every 6 verses deals with money.

• Of the 29 parables Jesus told, 16 deal with a person and his money.

• Both money and our responsibility to give are open topics in the New Testament.

• So it is a doctrine we ought to be clear about in our thinking.

Ill:

• A car sticker sign in the back of a car had a picture of the seven dwarfs:

• It should have read: “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go.”

• But instead it read: “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”

• TRANSITION: 2 Corinthians chapter 8 is a reminder to every Christian ‘we owe’

• All that we have we owe to the Lord – let me illustrate it.

Ill:

• I guess many of us as parents have taken their kid’s to MacDonald’s.

• You have forked out some of your hard earned cash to pay for it;

• You receive your dinner;

• And now you retire at one of the tables to indulge in these culinary delights.

• As you begin this feast you realize that you’ve only ordered small fries not large,

• And if there is one thing MacDonald’s does extremely well it is their fries,

• So as Father you reach over to one of your children;

• And help yourself to a few extra fries from their packet.

• When suddenly his hand blocks yours and he looks deep into your eyes and says,

• “Don’t eat my fries”.

• His fries! His fries!

• You earned the money for the meal?

• You drove the car to get to the golden arches?

• You ordered the meal?

• You paid for the meal?

• And your offspring is talking about; “His fries!”

• His fries!

• But how often do we refuse to give God some of ‘our’ fries?

• TRANSITION: 2 Corinthians chapters 8 & 9 are reminders that ‘all we have’

• We owe to the Lord;

• But how often do we refuse to give God some of ‘our’ fries?

Note: As we will see, all Christians are called to give!

Ill:

• A man was being baptized by immersion,

• And as he was going down the steps into the pool of water,

• He suddenly remembered he had his wallet in his back pocket.

• So he stopped to remove the wallet and leave it on the side.

• When the Church leader who was baptising him saw this he said;

• “Stop, either I baptise you wallet and al or not at all”.

Copy Sermon to Clipboard with PRO Download Sermon with PRO
Browse All Media

Related Media


Talk about it...

Nobody has commented yet. Be the first!

Join the discussion
;