A Generous Church In A Stingy World Series

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”.