An enduring childhood memory for many is dessert time at Grandma’s. If she didn’t have time to bake three kinds of pies and make two kinds of cookies, Grandma would haul out the five-gallon bucket of chocolate ice cream and dish out large scoops which she would pass down the table until everyone had one. When you were only about half way done eating that serving, Grandma would announce while holding up the ice cream scoop: “There’s more where that came from!” In other words, if you want seconds, you just have to ask. There’s plenty of ice cream.
“There’s more where that came from!” Can’t you picture the disciples saying that too as they handed out the five loaves of bread and two fish which Jesus had multiplied so that there was more than enough to feed over 5,000 people? Jesus’ generosity was not limited to that one miracle. He continues to give us good things in abundance. He is generous to us so that he may be generous through us. That was the point the Apostle Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to grasp as he encouraged them in their life of stewardship. “There’s more where that came from.” Today we’re going to learn that’s what God says to us so that we can say it to others as we cheerfully share with them whatever they might need.
Our sermon text comes from Paul’s second letter to the church in the Greek city of Corinth. When this congregation heard about a famine that gripped Jerusalem, they were concerned about the Christians living there. They vowed to send help and were the first congregation to make that promise. Now the time had come for the Corinthians to make good on their promise and so Paul wrote: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7).
It’s not surprising to hear Paul urge the Corinthians to give generously and cheerfully, but why did Paul think that the Corinthians would want to do this? Because Paul was certain that God was at work in their hearts. Paul said: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…” (2 Corinthians 9:8, 11a).
Why could the Corinthians be certain that giving generously to help the Christians in Jerusalem would not make themselves poor? Because the God who had given them everything to begin with, would continue to ensure that the Corinthians had enough for themselves. In other words, there was more where that came from. That’s what God was saying to them through the Apostle Paul.
God has given us that promise too and yet have you come up with a reason why you can’t give? Or when you put your offering in the plate do these thoughts cross your mind? “That could have been a car payment.” “That could have been the first installment on those braces the kids need.” “I could have enjoyed a decent night out with that money.” “I could have bought a new tablet!” Martin Luther once quipped that our wallet is the last part of us to be converted. Sure, we trust that Jesus has forgiven our sins, but do we also trust that he will keep his promise to provide for us even when we give generously and cheerfully as he wants us to do?
I pray that today’s text encourages you to be generous and cheerful givers. Why? Because no matter how much you give back to the Lord, there’s always more where that came from. Picture again that dessert scene at Grandma’s house. As she scoops ice cream from one of those huge, five-gallon buckets, your job is to hand the bowls of ice cream down to your hungry siblings and cousins. Were you ever reluctant to hand off the bowls of ice cream? I mean did you ever think that there wouldn’t be any ice cream left for you if you just kept giving it away? No. Because you could see the big bucket of ice cream and you knew there would be enough for you too.
Whenever you place an offering in the basket here at church you’re simply doing what you do at dessert time at Grandma’s. You’re handing on that which God first entrusted to you. And just as you don’t have to worry about not getting any ice cream at Grandma’s, you never have to worry about not having enough money for yourself because you gave an offering. There’s always more where that came from.
How do I know this? Count up how many times Paul repeats the words “all” and “every” in the verses before you. Ready? “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…” (2 Corinthians 9:8, 11a).
God’s grace never has off days. God isn’t like SuperStore that often runs out of 1% milk, or like the Shell gas stations around here that have run out of gasoline. You can always count on God’s grace in every situation. What this means, brothers and sisters, is that you can be a generous and cheerful giver whether you’re at the height of your earning power, or on a fixed income, or only receiving money on your birthday. If God has given you any money at all, he’s inviting you to share a portion of that income to support his work. And he wants you to do so generously and cheerfully trusting that there’s more where that came from.
Trust. That’s really what stewardship is about. God doesn’t urge you to give because he needs the money to carry out his work. God isn’t a beggar; he’s an investor. He’s gives his resources to us so that we may share in the joy of his work. In that way God is like your grandmother. When she’s dishing out the ice cream she could do all the work herself. But she recruits you to hand out the bowls of ice cream so that you can share in the joy of serving, and delight in the words of thanks people give when they receive their dessert. And while you’re busy handing out the ice cream you don’t have to worry about whether or not there will be any left for you. You trust your grandmother when she says, “There’s more where that came from!” And so we can trust our God who gives us money and urges us to pass a portion of that on because he has also said: “There’s more where that came from.”
Yes, God hands us his grace every day. And grace, like ice cream, comes in many flavors. God graces us with money so that we can buy food, and also support the work of his church. But God daily gives us the grace of forgiveness too. God daily forgives me even though I’m not always cheerful about giving an offering. He gives me the grace of forgiveness even when I give him my leftovers after I paid all my bills including what I spend on entertainment. He forgives me when I make plans for the future but his will in the matter is often an afterthought. He forgives even when I think that stewardship is something for the adults and not the youth and children.
Since there is no end to this grace of forgiveness, we can generously pass it on to others. Do you see what a difference that will make when you’re ready to blow up at your children or at a sibling because they’ve been on your nerves all day? You can take a deep breath and think: “Well, this is how I often treat God and yet he is patient with me and keeps forgiving me. His forgiveness has no end so I can pass that forgiveness on to others because there’s more where that came from.”
That doesn’t mean of course that we ignore sin and don’t call others to repentance. But when we do so it will be with a patient, loving heart. Hopefully others will see this patience and genuine love and ask us how we do it. We can respond as the disciples might have when they were handing out the bread and fish at the feeding of the 5,000 and were thanked for the gift. “Oh, this is from Jesus,” they would have replied. “We’re just handing it out, and there’s more where that came from.”
Yes, when it comes to Jesus’ grace there’s always more where that came from. In fact we’ll get to experience that truth in a tangible way when we come forward to receive Holy Communion. Just think, the miracle that you will participate in here is even better than the miraculous feeding of the 5,000. For here in Holy Communion, Jesus doesn’t stretch bread and fish, but his body and his blood so that his forgiveness covers every sin you committed this week. And that’s not all. He bids us to come back often because there’s more where that came from.
Yes, dessert time was extra special at Grandma’s. That’s when her love and generosity was the clearest. It was evident from that big bucket of ice cream. God, of course, is even more loving and more generous than Grandma. But we won’t remember that if we don’t keep standing close to his big bucket of grace. If we don’t stay in his Word and keep reading our Bibles, we’ll become reluctant to give generously to the Lord and to others, or we won’t do so with a cheerful heart. Instead we’ll think that God’s gifts are to be hoarded. But they’re not. They’re meant to be shared because there’s more where that came from. That’s what God says to you, and so that’s what you can say to others – not just with words, but with actions as well. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Fill in the blanks. “God is ____________ to us that he may be generous ___________ us.”
In regard to stewardship, Paul wanted the Corinthians to give ________________ and ____________. How was he certain they would do that?
This sermon often compared God to a grandmother at dessert time. Explain the connection. How will that truth make a difference to you this week?
