Giving Video from Sunday
This past Sunday I was asked to fill in as Teaching Pastor for Michael, who was out of town. I taught on Luke 12:13-34 on the subject of greed. My key point: giving is the key to overcoming greed.
Why?
- Giving to those in need helps us realize how richly we’ve been blessed.
- Giving strengthens our faith in God because we trust him to help us get by with less.
- Giving helps us make better choices with what we have been given.
- Giving helps you keep the right eternal perspective.
- Giving forces us to focus on what is most important.
- Giving to the needy stores up riches in Heaven.
My friend Joe Sangl and NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC provided me some further insight on giving:
- When we give, we act in the Father’s image. God is the ultimate giver.
- Giving forces us to manage our money better
- You cannot give and live the same as you would without giving; you cannot be generous and live any way you want to
- It is up to each of us to be faithful with the things God has entrusted to us
God may not call you to give away everything you have to follow him, like he did the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16ff, but he does call you to give away some of it to help those in need. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, that whatever we do unto the “least of these” we do to Him. When we give to those in need, we are actually blessing and ministering to Jesus himself.
Andrea and I give 10% of our salary to our church, plus we support a child named David through World Vision, and we try to give something to all of our former students who are going on mission trips around the world. Bobby, for instance is about to spend a year in Africa and we’ll send him some support money. There are other needs that come up throughout the year that we try to help meet as well, like the lady in the parking lot of Home Depot who asked me for gas money. I didn’t have any cash, but I bought her $10 worth of gas and told her I was doing so in the name of Christ.
At the end of the message, I showed a video from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California where Francis Chan is pastor. The story is that they were going to build a building that would cost over $20 million, but decided instead to build an outdoor amphitheater, which would be significantly cheaper, and use the difference to invest in world missions and global relief efforts.
The video was to help the church understand how the money saved could be used differently.
You can download a copy of the video by going here and clicking on the Media link. Look for the “Think of Me” video link on the Media page.
How are you trusting God with your finances and using them to advance His Kingdom?
