Love = Giving
09/25/08 12:46 PM
It’s been said that you can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
That may be a cliche, but it’s true. It’s the heart of what I’ve been trying to get across in our stewardship series. In fact, this past Sunday, in looking at the example of the Macedonian Christians in II Corinthians 8, I had an opportunity to share what may be the most important thing that I share during the entire series, namely, that we give because we love.
Seriously, as a general rule, people give, not because some preacher gives you a list of ten reasons why you should tithe – no, we give because we love. In the message on Sunday, I shared that Laurie and I have always lived by a strict budget. But this past year, we’ve needed to come up with some extra funds that weren’t in the budget to help out our girls. Hey, stuff happens, right?
That may be a cliche, but it’s true. It’s the heart of what I’ve been trying to get across in our stewardship series. In fact, this past Sunday, in looking at the example of the Macedonian Christians in II Corinthians 8, I had an opportunity to share what may be the most important thing that I share during the entire series, namely, that we give because we love.
Seriously, as a general rule, people give, not because some preacher gives you a list of ten reasons why you should tithe – no, we give because we love. In the message on Sunday, I shared that Laurie and I have always lived by a strict budget. But this past year, we’ve needed to come up with some extra funds that weren’t in the budget to help out our girls. Hey, stuff happens, right?
There were trips out to Indiana and Ohio for Sarah that cost more than we anticipated, and there have been several unexpected things with Emily. . . But the long and the short of it, is that we managed to scrape together the extra it took to help them out. Why? Because we love our girls. I mean, it’s not like we had to spend a great deal of time thinking about it, that’s just what love does. . . it causes your heart and hands to open wider.
If you weren’t able to be with us on Sunday, you can check out the message here. This Sunday I’m going to follow up with a message from II Corinthians 9, and we’ll be looking at what I believe is the number one reason why people struggle with giving. It’s going to be one of the most encouraging messages I’ve ever preached! Be there and bring somebody with you.
Speaking of stewardship, check out this post by Tim Stevens, the executive pastor at Granger Community Church. Wow! What a terrific perspective.
If you weren’t able to be with us on Sunday, you can check out the message here. This Sunday I’m going to follow up with a message from II Corinthians 9, and we’ll be looking at what I believe is the number one reason why people struggle with giving. It’s going to be one of the most encouraging messages I’ve ever preached! Be there and bring somebody with you.
Speaking of stewardship, check out this post by Tim Stevens, the executive pastor at Granger Community Church. Wow! What a terrific perspective.
