AFTER THE SERMON-Experience Generosity
We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a Bible/sermon group study. Enjoy!
Series: The Journey of Generosity
Sermon Title: Experience Generosity (Week 4)
Main Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Other scripture mentioned: 1 Corinthians 16:2
(If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read or paraphrase through some of the provided scripture to catch everyone up!)
Overview:
Pastor Ryan wrapped up the series, The Journey of Generosity today with a message on how to experience generosity. The journey has taken us from the generosity of God to the heart of our generosity, to prioritizing giving so we can be generous and today we learned that our generosity is a joyous experience that yields eternal dividends. We see from the scripture that Paul called the church to generous giving to help the ministry that was taking place in the Jerusalem church. Jerusalem was a major hub of Christianity at this time and the work they were doing to share the gospel to all those who would receive was critical. Churches who were wealthy and churches who were not have committed to giving and Paul encouraged them to be generous. Paul made some powerful points through the scripture but one, in particular, was we reap what we sow. If we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly. If we sow generously we will reap generously. Overall, Pastor Ryan encouraged us to experience generosity by being generous. He also encouraged us to not only look at the temporary blessings of being generous but also see the eternal dividends that we have and will see one day because of our church’s generosity!
Takeaways:
Generosity is tied to our joy in Christ. The Macedonian church was full of joy because they were full of Christ so generosity overflowed.
When we give it is for God before it’s for anyone or any church. We don’t answer to a person or a church we answer to God in our giving.
Jesus became poor but was still generous.
Generous givers find out how generous God can be.
The measure we sow will be the measure we reap. We choose what we will experience.
God knows who to be generous to because He knows they will be generous too.
A generous church is committed and focused on eternal dividends.
Experience both sides of generosity. Receive generosity and be generous.
Discussion:
What was one big takeaway for you from this message?
What portion of the scripture stuck out to you and why?
What did you sense the Holy Spirit was saying to you during this message?
Have you ever been on the receiving side of generosity? What was that experience like?
Have you ever been on the giving side of generosity? What was that experience like?
How does it make you feel that we spend and put a lot of money into goods and services that do not have an eternal purpose?
What steps do you need to take to grow in your journey of generosity?
Pray:
God, everything belongs to you and everything has come from you. We acknowledge that you have been more than generous and gracious to us. We thank you for entrusting us to steward what we have. We dedicate the coming months to relook at our finances, our spending, saving and giving decisions. Help us to make the financial decisions that will be in line with scripture and bring glory to your name. We want to be generous and will be generous as we grow in this journey. We love you and appreciate all you have given us, in Jesus name, Amen!
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!