The kingdoms of this world will not be able to rage on and on no matter how desperate things may be! Their wickedness has its end! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 2
TITLE:  Two Kinds of Kingdoms
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Happy is the man that takes refuge in no other king but King Jesus!

POINTS:
1.   The kingdoms of this world rage
2.  The Sovereign King responds

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Found in this Royal-Psalm is the prophetic proclamation of a coming King that will rule God’s people on the throne of David - the PROMISED Messiah-King…this King is THE heavenly King.”

“Verses 1-3 describe the people and in particular the ‘kings’ of this world and the nature of their opposition to the Sovereign LORD. They are not passive in their disregard of God and His King. They are on the move against Him. They seek to advance against Him.”

“‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ THIS underlies all of their motives, intentions, and scheming. This is the age-old problem seated in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve took counsel together and set themselves against their Creator King – desiring to be Gods themselves - they become the first king and queen of the kingdoms of this world. The raging began there. The kings of this world desire to be set free from God’s rule, rebelling against any submission to His Sovereign kingdom!”

“The kings of this world rage! BUT, we may have forgotten what Verse 1 said: They rage, they plot BUT they do so ‘in vain!’ No matter how powerful they are humanly speaking… ALL of THEIR EFFORTS ARE IN VAIN!”

“How can it be that this is in vain? It seems like the people and nations can do whatever they want. The nations are raging and plotting against God constantly. The people are shaking off any kind of self-control and again only doing what seems right in their eyes. Wickedness and depravity all too often SEEM to be the rule and SEEM to go unanswered. This all looks like it’s winning the day.”

“Our sin dilemma:
- He defines our sexuality   - We want something different
- He defines our relationships - We say no and go after what we want
- He says love  -  We hate
- He commands purity and holiness  -  We run as fast as we can into depravity
- He rules us in grace - We become tyrants”

“The Sovereign King of Heaven SITS on this throne and no earthly king, and no worldly kingdom has the power to even concern Him enough to get him to stand!”

“This King Jesus has come first save the very ones who rage against Him. This King has shed His royal blood on a cursed man’s cross. God’s King, His only begotten Son, has given His body to be broken for this world.”

“Instead of God standing in fury and defending His beloved Son, His Holy and perfectly righteous Son bears the sins of sinners and receives upon Himself the full force of God’s wrath and fury. Jesus gets the full derision of God – the contemptuous scorn of His Father. Jesus, God’s King is God’s Son, but before He will rule as God’s righteous King, King Jesus becomes the Lamb of God who “will take away the sins of this world”... the sins of the people who once raged and plotted against Him!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Philippians 2:8-9

QUOTES:
C. H. Spurgeon - “They [Psalm 1 and 2] are, in fact, the preface to the whole Book of Psalms.”

 C.H. Spurgeon - “He has already done that which the enemy seeks to prevent. While they are proposing, he has disposed the matter. Jehovah's will is done, and man's will frets and raves in vain. God's Anointed is appointed, and shall not be disappointed.”

APPLICATION:
Be warned
Be wise
Serve the LORD with fear
Rejoice with trembling

Judgment and Wrath are coming! BUT NOW is the time of repentance to turn to the Lord, oh kingdoms of this world, turn and “Kiss the Son” – bow and pay homage to the King of kings and Lord of lords, King Jesus… the Lamb of God! NOW is the time of Salvation.

Today we begin a summer-long sermon series in the literary sanctuary of the Psalms. Our prayer is simple: Together, we learn to think and feel about life in a godless world with our wonderful God. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 1
TITLE:  Two Ways to Live
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. The Way of the World
2. The Way of the Word

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”When the cloud of despair hangs over us, we go to the Psalms to plead with honest questions, and God gives us honest answers. When doubts quench our hope, we go to the Psalms to meet the God of all unending hope. When loneliness presses in, we go to the Psalms to learn how much God truly loves us. We go to the Psalms because the primary psalmist, David, struggled just like us.”

“The longest book in the Bible begins by presenting Two Ways To Live. Two very different ways.”

“Happiness is at the top of everyone’s list. Everyone wants a life of blessing. Why? God hardwired us for it. He made us to be blessed and experience true happiness in Him. But in the Garden, humanity carved out its own way. A way without God. A way Psalm 1 calls wicked.”

“There is a powerful warning about influence here. Listening to the counsel of the wicked leads to thinking like the wicked, and before you know it, you are living like the wicked.”

“Of course, we understand delight. Delight is a heart response of joy, happiness, and excitement for something or someone that we see as beautiful and valuable.”

“The blessed man delights in divine wisdom. And that delight leads him to spend time with God’s Word. It says in 2, he meditates on it day and night. He reads it. He thinks about it. He treasures it. Like air to the lungs, God’s Word is life to his soul, so he keeps returning to it.”

“The tree represents the effect of allowing your life to be oriented around and rooted in the living waters of God’s Word. That effect is strength in the Lord, even though you feel physically weak. The effect is a walk with God that bears much fruit even when your business is fruitless. The effect is spiritual prosperity as you serve others, even though your bank account is on life support. The Word is active, alive, profitable and sufficient…”

“For the Christian, you don’t always feel like a tree planted by streams of water. Your delight in God’s Word is drifting. You want to be the tree, but you feel like the chaff. So I am going to give you the best counsel I can to prepare you for our series in the psalms: Never approach the Psalms alone. Always find Jesus in the psalm and don’t leave his side.”

“Here's an important question: How often do you evaluate your relationship with the world?  My point is not to disengage the world. Instead, as we engage the world, our lives should clearly reflect a conviction that the world’s godless wisdom, values, and approach to life are futile.”

“There is only one man who stands righteous in God’s judgment. One man who can stand over and against the godly. One man who is prosperous in all he does. One man who perfectly delights in God’s Word—the Living Word, Jesus Christ.”

“Amazing! Jesus died in our place on a tree, so we could say No to the ways of the world (die to sin) and Yes to God’s Word (live to righteousness), bringing eternal blessing to us and unmatchable glory to Christ. Amazing grace how can it be!.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
For further study: Psalm 73
1 Peter 2:24

QUOTES:
Athanasius - “With this book, it is as if it is our own words that we read; anyone who hears them is pierced to the heart, as though these words voiced for him his deepest thoughts.”

John Piper - “Nobody walks in the way of the wicked out of duty. Nobody stands in the way of sinners out of duty. Nobody sits in the seat of scoffers out of duty. We walk and stand and sit there because we want to. And we want to because we have been watching them so intently that what they do is now attractive. We have meditated on them (without calling it that). And we now delight in them. That is how worldliness happens.”

APPLICATION:
Make the Psalms your constant companion -

The Psalms can and should be part of the constant practice of the presence of God. Regularly read from beginning to end, they lead us again and again to consider aspects of life and of God’s will that we might not otherwise choose to remember or confront—let alone to embody in our living. Memorized in chunks the Psalms can provide ready response to the pressing realities of our days. When I have wakened in a panic in the darkness of the early morning hours—submerged in fear, self-pity, or self-doubt—the Psalms have often provided the assurance that my anxieties are known by God, who enlightens my dark places. So, I encourage you to make the Psalms your constant companion. 

Make the Psalms your constant companion. Visit the literary sanctuary often. Keep its words on your mind, in your heart, and on your lips, believing that with Jesus, every letter of the psalmist is for your life, that you may be blessed and happy in Jesus, in this life and the life to come. 

Our desire today is that we would appropriately understand sin, and in doing so, that our love for Jesus would explode with deeper affections. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Luke 7:36-50
TITLE:  Forgiven Much
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: The deeper we understand what the Word says about our sins, the greater the depth of our love for Jesus.

POINTS:
1. Our sins are many
2. Jesus forgives them all
3. We love Jesus much

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Most Scholars – without much argument – agree that this woman was very likely a prostitute. Consider the awkwardness of this scene. A woman, a sinner, standing behind the reclining Jesus. Uncontrollable weeping and wetting his feet with her tears - like rainfall. Wiping his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet - the tense of this Greek verb would be that she ‘kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed...’ his feet.”

“The greatness of Jesus' forgiveness meets every last one of her sins! Not a single sin - and the list is long and known only by God - escaped His forgiveness!”

“Verses 47 and 48 use the verb “forgiven” (perfect tense) meaning a forgiving that began in the past, it continues in the present, and points to an eternal forgiving.”

“This is why she loves Jesus much - she sees that her sins are many and that He has forgiven every single one of them. She cannot contain herself!”

“The amazing thing about the grace of God is that it calls us out by His great love, forgives and saves us for THIS purpose: So that we love Him, exalt Him, honor Him!”

“Luther calls her tears ‘heart tears!’ She cannot contain that which floods her heart for Jesus. It does not matter who will see - no fear of man will stop her. Maybe even surprising to herself her forgiven soul propels her toward Jesus.”

“Our affections have been everywhere else, loving this and that, and in the end, really loving ourselves. THE worship center of this world and of our flesh is the need to love yourself. Sin has us convinced that this is the end-all of our existence.”

“What of the Pharisee? Simon has no awareness of the depth and magnitude of his sin - and he adds to those the unforgivable sin of rejecting Christ - vs 30 - rejecting the very purpose of God. He is likely even left out of the parable, not being counted as either of the two debtors who love even to some degree of response. Chapter 8, verse 10 Jesus reveals that the parables themselves expose and create the Pharisees’ spiritual blindness and deafness - what an indictment on their rejection of the Messiah! One commentator wrote, and I agree… ‘Simon seemingly would rather have had Jesus kick her to the side and demand that she leave!’”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 1:28-32
1 John 4:19
2 Timothy 1:1, 2

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
The gospel reaches out and saves this woman, and the result is a transformed life!

Q. Has your life been transformed by the forgiveness of Jesus?

Q. To what degree are you moved by the forgiveness of Jesus?

Q. Have we forgotten that our sins are many and yet that Christ can forgive and forgive them all!

Q. Why do I NOT FEEL this deeply?

On Sunday, June 18, 2023, Sovereign Grace Church will have Child Dedications during the Sunday morning service!

What are Child Dedications? How does that differ from baptism?

Below, I have reposted a blog from Derek Overstreet in which he makes this clarifying and super helpful statement: “...child dedication is less about the child and more about the parents acknowledging their child is a gift from the Lord entrusted to them to raise for His glory with the hope that he or she will come to faith in Jesus one day.”  

If you desire to have your child dedicated, please contact the church office, or talk with one of the pastors and we will make it happen!

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Dedicate My Child?

 By Derek Overstreet

Child dedications. What are they? Should the church have them? Should I dedicate my child on Sunday morning? These are good questions. As Christians, we should never do something because it is what we have always done or everyone else is doing it.

Some churches baptize infants, otherwise known as paedobaptism. We do not baptize infants because we believe Scripture teaches baptism is for believers (Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:11-14). This conviction is captured in our Statement of Faith:

Baptism is an initiatory, unrepeated sacrament for those who come to faith in Christ that pictures their remissions of sins and union with Christ in his death and resurrection.

So does the Bible say anything about baby dedications? Nowhere does Scripture command parents to dedicate their child to the Lord. That said, there are examples, specifically, Hannah vowing to dedicate her child to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11) and Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to the Temple to be dedicated (Luke 2:22).

Scripture is clear on the parent's God-given call to teach their children diligently in the ways of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:6-7), train them up in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), and bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Dedicating your child is not an act of salvation, baptism, or church membership. It is a symbolic way to communicate the Spirit-empowered intent to raise the child in a Christ-centered home according to Scripture. In this way, child dedication is less about the child and more about the parents acknowledging their child is a gift from the Lord entrusted to them to raise for His glory with the hope that he or she will come to faith in Jesus one day. 

As for the rest of the church, through this encouraging tradition, we commit as a local family of faith to stand in prayer and support for the parents and their children.   

If you would like to participate in the child dedication on Father’s Day, June 18th, please please contact the church office, or talk with one of the pastors!

On Sunday, June 11, 2023, Sovereign Grace Church will gather after the Sunday Service for a celebration in the parking lot! A holy and exciting event will take place that day in which, those who have believed in Christ and are following Jesus’ command, will be baptized! 

If you desire to be baptized, please contact the church office, or talk with one of the pastors and we will make it happen!

Maybe you have questions about whether or not you should be baptized. Read a condensed blog post below that our Senior Pastor, Derek Overstreet wrote: The Importance and Joy of Baptism Sundays.

Maybe you are a parent and are exploring the possibility of one of your children being baptized. I would encourage you to read the same blog post below. As parents, our decision to move forward or wait in regards to the child’s baptism is difficult and sobering, and should not be considered lightly, but what a hopeful and joyful consideration! If you have questions on this, talk with one of your pastors. We also have an outstanding and FREE resource for parents regarding their child’s faith in Jesus. It is the book: “Your Child's Profession of Faith” by Dennis Gundersen.  

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The Importance and Joy of Baptism Sundays

By Derek Overstreet

I love Sundays! Singing with the saints. Serving with my brothers and sisters. Praying together. Having my mind and heart shaped by the truths of God and the Gospel. As I heard a wise pastor once say, “The church is the dearest place on earth, and Sunday is the dearest day of the week”

I especially enjoy baptism Sundays. We get to do everything above, THEN go out back, eat pizza, hear testimonies of grace, and witness individuals identify with Christ by getting dunked in water. I love baptism Sundays!

If you are considering getting baptized or want to understand it better, I encourage you to consider four essential elements of water baptism and its importance to the believer.

1. Baptism is a sacrament of the church. Along with the Lord’s Supper, water baptism is a church sacrament. Our Statement of Faith defines a sacrament as a “precious means of grace that signifies the benefits of the gospel, confirms its promises to the believer, and visibly distinguishes the church from the world.”

2. Baptism is for believers. We do not believe in infant baptism because there is no evidence for it in the New Testament. The New Testament pattern is that baptism follows salvation (Acts 2:38,41; 8:12; 10:44-48; 16:14-15, 30-33). If you have repented of your sin and placed your faith in Jesus, then water baptism is next for you!

3. Baptism is symbolic, not salvific. Salvation does not come through baptism; it comes through faith (Eph 2:8, Rom 5:1). Baptism is an outward sign of an inward work of grace. Through faith, a person is brought into a union with Christ, and water symbolizes that union as a public identification with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 6::3-4, Col 2:11-13, 1 Peter 3:20-21). When baptized, believers publicly declare their life belongs to Christ, and they desire to live for his glory.

4. Baptism is obedience. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded believers to be baptized (Mat 28:19). This means baptism brings about a degree of joy and spiritual benefit, just as any act of Christian obedience does (John 15:10-11). Wayne Grudem explains it this way: “There is the blessing of God’s favor that comes with all obedience, as well as the joy that comes through public profession of one’s faith, and the reassurance of having a clear physical picture of dying and rising with Christ and of washing away sins.[1]

Are you a Christian? If so, have you been baptized? If the answer is no, contact your pastor today to discuss the spiritual importance and blessings of getting dunked for his glory!

[1] Wayne Grudem—Systematic Theology, p 980-981

In its simplest form, godliness is flying by God’s instruments (The Word, the Gospel, The Spirit) whether the skies are clear, you are facing the headwinds of our culture, or you are in the storm of circumstance. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: Romans 12:1-2
TITLE:  Godliness
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Godliness is an active life of faith built on the commands, promises, and wisdom of God’s Word, rooted in our identity in Christ, and confident in the power of the Holy Spirit.

POINTS:
1. The Reason for Our Godliness
2. The Reality of Our Godliness
3. The Path to Our Godliness

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The glorious gospel moves from [Paul’s] head to his heart, and he explodes in worship. We can all just go home now, right? Wrong. Paul is not done. He spends the following four chapters showing us what the first eleven chapters mean for our lives.”

“Paul is saying, based on what God has done for you in Christ Jesus, NOW, live a certain way, as the rest of Romans exhorts—pursue godliness.”

“I do not pursue godliness to gain God’s favor. I do not pursue godliness because it’s morally appealing. I do not pursue godliness because it is religiously productive. I do what I do because Jesus did what he did!”

“This is true biblical godliness. Because of God’s mercy toward us in Christ, every day, we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Not in a temple or church building, but with our, Paul’s word in verse 1—bodies. The term body refers to the whole person—body and soul. The outer man and the inner man. Our thoughts, our affections, our actions.”

“Godliness is not dropping money in the offering box or good attendance at CG. True godliness goes beyond the external—it is total transformation. That’s what the gospel does—It makes us new creations to give God what He is worthy of—Full Submission.”

“That doesn’t mean we are withdrawn from the world. It means we are different from the world; that difference is the Holy Spirit empowering us for godliness. Paul is saying don’t be a spiritual chameleon!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Personal Bible Study: Ephesians 4:17-5:21 and Colossians 3:1-17
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Colossians 1:9-14
Hebrews 10:24-25

QUOTES:
John Stott - “We human beings seem to be imitative by nature. We need a model to copy, and ultimately there are only two. There is this world, which is passing away, and there is God’s will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.”

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
How do we know if we are growing in godliness?
1. Do my thoughts about life begin with God’s thoughts about life? What does God’s Word say about this? Not what do my feelings, or the culture, or my politics, or past experiences, or conventional wisdom say about this matter, what does the Bible say?

2. Is the gospel increasingly my hope in life? Godliness is ultimately the work of the gospel in our lives; indeed, Christ is our godliness. So the more central Jesus is in our lives, the greater godliness we will experience. 

3. Am I growing in contentment? The world has many distractions, but true godliness is expressed in an uncommon contentment in the Lord, no matter your circumstance.

Chorus:
Sing with joy now, our God is for us
The Father’s love is a strong and mighty fortress
Raise your voice now, no love is greater
Who can stand against us if our God is for us?

We are excited to sing a new song together as church called God Is For Us. This song reminds us of the faithfulness of God and encourages us to SING as we place our confidence in Him: His presence with us and His promises to us. 

We hope you’ll learn it this week and SING with us on Sunday!

Title: God Is For Us
Link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OlOGbe1n8M
CityAlight - 2018

There are many facets to our life as a church! Our hope is that these posts will enable you to plan, pray, and ultimately rejoice in what the Lord is doing at Sovereign Grace Church. Here are a few updates for you to do just that! 

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sgu spring 2023 unit

This unit, “THE DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”, just started! Sessions will be on May 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd (the first four Tuesdays in May) at 7pm. If you haven’t registered yet, there is still time! CLICK HERE to register.

New sermon Series: Sermons in the psalms

As the sermon series “Our Shaping Virtues” sermon series is coming to an end in a few weeks, we are excited to announce that we will be going through the book of Psalms over the Summer in the “Sermons in the Psalms” sermon series starting May 21st!

membership class

The next class will be after the Sunday morning services every Sunday in June (June 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th). Lunch and childcare will be provided. Contact Tom Wilkins for more information.

water baptism

Baptism Sunday will be held on June 11th after the Sunday morning service! If you would like to be baptized, or if you want more information, please contact Derek Overstreet. You can also read a full blog post about Baptisms HERE.

Child Dedication

The Child Dedication will be held on Father’s Day (June 18th) during the Sunday morning service! Contact Tom Wilkins if you’d like to partake in our church’s precious tradition.

The gospel saves us into a life of service, first to God and then, as an expression of that service, to others. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: John 13:1-15
TITLE:  Servanthood
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Understanding that the Lord Jesus is a servant, captures our hearts and makes us joyful servants.

POINTS:
1. Jesus is our Lord who served
2. We are Jesus’ servants who joyfully serve

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Jesus, our faithful Master, defines service as true greatness… He ultimately demonstrated this greatness for us in laying down his life for us.”

“Jesus is the Eternal WORD - the divine LOGOS. He is the very Son of God, the Son of Man, the KING of kings, and the LORD of lords! Jesus is the LORD. And Jesus our Lord serves us!”

“…we cannot miss the cosmic profundity of verses 4-5. Just a couple of days before the Cross on which Jesus will hang willingly, suffering, and shedding His divine precious blood as the very Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world, He, OUR LORD takes the form of a slave and washes his doubting, of-weak-faith, confused, proud, and fearful disciples!”

“Jesus the kneeling-servant will become the suffering-servant of Isaiah 53 and serve to His death… for us.”

“Jesus’ question: “Do you understand what I have done for you?”

“In faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we now are beginning to understand, and this captures our hearts…so what does this lead and call us to do - The TEXT gives us the application!”

“His command is grounded in what He has already done! (The indicative always before the imperative!) This calling is more than simply following Jesus’ example. Moralism = Trying to serve like Jesus did on our own - if that was even possible. BUT, Joyful servanthood results from understanding who Jesus is (LORD) and what He has done for us (The Cross). Our motivation is one of obedience, but this call and action are fueled and motivated by The Gospel - by what He has done for us and what He has done for fellow believers.”

“Holding on to our Lord and Savior (who is THE Perfect Servant who has His grip on us!) with one hand, we serve others with the other hand, all the while handing them off to the Lord and their Savior.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 4:5
Mark 10:43-44
Mark 10:45
1 John 3:18
1 Peter 4:10
1 Corinthians 9:19
John 13:34-35

QUOTES:
Murray J. Harris- “Christian conversion may be described as an exchange of yokes. Slavery to sin, to evil powers, to evil desires, is replaced by slavery to Christ. Since life cannot be ‘yokeless’, conversion must involve an alteration of sovereignty, an exchange of masters, the assumption of a new yoke - that of service to Christ. Whereas the previous yoke was oppressive and chafing, the new yoke is pleasant and emancipating.”

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
Q. Why am I not serving?
Q. Is my lack of serving evidence of deep selfishness… self-focused Narcissism
Q. Who and where could I serve?

By the power of God toward us, we must strive to be generous in every way, knowing the Lord will enrich us in every way for it. Indeed, he already has! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 9:10-15
TITLE:  Generosity
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Mission generosity marks us because divine generosity has made us.

POINTS:
1. God Gives Generously To Us So We Can Be Generous Givers
2. Our Generosity To Others Magnifies Our Generous God

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The gospel of Jesus Christ is an act of cosmic generosity. The cross is the pulpit of God’s love and the overflow of his grace and mercy to undeserving sinners. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The demonstration of divine generosity continues because, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)  As beneficiaries of such generosity, we now have every motivation and grace to be generous likewise with our time, money and talents on behalf of God’s people and for God’s mission.”

“Biblical generosity is not about the right season or the right reason. Generosity is always about the life-giving generosity of God in Jesus Christ. God is the ultimate generous giver! We can never lose sight of this…”

“It doesn’t matter how smart you are. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how disciplined you are. It doesn’t matter how great your sacrifice is. It doesn’t matter what kind of advantages you had or didn’t have growing up. No matter how little or much you have—you have it because God supplies it.”

“…the point of verse 10 is that God gives us what we have so we can sow it back into His kingdom, where He uses it for His redemptive purposes.”

“Paul is not saying—God will bless you for all your generosity. You could translate 11a—You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. God generously provides for you so you can generously pour into his kingdom.”

“Be it your time, talents, or money, don’t you dare underestimate grace-motivated generosity, especially toward your church. Resist rebuking someone for being “too generous” toward their church. Think twice, three times, no four times, about complaining when your pastors want to talk about being generous in every way. Why? Because Paul says, God’s glory is at stake! God uses your generosity to produce praises to the glory of his grace in Christ Jesus.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
James 1:17
1 Corinthians 4:7

QUOTES:
C.S. Lewis - “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Paul Barnett - “When we opt out of giving, we deny ourselves the honor of promoting God’s glory.”

APPLICATION:
I’m so grateful this is true of our church in many ways. But from the most generous to the least, we all have room to grow. So allow me to help you direct your growth in generosity:

• Is there a ministry in the church that needs your talents? 

• Is there a brother or sister in your CG that needs your time?

• Is there an unsaved neighbor or co-worker that needs your time?

• Is there a giving opportunity that could use your money? Oh yeah, the April offering is next week!