Sermon for November 4, 2007

What Generosity Does For You
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 and 15

Remember, a stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!

I. Generosity breaks the hold of superficiality and materialism in your life.

II. Generosity is a sign that you belong to God.

* A happy, purposeful life will contain the qualities of gratitude and generosity.

III. Generosity is an acknowledgment that God is the owner and we are the managers.

* In the final analysis, we own nothing. Everything we do can be distilled
down to our stewardship.

Sermon for October 28, 2007

Jesus and Money
Matthew 6:19-21 & 33

“Do not store up yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where
thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. But strive first for the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Jesus and Money

I. We tend to seek security in money and possessions.

II. Money can become a controlling and driving force in our lives.

III. How we use money reveals our true heart.

IV. The tithe is God’s standard for us.