When we give—when we are being generous—what is our disposition? What’s going on in our mind? Why are we being generous? Are we doing it for what we can get out of it? Do we have any ulterior motives? Or are we giving out of obligation (aka guilt)? Are we concerned about what others think about us? Are we giving to be praised and admired by others? Any and all of these reveal our disposition toward generosity. In our text today, Paul gives us some guidelines for how we should give when we display this grace of generosity.
As we continue this section of our series on the topic of generosity, today we’re going to look again at how generosity is a display of God’s grace; and then, we’ll look at some of the logistics for the collection of this offering to learn how we too should be handling the Lord’s money.
Paul’s encouragement to give generously to fellow believers in need would be an opportunity to manifest the grace of God they had experienced in their lives. It was a chance for them to pay it forward!
How often do you find yourself promising you’ll do something, and then immediately walking away and forgetting you promised? We live in a culture that rewards the talk, but not the walk. Today we are going to be studying from James 2:14-26, looking at the effect that empty words have on not only those that we are saying them to, but also the effect that is has on ourselves. Let your words be the precursor to His work.
Herod was a cruel and diabolical man. He was incredibly jealous and hopelessly suspicious of everyone. He was threatened by everyone and everything, and so he spent his entire life plotting the murder of people. There are accounts of multiple times when he killed someone (or groups of people) because they were somehow seen as a threat to him. His victims even included one of his wives and several of his own children. Herod had a lust for power, a constant suspicion, and an insane eagerness to avenge himself that enslaved the man all the days of his life. He was a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant. I share all of this with you today to give you a glimpse into the heart of this evil man—his mindset and his character—so that we can better understand his role in the nativity narrative.
Some of you are thinking… Christmas is over! Why are we still talking about Christmas? Well, the nativity narrative includes events that occurred after the birth of baby Jesus. So, this week and next, we’re going to be looking at the final two characters in the Cast of Christmas—the Magi and King Herod.
We do not know everyone who knew the reason for Mary’s sudden departure to go stay with her relatives near Jerusalem, but we assume that Joseph was aware of what was going on. But what was happening with Joseph during these three months that Mary was gone? What was he thinking? How did he feel? I cannot answer these questions definitively, but we can deduce some aspects of the situation back in Nazareth based off of what we learn in Matthew 1. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, had made a difficult decision for his life and future; and God chose to intervene by sending one of His messengers to inform Joseph of vital details about the situation before it was too late.
While waiting for her wedding day, an angel appeared to Mary to explain what was about to happen to her. When the angel spoke to her, he said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” Mary was a recipient His grace. God pursued her with His grace! So today, we’re going to focus in on the interaction Mary had with the angel, Gabriel, and with her cousin, Elizabeth, from Luke 1. We will look specifically at Mary’s character and the struggles that she experienced—social, mental and emotional struggles—as she carried the Promised Messiah.
Before the world began… before mankind was created… before we ever chose to disobey God in sin… God had a plan to reconcile mankind to Himself. He knew that we would sin, and so, He provided a way to be made right in His presence. That way was, is, and always will be Jesus Christ. That was God’s Plan A and there was no Plan B! So, throughout the recorded history of the Bible, God chose to use people who were willing to yield their lives to Him to pronounce the truth of His Word concerning the coming Messiah—the One who would deliver His chosen people once and for all!
One of the great struggles for people in their spiritual journey is trying to understand why so many bad things happen in the world today. The prevailing thought is that if God is a god of love, then all these bad things should not be happening. But since they are happening, people often conclude one of two things: either (A) God doesn’t exist, or (B) God doesn’t love. Both of these conclusions are wrong because they ignore the foundational teachings from the Word of God. Evil exists in the world today because the first man and woman chose to disobey God. The consequences of their disobedience brought about not only physical and spiritual death, but also pain, suffering and difficulties in life. Without the consequences of sin, we would never look to Him for salvation and reconciliation—we would keep on sinning. Because of the gospel of reconciliation which brings salvation, we can experience joy in the midst of pain, suffering and difficulties. In our text today, the Apostle Paul wrote about some of these difficulties, but not in a negative or complaining manner—he wrote for our comfort and encouragement!