Jo Elaine Harris, our District Director of Mission shares our most recent edition of Generously Speaking.Feel free to use this as a bulltin insert, or to read this as an introduction to the Sunday offering.
Generously Speaking 7.0
I suspect we have all heard complaints about preachers asking for money for one need or another. Perhaps we have even heard people say that their preacher “constantly” asks for money. While this may be an exaggeration of reality, the truth is that frustration does sometimes bubble up when the churches request money. Scripture, however, is clear about how God expects us to respond.
Paul writes that God provides us an “abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work (2 Cor: 9:8).” Too often we live in the “sow sparingly” attitude that Paul addresses which, according to John Piper, means that we give “from a heart that deep inside wants to hold back . . .the real feeling of our heart is not to think of how much we can give, but how much we can keep.” In contrast, God asks that we sow bountifully with an attitude of cheerfulness, and is doing so we will reap bountifully.
Through abundant giving to our Conference, we positively impact the lives of people in our hometown, our country, our world — even in our own lives. Our gifts help pay medical bills for people with special needs; care for the kids in the Methodist Home for Children; and develop and teach Christian education programs. Our money helps support the critical college campus ministries; it supports the youth ministry of our conference; and it provides Disciple Bible studies in small churches and prisons. Chances are your missional giving even helped educate your pastor! The seeds we sow through our giving transform lives and bring hope and dignity to God’s people; and it allows the Spirit to work through our lives to transform us to the image of Jesus.
It has been said that how we spend our money and our time is the truest reflection of where our hearts lie and what we value. Where does your heart lie? What do you value? We must remember that God does not measure the value of our lives by how many material goods we acquire, but rather by how we sow the seeds God gives us. It is how we live into the image of Christ Jesus.
Jo Elaine Harris
District Director of Mission
