Slices
Prepare
Think back over the last few days and make a list of things you feel genuinely grateful for.
Bible passage
Generosity encouraged
6 Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever.’
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Explore
During an all-age service at church, our kids team got the congregation involved in a round of ‘name that magnified object’. It is surprisingly difficult to recognise everyday items from a zoomed-in photo of one small area! In today’s passage, lest he loses them in close-ups of the details, Paul uses a wide-angle lens to show the Corinthians how the Judean collection is at the heart of the big picture of God’s new kingdom. To do so, he refers to Old Testament passages that show the overarching story the Corinthians are a part of (vs 7–10). It is the story of a generous God whose inherent blessings overflow to bless his people and bring blessing back to him. God has wired this pattern into the world so that, as we allow his overflowing gifts to us to overflow from us to others, we manifest his increasing righteousness in us and multiply thanksgiving to him.
Considering this upward spiral of generosity, matters of quantity fade into the background. The amount we give (whether financially or in other resources) is far less important than the heart behind it (v 7). How do our lives reflect Paul’s guidance in this passage? What grace there is here for us to give from a place not of need but of fullness, not from duty but from freedom.
Respond
Re-read your gratitude list and talk with God about how these gifts might overflow.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 23,24; Psalms 92,93
Pray for Scripture Union
The Stepping Stones Illustrated Bible aimed at children aged 4 and above will be published in early autumn, making a great Christmas present. Pray that many copies will be given and read and will give children a lifelong love of the Bible.
Because a strong start begins with smart preparation
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