Generosity & Worship
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Share an instance when you gave something to someone and it brought you joy. What happened?
โข Whatโs something small that someone gave you that made a big impact?
โข Have you experienced wanting to help someone in need, but you were unsure of your capacity to help? How did that make you feel?ย
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐ ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข, ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ.ย ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ฐโ๐ญ๐ฒ
At the heart of a life devoted to God is a willingness to give and worship Him first. The Philippian church was dear to Paul because they stood by him and partnered in the gospel when no one else did. Like the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8, their giving was sacrificial and sincere, reflecting both their love for God and their commitment to the gospel. Their generosity went beyond financial supportโit was an act of worship, offered to honor God and further His mission. Today, we will look at how using our resources for Godโs purposes pleases Him and can be done with confidence because He supplies all our needs.
๐ญ. ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐.
๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต. ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ณ
Paulโs joy came from knowing that God will reward the Philippiansโ generosity. Their giving wasnโt just about meeting needsโit was about planting seeds that bear eternal fruit in their lives and in the lives of others. When we give towards Godโs work, our focus shifts from ourselves to His kingdom. We participate in something greater than ourselves, trusting that God will use our generosity to bring blessing, growth, and encouragement to others and at the same time, He will give us eternal rewards for our generosity. What does Proverbs 11:25 say about generosity? How have you seen God bless you or others through acts of giving?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ.
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐บ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐๐ฑ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ข ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ข ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ด
Just as Old Testament sacrifices were offered to honor God, the Philippiansโ gift reflected the same heart of devotionโtheir giving was an act of worship. They were giving beyond their means and even in the midst of severe affliction. Romans 12:1 reminds us that we are called to offer our lives as ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ. When we give generously, even in hardship, our hearts demonstrate our love for and trust in God. Our generosity becomes a testimony that He is worthy of our confidence and devotion. When has your giving felt like a genuine act of worship to God?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น ๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ฉ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด. ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ฐ:๐ญ๐ต
We can give without fear because God promises to meet our needs according to His riches and wisdom. His provision may not always be the way we expect, but it is always good, sufficient, and perfectly timed. When we trust Him, we are freed from anxiety and doubt, enabling us to give joyfully and generously. What does 2 Corinthians 9:8 teach us about Godโs provision? In what ways has God provided for you in the past, allowing you to give freely?
Putting God first shapes everything we do, including how we give. Giving toward His work is never just about moneyโit reflects a heart that trusts Him, loves Him, and seeks to honor Him. Every act of generosity, whether big or small, is a fragrant offering that brings joy to the Lord. We give not because we have plenty, but because we desire to worship Him, serve others, and experience the joy and sufficiency of His grace in every season.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Looking back, how has your generosity impacted others and shaped your own faith? How can you continue to grow in this area?
โข How can your giving move from being just a duty to a true act of worship? What would it look like to offer it with gratitude and joy to God?
โข What step of faith can you take this week to give generously, trusting that God will provide for all your needs?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for the privilege to be part of His mission through your giving. Pray that you will see it not as a loss but as a joy that draws you closer to Him.ย
โข Ask God to help you see generosity as worship, so your giving will always flow from loveโnot from pressure or obligation.
โข Pray that your trust in God would come before fear, so you can give freely and confidently, knowing He will provide. Pray that through your generosity, others can experience His provision and glorify Him.