SAMPLE SERMON 2
SAMPLE SERMON
Firstfruits Generosity
(Note to Teacher: If you use the skit, you may wish to tie that illustration in to the introduction of this message rather than the introduction provided.)
Think about a great gift you’ve received. In fact, try to think of the best gift you’ve ever received. And I’m not talking about some nice thing someone did for you. I want the gift you think of to be one that cost the giver some money. A lot of money, at least for them. And I want the gift to have been something that was well thought out – something that showed that the gift giver knows you well.
Does something come to mind?
Some of you probably couldn’t come up with anything. You drew a blank. For you, there is one unmistakable, undeniable conclusion: you need a better class of friends!
But for those of you who could come up with something, just the fact that you can remember that gift out of all the gifts you’ve received over your life says something about the gift. And it especially says something about the gift giver.
It meant a lot that they would go to such trouble – that they would make the effort to think of something especially appropriate for you and that they would spend so much money on such a gift. Their outrageous act of kindness demonstrated very tangibly and boldly that you matter to them.
(Note to teacher: Briefly describe such a gift you once received. Or, if you can’t think of anything, use the one that follows.)
A couple of years after graduating from college, Frank wanted to buy his dad something extra special for Father’s Day. Frank’s dad was getting older and since Frank was now making a decent salary, he wanted to get his dad something really meaningful.
He remembered a story his dad had told him. Frank’s dad had lost his own dad when he was very young and his mom never had much money. One day, when Frank’s dad was about 8 years old, he saw a radio in a store window, and he wanted that radio. He didn’t haven’t have enough money to buy it outright, but the store agreed to sell it to him for something like 25 cents a week.
SAMPLE SERMON 2
He loved that radio, listened to it all the time. But then he got behind on the payments and had to give it back.
That story had always tugged on Frank’s heart. While Frank’s dad now had a nice stereo, Frank decided that he would try to find the same kind of radio his dad had bought and had to give back all those years ago. He found out the brand and started calling antique stores. After a lot of calls, he finally tracked one down at a store about 50 miles from where he lived. He made the drive, spent the money – about a hundred dollars – and got that special radio for his dad. Even before he gave his dad the radio, just looking at it made Frank cry. Made his dad cry, too, when he got it from his son that Father’s day. Now that was a special gift.
When someone picks out an especially appropriate gift for us, and when they spend what, for them, is a lot of money to buy us the gift, that usually gets our attention, doesn’t it? It says a lot about how much we mean to that person.
When we give such gifts to God, it gets his attention as well.
Think back to the very first material gifts ever given to God, the gifts given by the first two sons of Adam and Eve: Cain and Abel. When they became men, the Bible tells us in Genesis 4 that Cain worked the soil and Abel kept flocks.
We read that in the course of time, Cain brought what is described as “some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.” Abel, on the other hand, brought what is described as “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.”
We then read of God’s response: “The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.”
Now that may seem a little ungracious of God. After all, Cain and Abel both brought him gifts. But we can trust that God had good reason to respond as he did. The Bible says that while we look at the outside of people’s lives, God can see what’s really on the inside. Clearly, there was something about the gifts that God could tell reflected very different attitudes of the heart.
Some commentary writers have suggested that Cain’s gift must have consisted of crops that he didn’t want for himself or that he couldn’t sell. They must have been blemished in some way.
If you’ve ever taken part in a white elephant gift exchange – you know, where everyone brings something they already own that they don’t want – apparently Cain’s gift was even worse than the worst white elephant gift. What God saw in Cain’s gift was Cain’s proud, unbelieving heart filled with disrespect for God.
That became especially clear after God rejected his gift. Cain wasn’t grieved by the rejection; he wasn’t filled with remorse; he was filled with anger.
Abel’s gift, on the other hand, was a choice gift, a costly gift of some of the newborn animals from his flock. Think of something you own that you love – maybe a costly article of clothing that you only wear on special occasions. Now imagine giving it away. That’s the type of gift Abel gave.
His was a truly firstfruits gift that reflected a heart full of humility, faith, and love for God.
What God wants most from us is our heart. And because our hearts get so easily wrapped up in money and what it can buy, how we prioritize our use of money says a lot to God about the condition of our hearts.
He teaches us in his Word to make generosity our first financial priority.
In Proverbs 3:9, we learn two really important lessons about biblical generosity. It says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.” Since most of us are probably not farmers, the modern translation would be, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits, or first portion, of all our income.
Today, let’s look more closely at these two lessons taught by that verse: what it means to “honor” the Lord with our wealth, and what it means to give a “firstfruits” gift.
Notice that the verse does not say, “Help the Lord pay His bills with your wealth.”
It isn’t like God needs the money, right? He doesn’t ask us to give to His work in the world because He’s struggling with the mortgage payment on His creation! He doesn’t need a handout, and he doesn’t need a bailout. He’s God. He made everything and He owns everything outright.
Should we ever doubt God’s need for our financial help, it’s right there in Psalm 50:12: “If I were hungry I would not tell you,” God said, “for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”
So, we’re not talking about financial need here. We’re talking about something else entirely.
The verse says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” Being generous toward God is the most powerful way of using money to bring honor to God.
One definition of honor is to praise. And when it comes to God, to praise Him is to worship Him.
From the very beginning, generosity toward God has been designed as an act of worship, a very tangible expression of our love for and gratitude toward God.
In Old Testament times, when King David felt led to build a temple to God, he rallied his people to give generously toward the project. And he gave generously, the Bible says, of all his resources. Together they built an incredible temple, a costly gift for God.
When it was completed, David said these famous words: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
David didn’t name the temple for himself or his people. He didn’t buy the naming rights like today’s corporations buy the naming rights to football or baseball stadiums. It was God’s temple. Building it was an act of worship toward God, and it reflected in the hearts of all who gave to the cause gratitude for all that God had done for them.
So, the first lesson we learn from Proverbs 3:9 is that generosity toward God is intended to be an act of worship.
Think about that the next time you put a check in the offering basket. Doing so isn’t supposed to feel like paying the electricity bill. It’s supposed to feel like singing the most heartfelt worship song to God.
Now let’s turn to what it means to give a “firstfruits” gift. I’d like to highlight three points.
First, giving a firstfruits gift means making generosity toward God our first financial priority. As we set up our budgets, it means allocating a portion of our income to God before everything else - before we decide how much we can spend on housing, cars, clothing, and all the rest.
Making generosity our first financial priority ensures that we will, in fact, give. If we wait to see what’s left over after all the bills are paid and after we buy the things we want, chances are there won’t be anything left over.
But there’s a more important reason to make generosity toward God our first financial priority. Doing so is the most tangible financial step we can take to demonstrate that God is number one in our lives.
When Jesus said we can’t serve two masters he didn’t say we can’t serve God and our career, or God and our favorite hobby, or even God and the most important people in our life – as true as those statements would have been. He said we can’t serve God and money.
He knew just how tempting it is to make money our highest priority. He knew that, more than anything else, money would be his chief rival for our hearts.
We can say God is number one in our lives, but when the first thing we do with any money we receive is to give a portion of it to God, well, now we’re serious. It’s the difference between standing inside an airport, looking out the window at an airplane, and saying we believe it can fly, versus getting on board, strapping our self into a seat, and going for a flight.
When we give generously toward God we get on board with God. We very tangibly demonstrate to God, and we very powerfully remind ourselves, that God is, indeed, number one in our lives.
The second point about what it means to give a firstfruits gift is that doing so means giving a choice gift, as Abel did.
The Bible teaches us to give proportionately. That means basing the amount that we give on a percentage of income.
Think about your annual household income. And now think about how much money ten percent would be. For some people, they may seem like a crazy amount, but it certainly feels like a choice gift, right?
Well, ten percent, or a tithe, is the historical biblical starting point for generosity. It’s what God expected of his poorest Old Testament followers. It was part of the Old Testament law.
And when Jesus was asked directly about that standard by the Pharisees, as we read in Matthew 23:23, he affirmed it.
However, each positive example we see of generosity in the New Testament goes beyond that standard. For example, Zacchaeus the wealthy tax collector gave 50 percent. So, 10 percent is a great starting point, but it’s not the intended stopping point.
The third point about giving a firstfruits gift is that doing so means giving with the recipient’s interests in mind. You wouldn’t give a tennis racket to someone who doesn’t play tennis. When we carefully choose a gift based on what the recipient cares about, that makes it a heartfelt, personal gift. In Scripture, we learn a lot about God’s priorities.
It’s clear that God wants us to help the poor. It’s written throughout the pages of Scripture. For example, Proverbs 14:21 says, “Blessed is he who is kind to the poor.” So, when we use our resources to help the poor, we are giving a meaningful, firstfruits gift to God.
It’s clear that God wants us to tell others about Him. In The Great Commission, recorded in Matthew 28, Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” So, when we use our resources to help introduce others to God, we are giving a meaningful, firstfruits gift to God.
And it’s clear that God’s wants us to support those who help us grow in our faith. Galatians 6:6 says to share all good things with those who teach us God’s Word. So, when we use our resources to help provide for teachers of the Word, we are giving a meaningful, firstfruits gift to God.
People often ask, “Where should I give?” There are many great causes in the world, and I encourage you to support the nonprofits whose work you care about. However, as Christians, the first priority for our generosity dollars is to support God’s work in the world. Only these investments have the potential to generate eternity-shaping returns.
Because the local church is a one-stop shop for all three of God’s priorities we talked about – helping the poor, reaching out to those who don’t know God, and helping believers grow in their faith – it’s the natural starting point for the money we invest in God’s work.
So, firstfruits giving is about making generosity our first financial priority; it’s about giving a choice gift, using 10 percent as the starting point; and it’s about giving with God’s interests in mind – the poor, those who don’t know Him, and the teacher’s of God’s Word.
One final and very important point about generosity: Jesus made a remarkable statement about generosity. Some of us have heard the statement so many times that it’s easy to skip past it or take it for granted. But let’s hear His words about generosity with fresh ears and fresh hearts today.
Here’s the simple yet profound statement he made about generosity: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
One of the primary messages of our consumer culture is that happiness is found in what we receive. But I think we all know deep inside that that’s simply not true. The most satisfying experiences of life are those where we do something that makes a difference in someone else’s life, when we exert ourselves for a cause greater than us.