Give More

On Sunday, I continued our series of messages from Advent Conspiracy. This week I preached on "Give More." I will share a few details here.

I started by sharing about two young men who are a good picture of what it means to Give More. They are Austin Gutwein (www.hoopsofhope.org) & Zach Hunter (www.zachhunter.me). For more information about them, visit the website beside their names.

Then I turned to the Scriptures for the morning: Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6 & 1 Peter 4:7-11

My points for the message were:

  • Give More Presence--I started by looking at Isaiah 7:14 which talks about Immanuel (God With Us) being the greatest gift we can receive at Christmas. No money can buy what a blessing it is to know Immanuel loves us and cares for us. I then turned our focus to 1 Peter 4:7-8. These verses focus on time being short. I asked the question: Are we using our presence (our time) on earth wisely? I explained in more detail what clear minded & self-controlled means in these verses. I ended by briefly mentioning what "loving deeply" looks like in our lives. When we love someone, we forgive them we they mess us. Loving deeply does not have time to keep a list of sins.
  • Give More Gifts--I began by looking at the titles given to the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6. These titles reveal a leader who will be different & will bring a message unlike any leader before. This leader is not just human, but also divine. Each of these titles show us how Jesus will minister when He walks the earth. After explaining what these titles mean for us, I transitioned to 1 Peter 4:9-11. These verses challenge us to show hospitality and to use our gifts. Why should be use our spiritual gifts according to these verses? There are 3 reasons according to Peter: vs. 10-to serve others, vs. 10-to share God's grace with others, and vs. 11 so God may be praised. However, notice that despite being given specific gifts that we are still dependent on God.
  • Closing--As I closed, I reminded everyone about the words of the song, "Give This Christmas Away" and how I hoped December would be different this year for each of us. I challenged them to think how they could give more this year by reminding them of the drama that was done that morning. And finally, I asked them to think about Austin & Zach and how they chose to give more. I pray that we as the church will look for needs and be led by the Holy Spirit to meet those needs in a loving and caring way.

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