This is our family devotional guide for June 12-18, 2011. The questions are from Psalm 119:25-48, Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12, and 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:13. The focus is God's mission and what our participation in that mission should look like. Each day also includes a prayer focus drawn from the scriptural emphasis for that day.

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Family Devotional Guide / God's Mission
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On Giving 04/07/2011
 
As a supplement to my post yesterday, examining whether 1 Corinthians 16:2 is a command for us, I'm posting the text of a Bible study that I taught on giving, using 2 Corinthians 8-9 and 1 Corinthians 16:2. There is a downloadable link below if you'd like to download it.

What are your thoughts?
On Giving (2 Cor. 8-9 and 1 Cor. 16:2)
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1. “Benevolence”

Benevolence has to do with acts of service, both monetary and non-monetary (see Acts 4:32-37 and 6:1-6). But the word itself rarely, if at all, appears in modern translations. Thus, it is probably better to talk about a theology of giving, what the church does with the money given, and how to give.

2. Theology of Giving (2 Cor 8-9)
  • 8:1-6. The Macedonians gave out of their extreme poverty so that what they gave was a “wealth of generosity.” The giving was an act of their own free will as a result of giving themselves first to the Lord. The chronology is very important. They even gave beyond their means.
  • 8:7. Giving is seen as an act of grace—God’s work within us.
  • 8:8. Giving is not a command but a way for us to evaluate our love for others—don’t give out of obligation, but think through it.
  • 8:12. Giving should be done according to your means. That is acceptable, Paul says. No one should place a hardship upon himself or herself by giving regularly beyond their means.
  • 8:13-15. Giving should be equitable. The principle is that you help others when they need it and they will help you when you need it.
  • 9:6, 10. Spiritual principles about giving. 
  • 9:6. You reap what you sow. Jesus said something similar to this in Mark 4:24—“The measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.” God rewards you based on your commitment to him.
  • 9:10. God will help you give. Paul says if you are good with the money you have God will give you more money to do good with!
  • 9:7. The attitude of giving. When you give, make up your own mind what is appropriate. Don’t give reluctantly because God loves your cheerfulness.
  • 9:11-15. Spiritual growth happens through giving. Giving refocuses us on what is really ours and what we are really about as Christians. Notice the interchange between the giver and the receiver—you give and the receiver prays for you in thanks. Through all this, God is glorified and many thanksgiving are offered to him.
  • 8:9. The theology of giving is wrapped up in Jesus and his gospel. Jesus completely gave us his riches and became poor to make us wealthy. What Jesus did for us completely refocuses us around what is really important.
3. How to Give (1 Cor 16:1-2)

This is a principle, not a command. Since Paul commanded this for a one-time collection, we can only draw a principle from it. It is most helpful for the church to continue this principle on a weekly basis, to take care of ongoing needs. That’s why we take up a collection each week. Paul teaches us to set some money relative to our income. Paul’s point is to take care of your needs first and then consider what you can give beyond your needs. The principle is this: You decide how much to give, within your means, and then give cheerfully.

4. What does the church do with the money that is given?

We use the money to meet the needs of people in the church and of people who call the church with needs, to support missions and ministry, to pay a minister, and to maintain a building.

5. Biblical teaching on how the church uses money.
  • The church gave money to meet the needs of their own. (Acts 4:32-37; 2:42-47)
  • Individuals gave money to the church.
  • The money was distributed by the leaders (apostles).
  • The church uses money to support ministry and missions.
  • Acts 11:27-30. In this passage, the churches took up money to help the believers who were dealing with a famine.
  • Phil 4:15-16. The church uses money to support missionaries, just like the Philippians supported Paul.
  • The church uses money to support ministers and elders whose job it is to proclaim the gospel.
  • 1 Cor 9:1-14. Paul insists that those who sow spiritual good should expect to reap material benefits (a living). He even says the Lord commanded this (v. 14).
  • Luke 10:7. In describing how the seventy missionaries are to be supported, Jesus says, “Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve their wages.”
  • 1 Tim 5:17. Paul uses Luke 10:7 to teach that elders and teachers should be supported financially.
  • The church also uses money to maintain our building. While there is no clear teaching about this in the Bible, the building does give us a place to meet to proclaim the gospel at.
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I read about half of 2 Corinthians this morning and found some really challenging material. I'm posting it here the way I wrote it in my journal, as observations and questions to myself that you might find useful as well.
  • "...the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6). Strong words from Paul about the old covenant. It's inferior (3:7-18) and does not lead to transformation. But will we let it go? Will I let it go? It is much easier for me to practice my faith by holding myself and others to lists of rules, biblical or otherwise, that can be controlled. Far more dangerous to trust the Spirit and his leading.
  • We "are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory" (2 Cor. 3:18). The transformation comes as we contemplate the Lord's glory, which we can only do when the "veil" is lifted from us, that is, when we turn to the Lord. The old covenant is a veil and it hides the freedom that exists in the Lord from us. But the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit is, there is freedom. But will I lock on to this freedom, or do I seek the "comfort" and "control" of the veil?
  • Paul's commendation of his ministry in 2 Cor. 6 is powerful. He lists the ways he has suffered and taught and lived as a servant of God. How do I primarily view myself--as a servant of God or as something as else? Do I think that honor is due me, or do I reflect honor back to the Lord? Will I embrace suffering and hardship if it comes, or try to run from it? Will I simply be a simple servant of God?
What are your thoughts?
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In this funeral sermon, based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, I reflect on what it means to be home with God.

Read the sermon below, click on the file link to stream the audio, or right-click the link and select "Save As" to download it.
Going Home
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"Going Home" ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

We know we are not at “home,” so we live in hope of “home” with confidence and faith that please the Lord.

We know we are not at "home" (2 Cor. 5:1-5)
In spring, trees bloom and flowers emerge from the ground. The growth is beautiful. Color returns to our yards and warms our moods after a long, gray, cold Michigan winter. As much as we enjoy springtime and the changes it brings, we know that these changes are not permanent. We know that they are part of a cycle, a cycle that turns season after season, year after year. Spring moves to summer, where long, hot summer days can result in withered flowers and scorched, dry grass. Summer gives way to autumn. In autumn, flowers die, trees lose their luster, leaves fall off, and the beauty that was seen in spring gives way to a barrenness that reaches from late autumn, all across winter, into early spring. The beauty of spring is temporary; it is a phase that is beautiful and wonderful while it lasts, but as they say of all good things, it must come to an end.

For Christians, life is a lot like these seasonal transitions. The beauty and wonder of our earthly life and in our early years gives way to fading glory as we grow older and experience the effects of aging. Yet, something calls to us within our lives, from an early age. Something beckons us forward, tells us that what we experience isn't all there is to life, that what happens to us now--how we grow older; how we experience the joys and pains of life; how we leave a legacy--is only a precursor to what happens to us later. Innately, we know that here on earth, in our mortal, physical bodies, we are not truly at home. Something within us groans and longs for our more perfect home.

This is why Paul teaches us "that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands" (2 Cor. 5:1). He's referring to death and what happens to us, not in our mortal, physical bodies but in our immortal, spiritual bodies. If we die, he says, or if we know that death is imminent, we also know that death is not the end. Death is not all there is. There is something more. There is a building from God. The "eternal house" Paul mentions is not a dwelling in heaven; it is the indestructible spiritual body God will give us when we go home to live with him. The superiority of this "house" is made clear by Paul's contrast to our physical bodies as a mere "tent."

For Christians, we believe it is God himself who places this knowledge within us. God's intent is for all--Christian and non-Christian alike--to have their mortality swallowed up by real life (2 Cor. 5:4). Real life, for Paul, is the eternal, spiritual life we share with God when he gives us our eternal house. We yearn for this eternal house. We want more; we know there is more. God teaches us there is more than what we experience now; that our deepest yearnings for something better are true. Paul says, "The one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Cor. 5:5). We know that God is faithful; we know that God has planted this hope within us because he has given us his Spirit. It's his Spirit within us--the same Spirit that serves as a deposit on our eternal house--that calls us closer to God.

It's this spiritual reality that our dear sister knew so well. She exemplified this attitude in her life. She knew 2 Corinthians 4:16 well--that "outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day"--and it caused her to live 2 Cor. 4:18 well--to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." While this world was her home and she had many good memories and experiences in it, she knew it was only temporary. She was called to a higher home where she would turn in the tent of her temporary dwelling here for a house that would stand forever on the shores with her Father. One of my best memories of our sister was a common one. When we'd visit, she would often mention that she didn't know why God was keeping her around. We'd talk about that, and we'd offer different reasons why God was keeping her around, but it was that very question itself that showed that she knew something greater was in store for her. She knew that God was not finished with her, and that God would keep his promise to give her an eternal home.

so we live in hope of "home" (2 Cor. 4:16-5:5)
This is why we live in hope. Our own bodies and the world around us teaches us that what we see is temporary. So, like our dear sister, we hope in what is unseen. In the bible, hope is not a wishy-washy word in the sense we commonly use it today. We say, "I hope the weather is nice this weekend," or, "I hope we can get together soon," and we mean this in a wishful-thinking way. In the bible, "hope" is concrete. It is a noun. It is something specific that we grasp. In the bible, hope is the promise of God that we will live with him forever, that we will be resurrected and given permanent, immortal, spiritual bodies--eternal houses. We believe this by faith, not by sight, because what we see around us encourages us to think differently. But our sister knew better--she lived by faith--and through her example we learn to trust what is unseen, to trust God, the giver of hope, who gives us a promise of eternal life, a resurrected body, and fellowship with him (4:14).

with confidence and faith that please the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-10).
So we live by faith. Our sight is eternal, focused on God who is the giver of all good things in life. We live in confidence; by faith, not sight, trusting God our Father; and aiming to please him.

Our sister knew 2 Corinthians 5:10 well--that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" to be judged for our earthly actions--and it caused her to live 2 Cor. 5:9 well--that we "make it our goal to please him."

Pleasing Jesus is, of course, the goal of our lives. It was the goal of our sister's life. In Hebrews 12, we learn that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. These witnesses are the faithful who have gone on before us, who have attained the reward God held out for them. These witnesses cheer us on as we remember their lives of faith. Their examples help to keep us faithful in following Jesus. We pass through life, moving towards Jesus, outgrowing our earthly tent and looking ahead to our eternal home, being surrounded by this great group of witnesses who have gone on ahead of us. We yearn for something better; they experience it. We long for home; they are home.

One of our sister's favorite things to talk about whenever anyone visited her was why God continued to keep her around for so long. She believed she had outlived her usefulness. We knew better. We knew that she continued to be a source of encouragement to many, and that God was very proud of her for doing so. Yet, her question also demonstrated the true desire of her heart--she longed to be rid of her earthly tent to receive the promised, eternal house from God. Now, she has finally received her heart's desire--she has gone ahead of us, preceded us, to wait for us to join her and God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in our true and permanent dwelling with God. She's home.
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My recent book review of Peter Singer's The Life You Can Save got me thinking about a past bible study on giving. Below is a bible study I wrote on giving that includes discussion on the theology of giving in 2 Corinthians 8-9, how to give (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), and what the church does with the money it is given (various scriptures).

What are your thoughts?
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This is a video summary of our bible study from Dec. 6, 2009. We talked about these principles of giving from 2 Corinthians 8: 1) Give with a cheerful attitude; 2) give according to your means; and 3) follow your heart in giving as God leads you (v. 12).
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In this video summary of our bible study from Sunday, November 29, 2009, I discuss our budget, how the numbers work, and what the bible says about giving, primarily from 1 and 2 Corinthians. This ended up being a "Part 1" because I ran out of time (big surprise!), so "Part 2" will be next week.
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