Promises of God Part 5
Generosity
I Will Take Care of Your Every Need
October 11-17, 2020
Exodus 16:13-21 / Psalm 78:9-25 / 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, /Matthew 6:25-34
- Read the passage from Exodus 16:13-21. Manna was supposed to be collected DAILY. The Lord knows that daily sustenance is central to human life (Matthew 6:25-34). And yet, God’s chosen people were not supposed to “stockpile” manna. If they did, it would not last until the next morning. In fact, it would begin to rot. The Lord’s Prayer, similarly, says that the Lord promises us only DAILY bread. How does this speak to you during this current unprecedented time about God’s provision for you? What in your life is manna? How is God asking you to use it…now?
- What do you rely on for security? What is the Lord saying to you about His provision for you? How does this inform you about the things on which you place your reliance and security?
- Our passage from 2 Corinthians promises that if you “sow bountifully” you will also “reap bountifully.” Where in your life are you NOT sowing bountifully? Ask God to make you aware of those areas in your life that are in need of bountiful sowing. Share these with your group. Pray for one another and the Church to discover those places where bountiful sowing is needed.
- Time and again in the New Testament, Jesus, St. Paul, and others are clear: the standard for giving is NOT 10% of your income or assets (the tithe, as is mandated in the Old Testament). The standard is a much higher one: generosity. C.S. Lewis has said this about giving to the Church:
“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”
What does being generous to the Church look like for you? - Read our Gospel passage. What does Jesus say is the antidote for anxious times? (vs. 33) Jesus does not say that we shouldn’t prepare or make plans for the future, but He does clearly say that there is a precedence of what we should focus on first. How might this re-order things in your life? In the life of the parish?
