With my work at INJOY Stewardship Solutions, I hear numerous amounts of sermons on money, possessions, stewardship and generosity from some of the top pastors. In this morning’s message, my very own pastor Dr. Crawford Loritts of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA, delivered one of the finest messages on generosity I have heard.
The content based from the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 was so important I wanted to pass Crawford’s thoughts along to you. To hear the message in full click HERE as it will be posted later this week. Trust me, it is worth your time.
The following are 26 Lessons About Generosity Every Pastor And Christian Leader Should Know:
- In general, sacrificial giving is at the core of discipleship.
- God’s Word is advanced through the generosity of others.
- The focus should be our hearts. It has little to do with our wallets. It has everything to do with our hearts.
- Love and gratitude are the motivations of our giving.
- If we love much, we will give sacrificially. To love means to give. To give means to be grateful.
- If we love God and love people we will be generous.
- People can get lost in (practicing) your religion.
- The Good Samaritan listened to his heart. He had compassion. We can get too busy to listen to our hearts.
- He (the Good Samaritan) embraced the inconvenience. The point is not the high cost of caring. The point is the high cost of NOT caring.
- Sacrifice is risky. What happens if we DON’T respond.
- The opportunity (to show generosity and compassion to the injured man) was the new priority. Making the man whole was his new priority. All the business (from his journey) stopped.
- We all give. Who and what do we give to?
- What was given to the Good Samaritan was a resource. We own nothing. Everything we have is a resource.
- Every selfish action will be burnt up in eternity.
- The neighbor is the one who showed mercy.
- Generosity identifies and reflects the Lord Jesus.
- Two things that best portray the love of Jesus – to forgive and to give sacrificially.
- Stuff can replace God.
- The greatness of David is not his holy consistency but his depth of repentance.
- Repentent people do whatever it takes to make it right.
- The word “worship” means sacrifice. To be sacrificial means to give until it hurts.
- Sacrifice is self-denial.
- A cheap sacrifice is worse than no sacrifice at all. God doesn’t need your money.
- A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing.
- When we give we express our gratitude to Calvary (and Jesus’ work on the cross).
- Our generosity is in direct relationship to the depth of our gratitude. You can almost measure a person’s spirituality by the depth of their giving.
Crawford closed with two challenges which I pass along to you. 1. Ask God to show you where you can be more generous. 2. Keep your eyes and heart open like the Samaritan and trust God’s promptings.
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