What makes a Cheerful Giver?

 What Makes for a Cheerful Giver?

St. Paul wrote to Church of Christ in Corinth: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). God loves a cheerful giver. But who is a cheerful giver?

Abel was. By faith, he gave the firstborn of his flock, and it was acceptable in God’s sight. Abraham was. By faith, he prepared cakes and a tender choice calf for God and entertained angels unaware. So also were David and Solomon. By faith, David would not make a sacrifice to God that cost him nothing, so he paid Araunah his due. By faith, Solomon built a house for God, where his name would dwell and thereby where He would dwell to be Israel’s God and they His people.

What more shall we say? For time would fail us to tell of all those who gave not simply for the joy of giving but for the joy of knowing the One to whom they gave.

So also our Lord, who for the joy set before Him, gave everything – yes, even His life – enduring the cross and scorning its shame. He gave to the shedding of His blood, willingly and resolutely setting His face toward Jerusalem to die for the life of the world. Though He was rich in every way, He became poor, so that by His poverty, we might be rich beyond measure.

So then, let us like Abel and Abraham, like David and Solomon, and even like our Lord Jesus Christ, give cheerfully to God for the work of His kingdom in our midst. Like them, let us decide in our heart for the joy set before us. It’s the joy of knowing the One to whom we give is the One who gives us all good things.

– LCMS Stewardship Ministry: lcms.org/stewardship

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Installation Pictures

Image
 On January 7, I was installed as the Pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church, Rensselaer, IN and The Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Monticello, IN.   Rev. Dr. D. Richard Stuckwisch, President of the Indiana District - LCMS, installed me.   Rev. David Mueller served as Preacher Rev. Wayne Berkesch, vacancy Pastor of St. Luke and Our Saviour served as officiant for the Service of the Word. I presided at the Service of the Sacrament. I am grateful that so many people came.  Most of the LCMS Pastors in the circuit were also present.  Thank you to Lutheran Church of Our Saviour for hosting the installation.    
Read more

Sermon and video for 19th Sunday after Pentecost

Image
Video of service at St. Luke, Rensselaer 2024 Pentecost 19 Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29             James 5:1-20                   Mark 9:38-50 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. In the course of our three-year lectionary, the book of Numbers is only used three times. Numbers 6 and 21 are the other two readings. So, I offer a quick overview of the book of Numbers because even in our devotional readings, I suspect we may not draw deeply from this particular book.  The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Old Testament and is a part of the Old Testament we call the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible. They are written by the prophet and law-giver Moses. The book of Numbers records the travels of Israel from Mount Si...
Read more

Pentecost 3 - Deception

Image
Click here to view the service at St. Luke, Rensselaer Wikimedia Commons - Lucas Cranach - Adam and Eve Paradise 2024 Pentecost 3  Genesis 3:8-15         2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1       Mark 3:20-35  Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O  Lord , my strength, and my redeemer. Deception is a regular part of our lives. We must be alert to the possibility that the person contacting us is a scammer. We must judiciously guard our myriad usernames and passwords so that we do not get hacked and someone steals our identity and money. We learn to read and listen to the news with a certain skepticism. We ask, what is the hidden agenda here? We learn to read the fine print and to question what is said as well as what is left unsaid.   The Bible attests that deception has been with us since the near beginning. In the lesson from Genesis, we see the after effect of deception. I w...
Read more