Principles of Christian Financial Giving (Part 1)

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

The Corinthians evidently made a generous commitment financially to the Christians in Jerusalem but started to back away from their commitment. Paul writes to motivate them to make good on their giving and reminds them of several key theological principles of Christian financial giving. Giving is a response to God's grace. Giving is an acknowledgment that we are God's stewards. Giving is an essential component of Christian spirituality. This area of our Christian life is easy to try to wall off from God and say He has no business there. But when we have been given everything through our salvation because of Christ's death, how can we tell God that our worldly resources are too sacred to part with?

Two Visions Of Leadership

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 20:17-28

This passage shows the contrast between human leadership and Jesus' leadership. Jesus' leadership involves laying down his life for others and service while human leadership involves getting power for ourselves. Two central issues are raised: 1) We should be willing to follow Christ's leadership, and 2) We should learn to imitate Jesus in our leadership roles.\r\n

The Feeding of the 5000

Dennis McCallum

2 Corinthians 5:20

Jesus calls his disciples to meet the needs of people. The ultimate need of all people is to have their relationship with God reconciled through Christ. Through the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus' interaction with his disciples we see how we too can take part in his ministry. Like the disciples, we need to be available to God and what He is already doing. We also need to be committed to becoming equipped and working alongside others.