SERMON: Generous God, Generous Church (1/3)

Have you ever experienced radical, surprising generosity from someone? How did it make you feel? In our text today, Paul talks about the radical, surprising generosity of the Macedonian churches (Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea) in response to the suffering Christians in Jerusalem. Paul shares with the Corinthians, who were lagging in generosity, how these churches acted with amazing generosity in the midst of their own persecution and poverty. While the generosity of these churches is amazing, it is nothing in comparison to the radical, surprising generosity of Jesus Christ, who "though he was rich, became poor," so that we "by his poverty might become rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). This is the greatest, most radical demonstration of generosity ever, which in turn inspires our generosity as well.