We Are Generous — 3.10.19 Sermon

This message draws a careful line between obedience and generosity. Working from Malachi 3 and Matthew 23, it argues that the tithe is not the ceiling of giving but the floor, an act of obedience, while offerings and sacrifice are generosity beyond it. The core reframing is that God owns everything and asks us to steward nine while being faithful with one. Tithing is described as proportionate, the great equalizer, priority giving that puts God first not only in finances but in marriage and parenting. The application widens past money. A jar of marbles representing the weeks left with a child reframes generosity as time and presence. The closing challenge is a three-month test of the principle, drawn from 2 Corinthians 9 and Malachi 3, to see whether God shows up as he says he will.