Generosity takes a miracle. You don’t just become a generous person unless you have been moved by the hand of God. In Philippians 4:10-23, Paul comes to a crescendo finish to his epic letter to the Philippian church on the source of scandalous joy. A joy that is produced not by man made efforts, but the act of a supreme God working in the life of an ordinary believer. Through trials, through humility, through parroting the Lord Jesus as a humble state of a bond servant, and through a generous heart. Do you believe in miracles? Because that’s what it takes to become a generous person.
Watch the end of the Cal vs. Stanford game, “the Play”, as it is called, played in 1982, at the Cal Memorial Stadium. What a moment. What a place. I used to play rugby for Cal in that stadium. Cal was down by 2, two seconds left, a kick off and a run to the end zone. How did they do it? The announcer says, “It’ll take a miracle.” And it happened. Cal beats Stanford. The announcer goes wild! The Cal students are out of their minds.
Well, what does this have to do with generosity? It will take a miracle to change the heart of the average American church goer to become as the Philippian church became, generous in their giving to the point where Paul says he "mega rejoices” over it. How did that happen and what do we learn from this history lesson?
Joy, true joy, is a miracle of generous giving of one's life and resources. Remember Billy Crystal’s line in Princess Bride? His wife asks him, Max the miracle worker, "will it work?” He says, “I don’t know. Bye bye boys, it’ll take a miracle.”
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Generosity takes a miracle. You don’t just become a generous person unless you have been moved by the hand of God. In Philippians 4:10-23, Paul comes to a crescendo finish to his epic letter to the Philippian church on the source of scandalous joy. A joy that is produced not by man made efforts, but the act of a supreme God working in the life of an ordinary believer. Through trials, through humility, through parroting the Lord Jesus as a humble state of a bond servant, and through a generous heart. Do you believe in miracles? Because that’s what it takes to become a generous person.
Watch the end of the Cal vs. Stanford game, “the Play”, as it is called, played in 1982, at the Cal Memorial Stadium. What a moment. What a place. I used to play rugby for Cal in that stadium. Cal was down by 2, two seconds left, a kick off and a run to the end zone. How did they do it? The announcer says, “It’ll take a miracle.” And it happened. Cal beats Stanford. The announcer goes wild! The Cal students are out of their minds.
Well, what does this have to do with generosity? It will take a miracle to change the heart of the average American church goer to become as the Philippian church became, generous in their giving to the point where Paul says he "mega rejoices” over it. How did that happen and what do we learn from this history lesson?
Joy, true joy, is a miracle of generous giving of one's life and resources. Remember Billy Crystal’s line in Princess Bride? His wife asks him, Max the miracle worker, "will it work?” He says, “I don’t know. Bye bye boys, it’ll take a miracle.”
Weird, Wild, Completely Strange Takes on Suffering
The River Church Sermons
44 minutes 2 seconds
3 months ago
Weird, Wild, Completely Strange Takes on Suffering
This last six months I have spent most of my work life hanging out with dead people. That is, my research thrusts me into the strange and fascinating ocean of ancient Roman, Jewish, and early Christian literature. I’ve been reading heaps of their poems, novels, essays, philosophic treatises, scandalous narratives, visionary descriptions, moral rants, speeches, and surviving letters. My favorite part of my time with the ancients is when they say something that is—to us inhabitants of the 21st century—completely weird. I just LOVE getting my hair blown back their bizarre hot takes on the human experience. Ancients say the darndest things.
As we continue to consider the reality and shape of human suffering in our modern lives, I want to showcase a constellation of weird, wild, and completely scriptural strange takes on suffering. These might shock you, but I believe they might actually help us in the throes of pain. Join us to hear some unfiltered ancient wisdom.
The River Church Sermons
Generosity takes a miracle. You don’t just become a generous person unless you have been moved by the hand of God. In Philippians 4:10-23, Paul comes to a crescendo finish to his epic letter to the Philippian church on the source of scandalous joy. A joy that is produced not by man made efforts, but the act of a supreme God working in the life of an ordinary believer. Through trials, through humility, through parroting the Lord Jesus as a humble state of a bond servant, and through a generous heart. Do you believe in miracles? Because that’s what it takes to become a generous person.
Watch the end of the Cal vs. Stanford game, “the Play”, as it is called, played in 1982, at the Cal Memorial Stadium. What a moment. What a place. I used to play rugby for Cal in that stadium. Cal was down by 2, two seconds left, a kick off and a run to the end zone. How did they do it? The announcer says, “It’ll take a miracle.” And it happened. Cal beats Stanford. The announcer goes wild! The Cal students are out of their minds.
Well, what does this have to do with generosity? It will take a miracle to change the heart of the average American church goer to become as the Philippian church became, generous in their giving to the point where Paul says he "mega rejoices” over it. How did that happen and what do we learn from this history lesson?
Joy, true joy, is a miracle of generous giving of one's life and resources. Remember Billy Crystal’s line in Princess Bride? His wife asks him, Max the miracle worker, "will it work?” He says, “I don’t know. Bye bye boys, it’ll take a miracle.”
