November 27, 2016

A Generous Heart

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Series: Developing a Heart Like God's Scripture: 1 Samuel 30, 2 Samuel 9, 1 Chronicles 29

Developing a Heart Like God’s
A Generous Heart
1 Samuel 30; 2 Samuel 9 & 1 Chronicles 29

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David had an incredibly generous heart. He didn’t live like a hermit; he didn’t give everything he had away, yet he had a generous heart.

Three Facets of a Generous Heart

1. Generous hearts focus more on the Needs of others than their own sense of personal discontent (1 Samuel 30:21-25)

Understanding the situation:

Observation: Just because God assures the victory, you may still have to Fight The Battle (1 Samuel 30:8)

Notice the connection between:

  • David’s Gratitude toward God
  • David’s Generosity toward others

Application:

  • Regularly spend time Reflecting on the generosity of God in your life. Express your thanksgiving to Him!
  • Get a firm grip on the difference between Needs and Greeds

2. Generous hearts look for opportunities to Give not just to Get (2 Samuel 9:6-11)

We make a living by what we Get, we make a life by what we Give

Whenever I give of my time, my talents, or my treasure, I am really giving a little part of Myself

Application:

  • Regularly look for ways to give yourself away to others. Hint: It’s even more fun when you do it in secret!

3. Generous hearts increasingly find their Joy in giving (1 Chronicles 29)

David’s perspective: It’s not my Stuff! (10-14)

Observations about their giving:

  • It was Joyous (9, 17)
  • It was Lavish (3-4, 7-8)
  • It was Contagious (5-6, 8)

Application:

  • Regularly remind yourself who the Owner Is
  • Refuse to buy into the lie that true happiness only comes from Getting

Generosity will mark a heart like God’s!

Making It Personal

  • Spend a few moments expressing gratitude toward God for His many blessings in your life by writing out some of those blessings:
  • What will it look like for you to ramp up the generosity factor in your life? What are some specific next steps that you could take to break the grip of greed in your life and cultivate a heart of generosity?

other sermons in this series

Dec 4

2016

A Broken Heart

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: 2 Samuel 13–19 Series: Developing a Heart Like God's

Nov 20

2016

An Encouraged Heart

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: 1 Samuel 22 Series: Developing a Heart Like God's

Nov 13

2016

A Contrite Heart

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: 2 Samuel 11–12 Series: Developing a Heart Like God's