Radical Generosity

This past Sunday, Pastor Kevin tackled the touchy subject of how we are to view our money and possessions in light of the gospel.  When we encounter the radical grace we have been shown through the death of Jesus on the cross in our place, it should change our attitude towards money.  In 2 Corinthians, Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to give of their finances “for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  When we understand how much we have been given by grace through Jesus, how could we not be radically generous towards those around us?!

As stewards of God’s resources, we are instructed in the Bible to give a portion of our income away to the church and to help care for the poor.  Tim Keller teaches that without an experience of the gospel and grace, our giving is passive and spontaneous - - we only give when guilted into it by someone else and when we do give it is whatever we have or can afford at that specific time.  However, when we experience the gospel our giving then becomes active and intentional.  We become active in seeking out ways to give and bless others with our finances and we become intentional about how much of our income we want to give to others.  The gospel completely changes the way we view our money, and it gives us the freedom to give it away in acts of radical generosity.

In an effort to encourage active and intentional giving, we have electronic giving set up through The Oaks website.  Through this site you are able to give online by direct withdrawal from a bank account or by credit card payment.  Giving can be designated one time gift or as a recurring gift (weekly, monthly, etc.).  The recurring option helps to facilitate intentional giving rather than a spontaneous moment at the end of the month when we realize “oh I forgot to give this month!”  

We have been using this form of giving for several months now and it has been very helpful for many people.  In fact, nearly half of our monthly giving is done through electronic giving.  This has allowed people to be consistent in their giving and it also helps the church leadership in budgeting and planning because scheduled giving can be more easily tracked.

We don’t use online giving as a way to get more money from our people.  This isn’t about making money.  This is about worshipping Jesus in the way we use our finances.  If signing up for online giving would help you in this way, please visit our Giving web page on our main site and follow the directions found there.

http://www.theoakscommunitychurch.org/giving/