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Sermon Notes
THE GENEROUS LIFE - It’s All His
Genesis 1–3; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50:10–12; James 1:17; Genesis 1:26–27; 2:15; 1 Chronicles 29:11–16 (ESV)
The message
- God is generous. The abundance of Eden reveals His heart. The oldest lie is that He withholds. (Genesis 1–3)
- This generous God owns everything. He owns it all and needs nothing. (Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50; James 1:17)
- He made us in His image. We are built for open hands, and set as caretakers of His world. (Genesis 1:26–27; 2:15)
- So we return what is His. We do not surrender what is ours. We hand back what was always His. (1 Chronicles 29)
It is all His. It always was.
This week
Ask the Lord to show you one place you have believed He withholds. Then thank Him for one gift you have been overlooking.
Reflection/Application Questions
Genesis 1–3; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50; James 1:17; 1 Chronicles 29:11–16 (ESV)
- When you hear the phrase “the generous life,” what is the first picture that comes to mind? Why is that your first thought? Where did it come from?
- What strikes you about how much God gives before He gives a single command? How would you describe the ratio of “yes” to “no” in the garden?
- How does the serpent reframe God’s generosity? Where do you still hear that same whisper today, in the culture or in your own heart?
- We are made in the image of a generous God. What does it mean that generosity is part of our design, not just a rule we follow?
- If God owns it all and needs nothing, how does that change the way you think about giving?
- What is the difference between surrendering something that is yours and returning something that was always His? Why does that distinction matter?
- Be honest: where are you most tempted to believe God is holding out on you?
- What would change if you truly believed He is generous to His core?
- What is one thing you have been gripping tightly, as though you owned it?
- What would it look like to hold it with open hands this week?
Prayer
Thank God for three specific gifts you would normally overlook. Then ask Him to make you a person whose open hands look a little more like His.
Time of Response
Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE
What does this reveal about God?
What does this reveal about you in relation to God?
What do you need to do about it?
The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)
I am no longer my own,
but Yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full,
let me be empty.
Let me have all things,
let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine,
and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?
One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:
The S.O.A.P.S. Method
S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.
O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.
A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?
P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.
S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.
- Inductive Bible Study:
- Observation (what does the passage say?)
- What is happening in the passage?
- Who is involved in the passage?
- What happened before and after the passage.
- Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
- Interpretation (what does it mean?)
- What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
- What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
- Application (how does it apply to my life?)
- What does the passage say about God?
- What does the passage say about me and to me?
- What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?
How do I talk with God?
WAYS TO PRAY
One Way to talk with God is to:
Pause.
Rejoice.
Ask.
Yield.
ANOTHER OPTION
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication: Requests
