My Pulpit Message - notes Growing in Giving
My Pulpit Message Notes are extracted from the sermon preached at the Nairobi Baptist Church (NBC) Ngong Road on Sunday 19th June 2022. Preacher: Reverend Munengi Mulandi, Senior Pastor NBC. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:1-12 . Topic: Growing in Giving
This is the story of two churches. The Macedonian churches: Those of Philippi, Thessalinica and Berea. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 and churches in the region of Achaia: the Corinthian church.
1. Willingness. 2 Corinthians 8:2-4 9:7 (The positive attitude and the generous action of the Macedonian churches)
These churches were all in the Gentile region, that had been planted after the Lord commissioned Paul and Barnabas in Antioch in Act “Set them aside to be mission I have called them’ and they begin Paul is writing to the Corinthians, but first says let me give you the preaching to the Gentile church, a mission that is blessed by the testimony of these other believers in Macedonia. 2 Corinthians 8:1 “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace church in Jerusalem. that God has given the Macedonian churches.” Then Paul brings out As time goes on the church in Jerusalem begins going through some the testimony of the believers in Macedonia and uses two correct very tough times. In Acts we read how the persecution begins. Re- calibrations to measure the genuineness, validity of their giving. member the persecution associated with the stoning of Stephen. But things get worse as the communities of faith, the believers in “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the Jerusalem are ravaged by a very serious famine. There is no food, grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst no sufficient water and the believers there are going through a very of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” difficult time. “Extreme poverty” They are not only going through a I wonder if today I am speaking to a people who have been goes with ‘severe trial”. But “oververy difficult time because of their ravaged by lost business unemployment, COVID-19, etc, I have flowing joy and rich generosity” faith, but physically they are going a word from Genesis 26:1 and 12 it says “In that same year of seem misplaced. Churches in Jethrough a very difficult time because of the famine. And Paul look- famine, Isaac planted, and he reaped a harvest of a hundred- rusalem were going through a hard time because of the famine, fold.” ing at this situation of the church but then there were these churchin Jerusalem that had blessed them es in Macedonia that were going to go and begin ministry in these through a hard time because of Gentile regions he then begins to the colonisation that was going on there. rally these Gentile churches to serve the Jewish congregation at this They were under Roman rule, they were overtaxed, their VAT time of need. had gone up, the dollar had gone crazy against their currency, their His argument in Romans 15 is that you as Gentile churches have fuel prices and goods had gone berserk. The believers in Philippi we benefitted so much from the Jerusalem church because they are the are told were going through a very severe trial that was common to ones that have sent this message, so because you have gotten a spir- all in those areas. But some specific and extreme severe trials that itual benefit from them, why not give them a physical benefit at this were coming just to believers. One Bible commentator says, because they were believers, time when you have been blessed by their spiritual gifts towards you they were excluded from some of the trade / business unions and and now that they have a physical need why not bless them with a so some of their businesses had gone down. So these believers, the physical / material blessing, result is that they were going through a very severe trial, but they So Paul goes round challenging these congregations to give towards were also going through extreme poverty. But against that background, when they heard these people a gift that will be given to the believers to help them go through this that they had benefited spiritually from, when they heard about the particular hard famine. people where they church had started, where Jesus Christ had been Two things (calibrations) that were the marks of generosity 2 Cor- crucified, that place that existed where a …people worshipped God, they said even with our severe trial and our extreme poverty, we inthians 8:1-12 must find something even with pockets that are empty, we must 1. Willingness. (2 Corinthians 8:2-4 9:7) - The positive keep looking and find something to give to relieve our spiritual faattitude and the generous action of the Macedonian thers and mothers.
churches) 2. Ability - 2 Corinthians 8:3 & 12
TT 157 | June 21st - June 28th| 2022
