Christ-Centered Giving and Receiving

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 4:10-20

Christ-centered receiving gratefully receives God's help through others. It ultimately, depends upon God to meet all one's needs. Christ-centered giving is an investment in God's kingdom and a response to God's grace. It trusts in God's care.

Grace to Give

Mike Sullivan

2 Corinthians 8-9

God wants Christians to be generous and will give great opportunities to be generous. Grace-based giving is not bound by our circumstances. It is inspired by Christ. Grace-based giving shares resources with those in need and is accountable to handle money in an honorable way. Grace-based giving remembers God's role in supplying the resources to give. Grace-based giving results in recipients giving thanks and glorifying God.

The Peace of God and the God of Peace

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 4:4-9

God's peace is a sense of security in Him and is related to joy and hope. Regardless of your situation, God's peace can increasingly become the "background music" of your soul. Two proactive steps one can take to find the peace of God is to rejoice in the Lord and count your many blessings. Two reactive steps are to take all your annoyances and anxieties promptly to God and practice specific habits of rejoicing and being grateful.

Simple Living and Family Life

Niccole Williamson

Emily Morris

2 Corinthians 4:18

What is simple living? It is practical living in light of eternity, cultivating a heart that belongs to eternal things, and freedom. It involves practicing gratitude, generosity and a skepticism towards worldly conventions. "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Lights in the Midst of a Dark World

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 2:14-16

Being light in a dark world requires both a lifestyle witness and a verbal witness. Our lifestyle witness must not contain grumbling nor disputing. Our verbal witness must focus on God's love and grace rather than other parts of the biblical worldview that can be the source of contention with non-Christians. Instead, focus on inviting people to receive Christ's life rather than winning an argument.

God's Comfort

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

The word translated "comfort" in our Bibles has a stronger meaning than we commonly use. It means to strengthen, fortify, encourage in the midst of adversity. God's comfort is an expression of His character. He is not distant nor aloof, but full of mercy and compassion. God's comfort is available for and fully adequate for all kinds of suffering. Receiving God's comfort enables us to give His comfort to others. We experience God's comfort as we patiently trust Him in our suffering. Suffering can displace self-reliance and lead to deeper confidence in God's future faithfulness.

Humility and Unity

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 2:3-13

The Word of God calls Christians to pursue humility and unity in the Body of Christ. Unfortunately, our fallen natures will always be attracted to to pride and repelled by humility. Therefore, we need divine resources for this heart-transformation. Jesus' example inspires us with gratitude and vision to follow His example. God's Spirit is constantly at work in us to enable us to grow in humility and love.

David and Mephibosheth

Gary DeLashmutt

2 Samuel 19

King Davis'd loyalty to his friend Jonathan can be seen in how graciously he treated Jonathan's crippled son, Mephibosheth. Instead of slaughtering every surviving members of Saul's family, David chose to extend unbounding kindness to Saul's grandson by inviting him to dine at the king's table every night and gave him all of Saul's land and property. God's kindness toward us is far greater than David's. It is a totally unmerited gift. The only condition is that we humbly entrust ourselves to God and Jesus.

Paul's Prayer of Thanks for God's Work in Them

Gary DeLashmutt

Philippians 1:1-8

Paul opens Philippians with prayers of thanksgiving for their faithful financial support of Paul's personal ministry. He calls them full ministry partners, even though they were unable to do anything other than give their money for the work Paul was doing over five hundred miles away. We, too, can be full partners in ministry even if physically we are no longer able to "do the work" of ministry by faithfully giving our money to the cause.