Preaching - Generosity

I returned to Life Church Edinburgh (part of Apostolic Church UK) last Sunday to kick off their mini series on Generosity. I say 'returned' as I preached there around the same time last year. But I haven't really been away as I support them on average 2 days a month with funding and development planning.

The series is using materials from Practicing the Way (John Marc Comer) which the small group I attend from my own Church is also using another part of just now. The resource is brilliant and provided some solid foundations to build the sermon on.

The key text was Matthew 6:19-24, but I also featured Acts 20:32-35 and 1 Timothy 6:2-10.

Before the service, there is an invitation for anyone to join in prayer. Key leaders gather at the side of the Sanctuary rather than tucked away in a back room. Anyone is invited to join either physically, or with the prompts on screen, from their chair. This is a really helpful foundation to build on as the key text is prayed into, as are all the teams, helpers, and anyone else who comes in the doors.

The worship team kicked things off with a really strong set. This really set us up nicely and they had paid attention to the overriding theme although didn't know what angle I would take. However, one of their songs particularly resonated so I asked them to repeat this for the ministry time later on. After the sung worship, the meeting host led us into Communion which was accompanied by a lovely song from the worship leaders.

There was then a break for people to greet each other and for the sound team to clear the stage. It also gave me that chance to speak with the worship leaders to ask them to add the song in that I wanted, which for reference, was Build My Life (Pat Barrett). The key teaching text was then read out before I took to the stage to deliver the message. (Here are some images of me in action!) The band then returned to lead us in ministry time and send us out.

One lovely addition to the time in Edinburgh, was when I went back to the sound/media booth to return the microphone. The guy on the visuals, who had to listen to me so he could change the slides at the right times, had written this lovely message on my sermon notes, and asked when I was coming back! It felt like being back at college, although they were never really this nice to me! This was so touching though. I am humbled again.

I really enjoyed the service and, despite the slightly awkward topic of money (although generosity is about so much more than just money), I really enjoyed both preparing for, and delivering this message. So you can listen to it yourself if you wish! You can watch the whole service on the YouTube link below, with the teaching time starting around 45:30. Alternatively, you can just listen to the teaching time in the audio clip below that, which starts with the teaching text, and if you really can't cope with watching or listening to me, then you can simply read my sermon notes below.

And if you do like anything you hear, you could ask me to come to your church. Find out more over on my ministry page. I would love to come and spend a Sunday with you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjKcFzB050s

Generosity Message _ Life Church Edinburgh _ 7 June 2026

34:37

Sermon Text

Generosity

Today it’s my privilege to kick off a new series for you, continuing with the themes from Practicing the Way as you have been.  This next series is on the theme of Generosity.  Now, before you develop those initial thoughts in your mind that they’ve brought the funding support guy in as a human shield to ask for your money instead of the leadership doing it, well can I respectfully suggest you stop those thoughts!  That is not what this is about.  Well, okay, maybe a little bit.  But really, this is about so much more than just giving money to the church.  This, as with all the Practicing the Way materials and wider than that, the teaching of Jesus, is about a lifestyle.  How we live our lives totally switched on for Jesus and following his guidance in all things and at all times.  And again, before your mind wanders off somewhere unattainable, no one is saying that this is an easy thing.  Following Jesus is hard.  It costs us everything.  Although to be fair, everything we have is Gods in the first place so it’s only then about returning what was loaned to us for a season.  And also, it’s important to note that none of this is designed to be a punishment.  It is, as with pretty much all of Jesus’s teaching, designed to bring us joy – just not as we know it! 

The Apostle Paul, while saying his farewells to the leaders in Ephesus as recorded in Acts 20, said “³² ‘Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”’  Another translation puts that last part, the quote of the words of Jesus, as saying “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”

Now the strange thing here is that although Luke records Paul saying he is remembering the words of Jesus, none of the Gospels expressly record Jesus saying those words exactly.  However, it is consistent with His teachings on generosity and selflessness. The early church preserved oral traditions of Jesus' sayings, and this one encapsulates His message of sacrificial love and giving.  It is very important to note this so that we don’t get caught out, however, this doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t say it or mean it, because he came very close to those words many times:

Matthew 10:8           Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Luke 6:35                But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High;

Luke 6:38                Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Luke 14:13-14          But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Matthew 10:42         And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

I could go on but I think the point here is clear because Jesus regularly made it so – which is unusual for him so this must be something that should make us sit up and take notice.  There is more joy in being generous with others than in storing up treasurers, ignoring the hurting, wasting our time on worthless things, etc etc etc.  But as is so often the case, these things that we’re called to are not easy and very much go against the grain of this world.

And this is very much the case for generosity.  Few of Jesus’ teachings are more radical, counterintuitive, and disorienting to our cultural assumptions than what He has to say about money and generosity.  Our news, social media feeds constantly spout the line that more money equals more happiness.  If I could just get this thing then I would be so happy.  But that thing is usually something that they don’t really need.  You see, Jesus boldly claims that happiness is found not in the accumulation of wealth or stuff, but in a deeply relational life of giving and love.

So, let’s look at our key text which we heard earlier on, from the words of Jesus as part of his first major sermon, known as the sermon on the mount.  In this passage, Jesus lays out what some might call his manifesto – his rules for living – his guidance to people who he is calling to live a better way.

Scripture Recap (Matthew 6:19-24)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Now I just want to make something clear here.  Nowhere in Jesus’s teaching does he say that having money is a bad thing.  He is not advocating a life of poverty for everyone.  There are many Christians who have done very well financially in life.  But note that the truly successful ones are those who use their wealth to support others either directly, or through funding various ministries.  It is often misquoted that the Bible says that money is the root of all evil.  No.  The exact quote is found in Paul’s first letter to Timothy 6:2-10 and helpfully, it is headed “false teachers and the love of money”.  Paul writes:

“These are the things you are to teach and insist on. ³ If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, ⁴ they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions ⁵ and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

There is so much in here but let’s rattle through this.  Firstly, to address the misquote that I mentioned.  The actual verse was right at the end of that passage -v10.  It’s not that money is the root of all evil, but that the love of money is.  Having it is okay.  Loving it and holding onto it for personal satisfaction is not okay.  But there’s also this bit about those people who were thinking that (verse 5) “godliness is a means to financial gain”, in other words, if you live a good life then you will be financially rewarded.  Paul answers that immediately, saying that “godliness with contentment is great gain”.  This brings us to back to the words of Jesus remembered by Paul in Acts 20, that there is more happiness in giving than receiving.  So, following the ways of God – godliness – and using the resources we have been blessed with for the benefit of others either directly or through His Church – will bring contentment, happiness, great gain.  Not financial, but spiritual.  And whilst it is true that our reward will be in heaven, so too will we see the blessings while here in earth through the joy we can bring to others.

Now I need to just clarify something else here.  There’s been a lot of talk about money so far in this message.  And the verse from Acts where we started simply spoke about giving – not giving money.  Jesus, in the Matthew 6 passage spoke about treasures and then only at the end of our main passage today did he mention money.  I’ll come back to that bit.

But this generosity thing can be expressed in many ways.  Yes, there is money, but we can also talk about time, relationship, gifting, power, influence and probably more.  So as you explore generosity over these next 4 weeks together as church, and as you navigate this further in your own life, be aware that what you have to give in this season may not be money, but that doesn’t exclude you from being generous.  Having said that, the teaching does tend to focus on money or resources for which the Bible does lay some heavy weight upon.  None of this however is to guilt you into anything that isn’t right for you.  Noone is going to think badly of you if you can’t give much financially. In fact, apart from God, and the people dealing with the accounts, no one will know!  And actually, even when there is talk of money, it’s not just about giving to the church.  It’s about giving to the kingdom – as Jesus said: store up treasures in heaven for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  You might be able to get a good deal on some food – who doesn’t love a yellow sticker item, and invite some people round for a meal.  Practicing hospitality is a key part of generosity.  You might have a skill, resource, or talent that would benefit someone in the church or a project of the church itself.  Giving of your time will pretty much cost you nothing other than maybe losing a couple of hours in front of the latest box set.  And you will hear in the coming weeks, and again after the summer, about some really exciting things that are already happening as part of church life here, and that are planned for the future.  All those things will need generosity of time (as well as a bit of money too!)

The Key

Now, here’s the key to all this that we need to get to, and it starts in one of the less clear parts of this teaching from Jesus in Matthew 6.  Verses 22 and 23 say: “²² ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

So yeah, not the clearest note for us here today, well, not at first glance.  And we need some clever linguists to help us out.  This reference to the power of a healthy eye seems to make some kind of sense, but why are these verses right between the bit about storing treasure in heaven, and that you can’t serve God and money?  Well, of course the verses are in the right place because God doesn’t make mistakes, and once again, our English language doesn’t help us.  Right, clever people information incoming.  The Greek word used for "healthy" in this passage is "haplous," which implies a sense of purity and singleness of purpose – or generosity. When our spiritual vision is clear and focused on God, our entire being is filled with His light, leading to a life characterized by wisdom, goodness, and moral integrity – in other words, being generous.  This makes more sense now.  And further still, the Greek word for "unhealthy" is "ponēros,” which can represent a divided or corrupt focus.  It can also mean "evil" or "wicked", or even ungenerous (which is a word I’ve added which possibly isn’t even a word!).  When our spiritual vision is clouded by selfish desires, materialism, or moral compromise, our inner life becomes darkened, leading to confusion, sin, and spiritual blindness.  Now we see why these verses are here, as they are another way of discouraging us from hoarding our money and other resources, which means we are not following the leading of God.

We can sum up this healthy/unhealthy choice through two mindsets: abundance or scarcity.

Those with an “abundance mindset” see God as their Father-provider and the world as teeming with provision and blessing; everything we have is a gift, and there’s plenty for all. They live with gratitude toward God and generosity toward others – even those they don’t know directly.  Inside this worldview, the radical teachings of Jesus on money and generosity that we’re seeing here in Matthew 6 and elsewhere make perfect sense. And we are free to live generously and at peace.

But those with a “scarcity mindset” see the world as a bleak and godless place of danger.  For someone to gain something, someone else has to lose something.  Simplistically, if you take a larger piece of the pizza, everyone else gets less.  It is about survival of the fittest.   In this way of seeing the world, Jesus’ teachings on money make no sense at all. Surely, I can be happier when I’ve got more money and stuff?  Before we know it, we are enslaved to fear and greed, and the desire for more, more, more.

By keeping our eyes fixed on eternal values, we can resist the temptation to find our identity and security in material things.  A healthy eye is one that sees the needs of others and responds with compassion and, yes, you guessed it, generosity. By focusing on God's love and grace, we are empowered to share His light with those around us, reflecting His character in our actions.

So here, and as you’ll see more in the coming weeks, the practice of generosity is the pathway to a better way of life.  It is a spiritual discipline by which we train our heart away from a scarcity mindset of the world, and into the abundance mindset of Jesus.

Before I continue with this, I promised I’d come back to the bit at the end of our Matthew 6 passage, where Jesus mentioned money saying that we can’t serve it and God at the same time.  Now again, we’re going to rely on clever linguists here, because in some translations of this verse, it reads that we cannot serve God and “mammon”.  This is an Aramaic word but the Gospels were written in Greek.  However, it is believed that Jesus most likely spoke in Aramaic and Matthew was writing to a specific audience of Jewish Christians, emphasizing Jesus as the fulfilment of Jewish prophecy and the continuation of the Jewish faith within the early Christian community.  So it is thought that Matthew purposely left this word in the Aramaic language, partly because Mammon was also the name for the ancient Syrian god of wealth and would have been known to his target audience.  And Jesus’s point here in using that word in this way and in this context, is quite simply setting money up as a rival god.  As always with Jesus, there is more than initially meets the eye with many of his sayings.  And even still today, the god of mammon is behind so much of the evil and injustice we see in the world today.  War, racism, ecological devastation, and more.  And if there is any clarity here, it is in the use of the word “cannot”.  It’s not a woolly thing.  It’s not that you really shouldn’t, or that you should think about a change of focus.  It’s that you simply cannot do it.  It’s not that it’s bad – it’s more than that.  It’s impossible.  The god of mammon – wealth – will take over your heart and make your eye unhealthy (to stick with the language of this teaching) unless you focus on Jesus and on his call to generosity.  Serve God alone.  Or to put it more in the words of Jesus when asked what the greatest commandment was, he said Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbour as yourself.  Love God.  Love (and be generous to) others.

When we learn anything, there is a journey from information to action.  It’s getting from the head, to the heart, and on to the hands (and feet, but that doesn’t begin with an ‘h’!).  Now part of this saying is used by Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha Course, describing the move from knowing about Jesus (head knowledge) to actually having a relationship with Jesus (heart experience).  He says this is perhaps the longest journey to get from the head to the heart.  But actually, what happens next is just as important.  Once we’ve discovered that we can have this personal relationship with the Saviour of the World, have access to God the Father through Him, and be guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit, we cannot just sit there enjoying the warm fuzzy feeling in our heart.  What John Wesley described as his heart feeling strangely warmed.  We need to act, and in this context, to act with generosity fuelled by the knowledge and love of and from Jesus.  And as you would expect, his teaching tackles all three of these learning and development areas, so let’s quickly pick these up and recap what Jesus is trying to get through to us today. 

Firstly, for the head knowledge, Jesus deals with the basic foundation of us living in God’s world and how to see Him within.  And he makes it clear that generosity according to the Bible does not start with tithing your income or even with being generous to the poor.  It starts with who God is.  Our Father God.  Our Creator, provider, supporter, encourager.  Jesus told us that we don’t have to worry about what we will eat or drink or wear because God, our Father, will provide.  And of course, as I mentioned just now, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Within the trinity, we see a unity of self-giving, others-centred, joyful, sacrificial, generous love.  So, generosity, is grounded in who God is.  And it is woven throughout the Bible, and is at the very heart of the Gospel, as summed up in the words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. God gave of himself through Jesus.  And then Jesus gave the Holy Spirit.  Generosity through no human measure, but through the most generous being in all reality.

Secondly, there’s our heart.  Jesus says here in Matthew 6 that is you get your relationship with money right, then it will set your heart free.  As we follow as a disciple, or an apprentice if you prefer, or Jesus, our heart is changed which changes the way we look at, think about, and deal with, money or possessions.  As I said, generosity is so much more than just tithing – as important as that is.  It’s even more than a kind of radical generosity that knows no bounds and we just keep on giving from all our resources.  You may ask what could be more than that.  Well remember, in the teaching of Jesus everything is turned around.  So what is bigger, is buying your friend (or someone random) a coffee.  It’s welcoming people to your home for a meal.  It’s going out of your way to support someone with something – maybe even just helping them move something or reading over a job application or report.  It’s being quick to forgive even when you are hurt.  We need to get absolutely clear that generosity is not just something you do.  It comes from the heart because it is (or should be) who you are.

Then thirdly, the move to the hands – or simply, an action. The life of generosity, or to be more helpful in the context of this particular teaching, the practice of generosity.  You can’t just be generous once and expect everything to be sorted.  It can’t just be one random act of kindness.  It has to bed into your very way of existing.  John Mark Comer often quotes Brother Lawrence – a 17^th century monk – who popularized the spiritual disciple of practising the presence of God, which involves cultivating continual awareness of Him in every moment, turning ordinary tasks into acts of worship, and maintaining a heartfelt conversation with God throughout your day.  Just as practicing gratitude will make you more thankful and content, practicing generosity will make you more generous, and free. 

Now this won’t happen overnight.  You can’t just change a massive lifestyle element just like that.  But you can make a start.  You can buy that coffee.  Invite someone for lunch.  Sponsor a child.  Donate to the Soul Food meal.  Be stricter with tithing regularly, and focus on the church, the spreading of the gospel, the care for the poor.  And as you understand this in your head and your heart, the regular practice of generosity can make space for God to move in your heart and once again, change your life from the inside out.

Summary

So to try to bring this all together, I start with an overly obvious statement: Jesus was (and still is) right!  Happiness is found in the opposite place than where we are often told. There is more happiness in living simply and generously than in acquiring money and possessions.

A key task of our apprenticeship to Jesus is discovering the joy of living a generous life.  Whether with time, money, or other resources, a life of generosity is simply living out the Gospel and therefore the call of Jesus.

We looked at the two opposite thought processes that us messed up humans have: An abundance mindset or a scarcity mindset.  Let us serve God.  Living in faith.  Walking freely in abundance thanks to His grace.  And as the hymn writer Annie Johnson Flint wrote, He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater; He sendeth more strength when the labours increase. To added affliction, He addeth His mercy; to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.  His love has no limit; His grace has no measure.  His pow'r has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!

Generosity is a practice by which we move our heart from a scarcity way of thinking and living, to the living and moving in the abundance of Jesus.

Which would you prefer?  Fear of lack or trust in God’s provision? Worry or peace? Wanting or contentment?  Grasping or Gratitude?  Misery or joy?  When we live by and practice generosity in all things, we can move from the first of each of those options to the second.  Not overnight.  Not even in the next 4 weeks of this series.  But it’s a start.  And actually, here’s an option for how to start. 

Exercise: A spontaneous act of generosity

Set aside an amount, whether big or small, and ask God to guide you in how to use it. As you go about your week, keep your eyes open for opportunities to bless someone—whether by buying a meal, offering a gift, or giving to someone in need—as a tangible way to participate in God’s generous love.

And then once you’ve got so used to this it becomes second nature, then up your spontaneous act of generosity in either frequency or intensity.  Give generously this week—whether through small, frequent acts of kindness or a larger, sacrificial gift—paying attention to how it shapes your heart along the way.

Remember, this is only between you and God.  No one is asking for you to submit a report on how you’ve done.  Unless of course you feel you want to share a testimony at some point as to an amazing blessing you’ve received as a result of generosity.  Simply though, this is just for you and God.  And what a joy this will be to see, remembering that there is much more joy and happiness in giving, than receiving.

Prayer

Father, Provider,

you hold all things in endless, fearless supply;

help us to live in that trust, in the rest and extravagance,

of knowing we can freely give in the manner we’ve received —

selflessly, daringly, lovingly.