September 21, 2025
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2 Corinthians 8:1-9
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generosity
We live in a culture that prizes getting more than giving. Advertisers constantly tell us we don’t have enough, while inflation and bills pressure us to hold tighter to money and possessions. As God’s children, instead of a having a mindset of abundance, we often struggle with a mindset of scarcity, doubting God’s provision and anxious about having enough. Yet, God is generous! And we were created in His image to be generous too!
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he urged them to them to excel in the grace of giving by pointing to the Macedonian churches, who, though poor and afflicted, gave generously beyond their means, and by reminding them of Christ’s supreme example of generosity. We can cultivate the habit of generosity to excel in the grace of giving.
April 21, 2024
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2 Corinthians 5:1-10
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heaven
Do you ever give any thought to what heaven is like? People who have faced death, either personally or among their friends and family, tend to think more about what heaven might be like.
What’s heaven like for the believer when they die? How can we face death and eternity with confident knowledge and expectation of heaven? In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he encouraged believers that they could confidently face death knowing what their heavenly home with the Lord would be like.
November 22, 2020
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2 Corinthians 5:14-21
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rise up
Over the last three weeks, we’ve talked about the first two qualities of disciple-making. This week, we will focus on the third quality, Heart for Our World.
The gospel always goes against our excuses and our temptations. What’s the antidote for the sinful, “curved inward” bent of our souls? The gospel of Christ offers the antidote. And it bids us to turn our hearts outward towards God, each other and our world. In the book of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul challenged believers to answer Christ’s call to have a heart for their world. We can answer Christ’s call to have a heart for our world.
June 14, 2020
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2 Corinthians 5:16-21
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racial unity
Are you overwhelmed by the hatred and violence in our country these days? Don’t you wish we could all just get along? For some of you, the disunity is more than a news report or a social media post. It’s starting to affect your relationship with your neighbors, your co-workers, maybe even your relationship with your family and friends. Some of you have taken sides and made your positions known. Others of you are afraid to say anything, but even your silence is judged. Everyone has a different perspective on the root problems and the solutions. Everyone thinks they’re right and the others are wrong. How can we find reconciliation and peace again?
Where is God in all of this? Do our broken relationships with one another matter to Him? And if they do, how can we understand how much relationships matter to God?
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he sought to make them understand how being reconciled to God through Christ Jesus affected all of their relationships. We can understand how being reconciled to God through Christ Jesus affects our relationships.
February 2, 2020
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2 Corinthians 9:6-15
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he taught them that the Lord abundantly blesses those who are generous with their treasure. We can believe that the Lord abundantly blesses us when we are generous with our treasure.
May 28, 2017
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2 Corinthians 12:7-10
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strength, weakness
The world makes heroes of the bold, the beautiful and the strong. Hollywood actors, professional athletes, self-promoting politicians… these are the ones that we elevate to power and influence. They receive glory and praise from the world. But that’s not how God works, He loves to take the humble, the small, and the weak and lift them up to such great influence that everyone gives glory, not to them, but to God.
Where do you feel weak today? Are you hurting? Some may feel tortured by physical or mental pain. Are you feeling inadequate? You don’t have enough money, or you feel inadequate as a parent, or you’ve been asked to do something that seems beyond you. Are you feeling overwhelmed by difficult circumstances? You’re unhappy and discontent. How can God take your weakness and turn it into strength?
September 18, 2016
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2 Corinthians 5:14-21
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community, discipleship
Why is there divorce, murder, and war? Why are we relationally broken? Our sin has separated us from God. We need to be relationally restored. We need to be reconciled to God and with others. In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he told them that God’s reconciling love should move them to be in right relationship with Him in our worship and in right relationship towards others in our witness. We too can let the reconciling love of God as expressed in Christ lead us to a right relationship with Him through worship and a right relationship to others in our witness.
February 28, 2016
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2 Corinthians 9:8-15
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generosity, gospel
When was the last time you were generous? Most of us have a hard time with being generous. Whether it’s an attitude that says, “I earned it, so it’s mine.” Or a fear that worries, “I’m afraid I won’t have enough for me.” We struggle with generosity. What’s the greatest gift you’ve ever received? For the believer, the answer is the same: Christ. He is the gift of God that expresses God’s surpassing grace towards us. There is no greater gift. This is the gospel: Because of the surpassing generous grace of God, we are offered salvation in Christ!
February 21, 2016
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2 Corinthians 9:1-7
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generosity
In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he told them that Christ’s readiness to always be generous should be displayed in them as well. As believers, we can display this same disposition of the ready generosity of Christ in our lives.
February 14, 2016
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2 Corinthians 8:8-24
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generosity
The apostle Paul told the believers at Corinth that the proof that they had received the love of Christ would be shown in the quality of their generosity. We can show the proof of Christ’s love in our lives by the quality of our generosity. The text gives three proofs for genuine generosity.