Sermon on 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15, for the 4th Sunday after Pentecost. "Growing in the Grace of Giving"
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s text from 2 Corinthians 8 might surprise us with how Divine Arithmetic works. We might be surprised at how things add up when God is involved. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about the grace of giving; about charity. And he shows a positive example in the Macedonian church. But what’s surprising is the kind of Divine Arithmetic that was at work among the Macedonians. This is the equation that Paul describes in Macedonia: Severe affliction + abundance of joy + extreme poverty = believers overflowing with a wealth of generosity. How does it all add up? Today we’ll see how God helps us to grow in the grace of giving. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Certainly severe affliction combined with extreme poverty should add up to little or no giving at all! Since when does extreme poverty produce a “wealth of generosity?” Perhaps now is a partic...