The Genius of Generosity: Moving Beyond the Treadmill of Acquisition

• Stewardship and Generosity [00:00:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the series 'The Genius of Generosity' and establishes that giving is not just transactional but transformational and rooted in discipleship.
• Church Finances [00:04:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the stereotype that churches only ask for money, asserting the honest truth that the church needs resources to function and grow.
• Idolatry of Money [00:14:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor discusses how money and possessions can become 'mysteriously idolatrous,' driven by fear and a desire for security, leading to emptiness.
• Kingdom Perspective [00:11:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > Referencing Matthew 6, the pastor argues for living simply and storing up treasures in heaven, reorienting priorities away from self-focus to Christ-centeredness.
• Idolatry of Wealth and Fear [00:17:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies fear of scarcity and lack of provision as the root cause of making wealth an idol, leading to emptiness and death.
• Identity and Treasure [00:19:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that what we treasure determines our identity, citing Jesus' teaching that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
• Proper Priorities vs. Rejection of Possessions [00:19:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor clarifies that seeking the Kingdom is not a rejection of money, but a call for healthy perspective and proper priorities, viewing earthly treasures as tools for the Kingdom.
• Generosity and Discipleship [00:27:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines generosity as a pathway of deepening discipleship and stewardship, extending beyond financial giving to a generous life and welcome.

• Sermon Illustration [00:00:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his son Daniel winning a trivia night at App State despite not being a history major, using it to transition into a confession about his own past arrogance and assumption that he was the smartest person in the room.
• Sermon Illustration [00:16:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of technology becoming obsolete as soon as the warranty runs out to illustrate the endless treadmill of acquisition and how it leads to emptiness.
• Sermon Illustration [00:16:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of technology becoming obsolete immediately after purchase (often when the warranty runs out) to illustrate the futile treadmill of acquisition and how idols are never enough.
• Sermon Illustration [00:21:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > A historical anecdote about Williamson's Chapel following the September 11th attacks, where the church experienced significant growth, expanded services due to space constraints, and saw a surge in generosity and support for a new sanctuary.

• Pastoral Charge [00:10:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor suggests that congregation members who are not already doing so should meet with a financial advisor.
• Pastoral Charge [00:29:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray the specific question 'Where does God want me to be in my giving?' and remain open to God's direction.
• Pastoral Charge [00:28:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Obtain the 'pathway of generosity' booklet if one was not received upon entry.
• Pastoral Charge [00:29:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > Spend time in prayer and self-evaluation regarding personal giving and spiritual movement over the next few weeks.
• Pastoral Charge [00:30:07 ▶️ 📄]
  > Contact the generosity team for help or clarification regarding the giving pathway.

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:04] Let's pray. God, we thank you for this day and this time where we can gather to worship and to hear your word. Now, Lord, may the words in my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. Oh, Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
[00:00:25] So over the next few weeks starting today, we'll be talking about the genius of generosity. And I was thinking about that word genius this past week.
[00:00:45] to think that I might need to start this morning's sermon with a confession.
[00:00:51] Now, many of you know that I love to play trivia.
[00:00:55] And in all seriousness, that love of trivia is a reflection of my lifelong love of learning.
[00:01:02] And I'm glad that I've handed down that love of learning to both of my kids and the love of trivia to my son, who up at App State as a freshman just was a guest at some history club.
[00:01:16] they did trivia night and Daniel's team won. And he said, Dad, I'm not even a history major.
[00:01:21] And that was a room full of history majors. You are my son. However, I would not consider myself to be even close to being a genius. Usually trivia nights are, you know, we went one time in
[00:01:38] Concord and the topics were like classic rock and 80s professional wrestling. That's the kind of stuff I remember. So it's not about being a genius. But here's my confession. I said I don't consider myself to be a genius, and I don't, but that's not always been the case when it comes to
[00:01:57] my self-regard. There was a time in my life when I assumed that I was the smartest person in the room, no matter which room I was in. This is my early to mid-20s, so this has been a long time
[00:02:11] ago, by the way. Several things helped me to gain some healthy perspective. Ministry, I will do that to you. Tony Ruth helped me to gain some perspective. And having kids. If you have children, they will
[00:02:30] humble you really quickly. Experience and time and healthy relationships can help us be slightly less delusional about ourselves. So I mentioned that several things helped me gain some healthy perspective. Hang on to that phrase, healthy perspective. It's important when it comes to
[00:02:53] talking about stewardship and giving and generosity. So as we begin this series on the genius of generosity, I want to be upfront and clear about some things. Pastor Kerry alluded to some of this. We started worship this morning. It's a well-worn stereotype of preachers and
[00:03:14] churches that all we do is ask for money. Just go on social media or any comment section and it won't take long to find comments saying all they ever do is ask for money.
[00:03:28] It's so familiar and repeated, this stereotype, that it can make us preachers hesitant to talk about money or giving at all. Or we try to figure out some clever way to soften the message, to dance around it, to deflect and distract. I mean, you get what I'm saying, right? You've
[00:03:48] experienced it most likely before in your time in worship. So here's the deal. I love Jesus.
[00:03:59] I love this church. And I love you all way too much to try to manipulate you or insult your intelligence, especially when it comes to talking about money and stewardship and generosity. You all are smart enough to know when you're being manipulated. I'm not even going to do it. And
[00:04:21] the best way to avoid manipulation is honesty. So here are two things that are true. These are just true things. The church, our church needs money in order to function and to grow. I'm not
[00:04:33] telling you something you don't already know. The fact that we need money and resources is not a secret. It's not a mystery. And the best way to go about making sure our church has what it needs
[00:04:46] is to be honest about that. Here's the second thing that is true. Generosity is an essential element of your discipleship. We need to give and to share in order to grow as disciples.
[00:05:10] Now, this is not just about money. It's also about our time and our attention, our compassion and our love, but it's also about money. But when we invite and encourage you to give, when we invite
[00:05:28] you to grow in your generosity, that's deeply connected to your growth as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Joel Michael, who has worked with us here at Williamson's Chapel over the past couple of years with stewardship, he has a lot of experience guiding churches and pastors towards healthy
[00:05:47] stewardship. He puts it this way, when stewardship, giving, and generosity are disconnected from our faith, it becomes transactional. When it's rooted in discipleship, it becomes transformational.
[00:06:04] That's what we want for you, for your family, for our church, growing in generosity and experiencing transformation in our relationship with our money and our possessions, with our community, with one another and in our relationship with God as disciples. Generosity is a lifestyle.
[00:06:30] It's a way of living in the world that points other people to the grace and generosity of God.
[00:06:39] Our generosity is a reflection of the heart of God. Raise your hand if you've experienced the generosity of God in your life. You've experienced the goodness of God in your life. Our God is so
[00:06:58] generous, amen? So generous, giving us life and love and mercy and blessing. Our own generosity grows out of God's generosity to us. A commitment to growing in generosity changes our perspective and reorients our priorities. We become more aware of the role of money and stuff in our lives
[00:07:27] and we become more intentional about how we use our money and our possessions in a way that line up with our commitment to Jesus and his lordship in our lives. Listen to what Jesus says in John
[00:07:45] 10, 9 through 10. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out of my path. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they, that would be us,
[00:08:01] they may have life and have it abundantly. God wants us to have life in Jesus, in abundance, as followers of Jesus. We need to understand that generosity is a pathway to abundance, which from the perspective of the world, that doesn't make a lot of sense, right?
[00:08:28] How can you gain abundance by giving away? It sounds counterintuitive. And in our profit-obsessed, status-driven, acquisitive culture. It doesn't make a lot of sense. The way of Jesus, the pathway of discipleship, is a different way of living and thinking, and that's certainly the case when it
[00:08:52] comes to generosity. There's more counterintuitive wisdom. Listen to this from Proverbs 11, 24 to 25.
[00:09:00] Those who give generously receive more, but those who are stingy with what is appropriate will grow needy. Generous persons will prosper. Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
[00:09:18] Those who give generously receive more. So this growth in generosity is not built on kind of our need for your money. It's built on biblical truth, the wisdom of God, and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
[00:09:46] So growing in generosity, giving to and through the church, embracing and receiving the abundance that God wants for us in Jesus Christ.
[00:09:58] These are all good and worthy goals.
[00:10:00] But how, practically, how do we go about doing this?
[00:10:08] So I'm not a financial advisor, and Tony Ruth says amen.
[00:10:14] I'm just not.
[00:10:15] We're all good at different stuff.
[00:10:17] numbers, they ain't my thing. I'm not good with numbers and math, so I'm not a financial advisor, though meeting with one is a good idea if you're not already doing that. I'm a pastor, a theologian,
[00:10:36] a student of the Bible, so I'm naturally going to think and talk about generosity and how to make that happen from a scriptural perspective. In his excellent commentary on the Sermon on the mount new testament scholar scott mcknight digs into the passage that nancy just read a few minutes
[00:10:56] ago we're going to read it again because it's short so go back to the matthew there it is matthew 6 19 to 21 right there in the middle of the sermon on the mount do not store up for
[00:11:09] yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be
[00:11:29] also. McKnight looks at that passage and points out three things that we need to pay attention to.
[00:11:38] First aspect or thing that we need to pay attention to the first aspect is a goal. Live simply. Might even be live more simply. Do we have that slide? Maybe we don't. There we go. Yeah,
[00:11:55] there it is. Live simply. Or you can add more to that. Live more simply. Jesus teaching here about a treasure, where our treasure is, there your heart will be also. If we let it sink in
[00:12:10] and take root in our minds and our hearts, it pushes us to think hard about what really matters to us. What do we truly value? Treasures on earth or treasures in heaven? Jesus wants to lead us to
[00:12:32] a kingdom perspective, a healthy perspective, a healthy relationship with our money and our possessions. Jesus leads us to be less defined by, less centered on money and possessions, and more Christ-centered, less self-focused, and more focused on serving others using the gifts that
[00:12:57] God has given to us in abundance. As Paul says in Philippians 2, do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others. So we put as disciples, the point is that
[00:13:20] we're increasingly, Christ is becoming the center of our lives more and more. And that transforms what we value. That doesn't mean we don't put any value on money or possessions. Does money have value? Yes. Do we all have possessions that have value? Certainly. It just puts things in healthy
[00:13:45] perspective and the right priority. And Jesus wants to help us with that. So Scott McKnight points out the second aspect. Money and possessions are mysteriously idolatrous.
[00:14:01] Mysteriously idolatrous. Now, it's mysterious because, at least for me, as I've thought about this throughout my life, it's almost impossible to get a handle on why money and stuff can have such a hold over us at a deep emotional and spiritual level. Money and possessions,
[00:14:23] it can be a very sensitive thing for us all right i started with confession this morning about how arrogant i used to be and delusional and so it's your turn for confession time it's my favorite
[00:14:34] part of the sermon confession time um raise your hand if when i you knew that this sermon was about stewardship and generosity you got a little nervous or annoyed raise your hand come on fess up
[00:14:51] One person.
[00:14:52] Two people.
[00:14:54] I was nervous when I had to write this sermon.
[00:14:56] It's okay.
[00:14:58] The rest of you, if you're not being quite honest, that's between you and God.
[00:15:05] Money can be a very sensitive topic for us.
[00:15:07] Now, you might not be so nervous because I'm not talking to you directly.
[00:15:11] But if I sat down in front of you across the table and said, tell me about your finances.
[00:15:19] As your pastor, tell me about...
[00:15:24] Perry just said, it's none of my business.
[00:15:28] Got an appointment to make this week.
[00:15:30] parents to talk about his money and if you if that would make you uncomfortable that would make two of us because i that made me uncomfortable too so just to let you know uh money and stuff has
[00:15:42] there's a deeply personal element to that and and that's kind of a a way that it can become idolatrous money and possessions can become idolatrous because they money possessions can be a central defining feature of our lives. We are tempted to build our identity and arrange
[00:16:06] our lives, our time, our relationships, our worldview on getting and having more and more and more. It's a cliche. If you have money, what do you want? More money. And isn't it true if you
[00:16:21] have stuff, you wind up wanting more stuff? And it's not a fair fight because it's kind of arranged in a way that doesn't help us? As soon as you buy any new piece of technology, how long does it take
[00:16:33] for that technology to become obsolete? Usually as soon as a warranty runs out. As soon as you walk out of the store with technology, it's obsolete. And so we get on this treadmill of acquisition. And like all idols, it's never enough. And the end result is emptiness and death.
[00:17:03] Does that sound harsh? That's why Jesus warns us about understanding where our treasure is, about what we really value. At the bottom of that pull to make an idol of wealth and money and possessions, at the bottom of that is fear. Fear that we'll be left without or left behind,
[00:17:29] that we won't have enough. Fear that God won't actually provide what we need.
[00:17:38] Like with all other idols, there's this kind of fear that leads us to hedge our bets.
[00:17:42] I trust God, but I need money.
[00:17:45] I trust God, but I need more.
[00:17:47] At the bottom of that is fear that we won't have enough.
[00:17:52] These fears eat away at our hearts and erode our generosity, pulling us away from the heart of God, causing us to cling even more tightly to the very things that are leading us further away from the abundant life
[00:18:07] that Jesus offers to us. Knowing that our value, our worth, our ultimate meaning, knowing that it's not in wealth or possessions, knowing that our worth is found in God, helps us to loosen our grip. That lessens our fear, and we are freed to grow in generosity.
[00:18:38] That leads us to the third aspect of what Jesus teaches us, and this is an invitation to us.
[00:18:45] Trust God.
[00:18:50] Seek what lasts.
[00:18:54] Line up your heart and your mind and your life with what God wants for you.
[00:19:02] Jesus points us to treasures in heaven, teaching us that what we treasure determines our identity.
[00:19:10] That's when he says, where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.
[00:19:13] That means what we treasure and deeply value, that's our identity.
[00:19:19] So what treasures should we seek?
[00:19:23] Love, justice, peace, wisdom.
[00:19:30] Jesus kind of sums all this up in the sermon later in chapter 6.
[00:19:34] Seek first the kingdom of God.
[00:19:38] All of these things will be added unto you.
[00:19:42] Just to note, it's not a rejection of money and possessions.
[00:19:45] It's not saying, well, I've got to get rid of all my money, I've got to get rid of all my possessions.
[00:19:50] That's not what Jesus is talking about.
[00:19:52] it's healthy perspective and proper priorities. And when we do this, when we become more Christ centered and our relationship to our money and our stuff is healthier, we understand that our earthly treasures are blessings that God intends for us to share. Our earthly treasures are means
[00:20:17] to an end of greater heavenly treasure for ourselves and others. Our money and our stuff and might be tools to be used to help build the kingdom.
[00:20:30] Growing in generosity, understanding the genius of generosity leads us to loosen our grip on those things that do not last so that we might take hold of Jesus.
[00:20:42] And as Paul says in 1 Timothy 6, take hold of the life that really is life.
[00:20:50] We are free to take hold of Jesus, to embrace and care for one another, and to share generously with our neighbors in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[00:21:03] So during this series, we'll be also sharing with you some videos that we put together kind of looking at the history of our church and the legacy of generosity.
[00:21:19] We asked some members of our church to share about when they saw that generosity in a clear way here at our church.
[00:21:28] And one of those videos focuses on the time right after September 11th as the church grew and gave and responded to that.
[00:21:37] So, video from the Dyers.

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:21:41] On the day of 9-11, it was so impactful for the whole world, especially for us here in Mooresville and for our church.
[00:22:00] I desperately needed to be with someone I could pray with and become a family with.
[00:22:07] And I looked up the closest Methodist church to where we lived and said, are you going to have a prayer vigil tonight?
[00:22:15] And Terry Moore was the pastor at that time.
[00:22:19] And he said, yes, 7 o'clock.
[00:22:22] We came and stood in the back of the chapel and cried with strangers.

[00:22:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:22:29] Attendance in churches went up significantly after that occasion.
[00:22:43] Williamson's Chapel, by the combination of what happened with 9-11 and the growth that Mooresville was experiencing, just exploded in growth. At that time we only had one service in the chapel, so then they expanded it to a second
[00:23:01] service in the Fellowship Hall, and within months the Fellowship Hall was completely full we were so tight on space even you know some of the Sunday school classes for the kids were meeting in closets because there was just no
[00:23:18] more space in the building because we experienced so much growth after 9-11 so during that time period you know giving went up significantly and people realize that because we were so tight on space that something was going to have to be
[00:23:44] done for the for the whole campus. The whole congregation was invited to attend a PowerPoint presentation that was being given to explain how much this new sanctuary was going to cost and everybody was really nervous about you
[00:24:01] know is this going to pass are people really going to support it and the entire place raised their hands and said yes and it was like all of a sudden you know the people that were presenting this were so nervous about it passing
[00:24:15] within the first few minutes of the meeting it was done and they went ahead and continued on with the presentation but it was amazing how people were so generous with their giving and in support of of the growth that we were

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:24:31] experiencing. Yeah, our church took great steps towards generosity. People were so invested in our church and ready to jump in and help, whether it was financially or through their talents. And we had the people to do that. And they also wanted to build relationships. You know, the impact of
[00:24:58] 9-11 affected us as individuals in different ways, and we needed a church family to dig deeper in our

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:25:07] faith. It just seems like every time there's a need in our church, people really step up, whether it's through the gifts that they provide, through the mission work that they do, through volunteering, through helping out with the youth or with children, you know,
[00:25:33] that continued to help lead to the growth of the church, you know, generation after generation.
[00:25:39] So it is amazing how our congregation and staff and clergy all really step up in times of need to help the church continue on its path.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:52] I think it was the laity and all the new things that people just jumped in and took hold of and were again invested in what would happen next because it was all new to them, new to each other.
[00:26:12] and that was can be exciting and scary at the same time but they did it i love how we keep the traditions the same but we try different things to enhance it and bring out new to some newcomers
[00:26:24] and new members and that's exciting for us generosity of spirit generosity of welcome

[00:26:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:26:38] generosity with the gospel financial generosity to the church and through the church into the community. As the Dyers shared, that spirit of generous welcome of people who needed places to seek God's face in the wake of disaster, it was life-changing to many people in our community.
[00:27:00] It is the very heart of who we are as a church, and it's the heart of who our membership has always been and who God continues to call us to be. The generosity team of the church was tasked
[00:27:14] with helping tell that story to you so that you can think spiritually and deeply about your own journey and a generous life, your heart and your life with God. And the pathway of generosity is
[00:27:29] just one way about that you can learn about giving. And I don't mean, as Wes said, just financial giving. I mean a generous life that is more about your heart and your life than it is
[00:27:43] about your bank account alone. God calls us, friends, to be stewards. Our giving is an act of devotion for us. The cultivation of a generous life emerges from our life with God. This is, above all things, a pathway of deepening our discipleship. We put together this booklet that
[00:28:08] you got, and if you don't have one, if you'll let us know, we'll make sure you get one. We have one per family. So if you didn't get one on the way in, please get one on the way out. We put together
[00:28:18] this booklet for you to reflect on your next faithful steps. Grounded in scripture and guided by our mission and vision and values as a church, lived out in this church over 112 years and impacting thousands of people in Mooresville and abroad. The story of generosity through
[00:28:39] Williamson's Chapel is a powerful one. And in this book, you can read about that and you can connect with videos like John and Keela's video that tell some of that history to deepen your understanding. You can also see where every single dollar that you give through Williamson's Chapel
[00:28:55] goes into service and how we are seeking to steward those funds faithfully every single day.
[00:29:02] We also invite you to a very simple prayer practice that can help you take your next faithful step on the pathway. And this is the prayer. Where does God want me to be in my giving?
[00:29:17] You pray it and you are open to what God has to say. In this book, you're going to find practical tools that can help you take your next faithful step. You can learn how a faithful step might be
[00:29:29] that you're going to set up recurrent giving. A faithful step might be that you look at a percentage chart in here and you say, you know, right now we're giving 2%. I think we could give
[00:29:38] three percent. Let's take one faithful step in growing toward a tithe. It even gives you some ways to think about some creative ways that you can multiply your giving. We'll be talking about the genius of generosity in the next couple of weeks and we invite you to spend some time praying
[00:29:55] and evaluating how God is moving in you and in your life and how God might be inviting you to take your next faithful step. We're here to help you. Don't hesitate to reach out to us.
[00:30:07] we have these available to you and we want you to really take your time we spend a lot of time putting this together there are some QR codes in here to videos and to more information some
[00:30:16] great charts and graphs and some great ways for you to be thinking so I'm going to encourage you to be paying attention to it we are going to receive our offering this morning and no matter
[00:30:26] how you give if you you know Wes and I recently started giving to a donor advised fund that's how we give but in the past I've given by check I've given by mail I've given online however you give
[00:30:37] You can scan the QR code to give.
[00:30:39] You can give through the mail.
[00:30:40] You can drop your offering in the offering plate.
[00:30:42] You can set up a direct draft that comes from your bank directly here to the church.
[00:30:47] No matter how you do it, my prayer is that you will just start praying a very simple prayer.
[00:30:52] God, where do you want me to be in my giving?
[00:31:00] Take a deep breath in, friends, and breathe it out.
[00:31:07] God, where do you want me to be in my giving?