53 min
Why Does the Church Talk About Money? | A Generous Church | Acts 4:32-37 | w/ Pastor Joshua Sanders Christ Community Church (Brazil, IN)
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- Christianity
For those of you that have had kids, how many of you had to train your child on how to be selfish? Newsflash... YOU DON'T!
Our culture actually encourages selfishness... American society encourages people to pursue their American Dream with an individualistic spirit. We are to look out for ourselves. Afterall, nobody is looking out for us, so we have to look out for ourselves, right? According to Pew Research, 68% of Americans describes their fellow Americans as “selfish.”
But when you look at the research, it shows that there is a negative cost to being selfish. Being selfish is correlated with poor psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. The research also shows that all of these selfish behaviors such as materialism, lead to lower life satisfaction, higher envy, anxiety, and depression.
And when it comes to the Bible, Jesus says that if you desire to follow Him, you don’t indulge yourself... you don’t remain selfish... you start denying yourself! You see... Rather than being selfish in all that we do, God calls us to a life of generosity.
And you know what scientific research says about practicing generosity?
The research shows that generosity impacts our health and well-being in many positive ways. It boosts mood, self-esteem, and our immune system. It also reduces stress, anxiety, and blood pressure. It’s almost like following the teachings of the Bible are good for us... Who would have thought!
In today's sermon. we dive into Acts 4:32-37. What we will learn is that as we GET AFTER IT for the expanding of the Kingdom of God, God has called us to generosity. We will see generosity practiced amongst the early church.
For those of you that have had kids, how many of you had to train your child on how to be selfish? Newsflash... YOU DON'T!
Our culture actually encourages selfishness... American society encourages people to pursue their American Dream with an individualistic spirit. We are to look out for ourselves. Afterall, nobody is looking out for us, so we have to look out for ourselves, right? According to Pew Research, 68% of Americans describes their fellow Americans as “selfish.”
But when you look at the research, it shows that there is a negative cost to being selfish. Being selfish is correlated with poor psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. The research also shows that all of these selfish behaviors such as materialism, lead to lower life satisfaction, higher envy, anxiety, and depression.
And when it comes to the Bible, Jesus says that if you desire to follow Him, you don’t indulge yourself... you don’t remain selfish... you start denying yourself! You see... Rather than being selfish in all that we do, God calls us to a life of generosity.
And you know what scientific research says about practicing generosity?
The research shows that generosity impacts our health and well-being in many positive ways. It boosts mood, self-esteem, and our immune system. It also reduces stress, anxiety, and blood pressure. It’s almost like following the teachings of the Bible are good for us... Who would have thought!
In today's sermon. we dive into Acts 4:32-37. What we will learn is that as we GET AFTER IT for the expanding of the Kingdom of God, God has called us to generosity. We will see generosity practiced amongst the early church.
53 min