Thanks Be to God for His Inexpressible Gift

In one paragraph

This message was the second half of the pastor's walk through 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, continuing a single extended argument about giving that runs through both chapters. He grounded the passage in the real geography and circumstances of Paul's world before pressing its logic into the present. The core claim is simple: the biblical reaction to any grace received from God is that same grace extended...

Read together

1. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 Paul explains he went to Troas to preach but did not find Titus there and moved on to Macedonia
2. 2 Corinthians 7:5-6 Paul describes being afflicted in Macedonia, fighting without and fear within, until God comforted him by the coming of Titus
3. 1 Corinthians 16 referenced as the chapter where Paul told the Corinthians about the collection being taken for the saints in Jerusalem
4. 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 the previous week's passage covering the Macedonians giving within and beyond their means, covered as the first half of the giving message
5. 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 the main passage preached, covering Paul urging the Corinthians to be ready with their gift and God loving a cheerful giver
6. Hebrews 10:24 quoted to illustrate how the Corinthians' zeal stirred up the Macedonians to love and good works
7. Psalm 112:9 quoted as the source of the line about distributing freely and giving to the poor, with righteousness enduring forever
8. 1 Corinthians 1:18-19 the recurring series slide about the message of the cross being foolishness to those perishing and the power of God to those being saved

Talk about it

1. Pastor Jonathan described the biblical reaction to grace received from God as grace extended to others, and then applied that same pattern to forgiveness, love, comfort, and money. Which of those feels most natural for you to extend to others, and which feels hardest? Why do you think that is?
2. Paul told the Corinthians it was 'superfluous' for him to write about giving, and then spent two chapters doing exactly that. What does that tell you about how easy it is for even genuinely generous people to let good intentions sit without following through?
3. Paul wanted the Corinthians' gift to arrive as a 'willing gift' rather than an 'exaction,' and he used the word that gives us 'hilarious' to describe the kind of giver God loves. What is the difference, in your own experience, between giving that feels like an obligation and giving that actually produces that kind of joy?
4. Psalm 112, which Pastor Jonathan read through, describes a person who gives freely to the poor and whose righteousness endures forever. Looking at that whole picture of that person's life, what connections do you see between generosity and the kind of stability and fearlessness the Psalm describes?
5. Pastor Jonathan closed by saying that the inexpressible gift of the gospel is what makes all the other giving make sense, and Blake told him after the first service that if that one hits home, everything else falls in line. Do you agree with that? How does your own grasp of what Christ did for you shape the way you think about giving of your money, time, or anything else?