What does First B Jackson teach about generous giving?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on generous giving starts with grace. Whether it is Pastor Randy, Pastor Steven, or Pastor Matt walking through 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, the consistent claim is that giving money is not a duty extracted from reluctant people but a natural overflow of grace already received. The Macedonian churches are the central example: they were financially broken, Paul had not even asked them, and yet they gave voluntarily and beyond their means. That pattern, grace received and then grace extended outward to others, is what these messages hold up as the biblical norm for any believer and any congregation.
The Greek behind familiar English phrases gets real attention in this teaching. The word translated 'cheerful' in the line 'God loves a cheerful giver' is 'hilaron,' the root of the word hilarious. The word for the gift itself connects to 'eulogion,' the root of eulogy, meaning a blessing. Paul sets both of those against the word 'exaction,' a demanded or extracted payment, to make clear that the kind of giving he is describing is something a person settles in their own heart before any plate ever comes around. It is voluntary by definition, which is another way of saying it looks like thanksgiving rather than obligation.
The equity logic of the collection also gets its own place in the teaching. Paul draws on the manna story from Exodus to make the point: those who gathered more had nothing left over, and those who gathered less had no lack. The abundance of some was meant to meet the need of others. For First B, that ancient collection for suffering believers in Jerusalem is not treated as a distant historical episode. It is the shape of what Christian generosity looks like whenever grace has genuinely landed in a community.
Taught from 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 · 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 · Psalm 112:1-10 · Exodus 16:9-21 · 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
The passage taught · 1 Corinthians 16
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise.
2 On the first day of the week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
3 When I arrive, I will send whoever you approve with letters to carry your gracious gift to Jerusalem.
4 If it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- November 15, 2015 Thanks Be to God for His Inexpressible Gift Paul's letter to Corinth shows that receiving God's grace naturally leads to extending it to others, whether through money, forgiveness, comfort, or love.
- November 15, 2015 The Biblical Reaction to Grace Received Paul walks through 2 Corinthians 9, showing how grace received from God naturally produces generosity in every form, given freely and with a cheerful heart.
- November 8, 2015 The Biblical Reaction to Grace Received Paul shows how Macedonian Christians gave generously out of poverty because God's grace compels us to extend to others what we have freely received.