Passage: Malachi 3:6-12 Speaker: Pastor Lukus Counterman Series: Advent 2023
Speaker: Lukus Counterman - Somewhere deep down inside each person is a reticence towards giving. We struggle with greed and consumption. And perhaps the Christmas season exposes that more than any other time of year. A holiday that was initially focused on giving, somehow turned into a season of getting. Well in Malachi 3, the people of Israel were clutching and grasping instead of giving and offering. They weren’t bringing the “full tithe” to the temple, and the Lord calls them out. He wants his people to rethink their relationship with money and ultimately give him his due. But it’s not so that he can get rich, but rather so that we can express trust. The Lord promises that those who give by faith will receive his favor, because at the end of the day giving is a matter of the heart. May God, the greatest giver of all, teach us to be generous this season.