Contentment & Generosity

Philippians 4:10-13 - ¹⁰I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

We discussed Paul's contentment tonight and how we can become a more contented people and how it's all about being strong in the Lord (Isa. 40:29-31).

We talked about what discontentment can lead to by watching a clip from Dreamworks' Over the Hedge, the 2006 animated motion picture about a very discontented and greedy raccoon named RJ. Because of RJ's greed for more food than he needs, he stirs the angers of a killer bear named Vincent and jeopardizes the lives of a host of other forest animal friends as well...friends who, in the past, were very content on the provisions their forest home had to offer them daily. This tied in nicely with 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

We also looked at a real-life example in Achan from Joshua 7:13-26 and how his greed (and disobedience) in stealing things meant to be devoted to God from one of the cities they overthrew cost innocent Israelites their lives, as well as his and his children's lives. Greed is costly and has consequences!

Luke 6:38 - ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Then we moved on to generosity and talked about how it is impossible for us to out-give God. We discussed Luke 6:38 and passed around some object items to get the point across. We had measuring spoons, measuring cups, rulers, and measuring tape. We talked about how we could never use one of these instruments to measure the blessings God has for His children who are generous with what they have. We talked about how, since everything we have is a gift from God anyway (time, talents, spiritual gifts, money), we should be willing to give it away daily.

Based on Billy's challenge from his message this last week, Zero Gravity will also begin collecting tithes and offerings from its kids starting next week. A portion of what we collect will go into the church's general offering account towards the budget. The rest will go into the homeless food pantry ministry to help restock the brown bags items Zero Gravity prepares for the congregation each month.

We encouraged the kids to take this money from their own resources and not their parents. They can use a portion of their chore money or perform some extra chores around the house to earn the extra to bring in. This will be a great way to begin practicing contentment and generosity with what they have, as well as teach them to be good and faithful stewards.