Acts 20:32-35
“Enough: Defined by Generosity”
Preached Sunday, October 12, 2025
When I meet with a family to plan a funeral, I like to take the time to listen to them share about their loved one’s life. Both so that I can honor them and their life as the minister presiding over the funeral - and also to give the family a time to process, to share, to celebrate and give thanks to God.
One question I always ask the family is - what are three words or phrases would you use to describe your loved one? Loving, caring, hard worker, encourager, resourceful, faithful, thoughtful, kind, sweet, generous…these are some of the words that were given to me for recent funerals I’ve done. I don’t think it’s too morbid or too egotistical to spend time reflecting on this question for yourself. When you die and move on from this life, what defining traits do you want to be remembered by? What three words or phrases would you hope that your family would share with the minister? And, are you living your life now in such a way…that that will be your lasting legacy? Asking this question of yourself now, and semi-regularly, helps keep a watchful eye on what is most essential in your life, what your values are, and how you are living them out while you are still six feet above the ground.
On the other end of life, we baptized a beautiful, beloved child of God this morning. We celebrate that so new into this world, her family has made the commitment to raise her in a faith community and for her to know that she is God’s beloved child. This is one of the primary aspects of Baptism that we celebrate when we baptize a baby. Just as in Jesus’s baptism, the voice of God called Jesus God’s beloved son. So we too, in our baptisms, are claimed and celebrated as God’s beloved children. It is our new and primary identity in this life - and for our whole life long - we are beloved children of God.
And a life that is defined by that belovedness, God’s belovedness for us, changes how we live, how we view ourselves and how we treat others. A life defined by belovedness can not be sequestered into an hour a week at church. Belovedness overflows into all areas.
When we are talking about generosity in our sermon series, “Enough,” I believe that knowing that we are truly beloved and living a life of generosity do go hand in hand. Generosity does not come from a life that is parched for love. It comes from one saturated with the knowledge that we are God’s children.
And so, this morning, I’d like each and everyone of us to ask - Do I know that I am beloved by God? Is that belovedness pouring out of me in the form of generosity? Is generosity a defining trait in my life? Am I known as a generous person? Will I be known as one after I die?
And if not - what is holding us back?
One of the primary answers is: fear.
Fear that if we give too much away…we won’t have enough left for ourselves. Or fear that if the bottom drops out from under us, we will find protection, a safety net, in our belongings and bank accounts. Systemic factors definitely influence this fear. Inflation goes up. Unemployment numbers go up…and we hold more tightly to what we have. I do think the fear of, “I won’t or don’t have enough to feed my kids” in a world with increasingly less safety nets is real and valid. But often, the fear comes in and starts when we have more than enough…but the fear of not having enough is still there. There is also the fear, that is less valid, of not having enough for self-gratification. For what I want, for the next vacation, for my daily coffee run…
We cannot let fear overrun our lives. We have to turn our fear over to Jesus. Trust in the God who calls us beloved and let that belovedness overflow in all areas of our lives - including generosity.
This is not the “Prosperity Gospel” that espouses that if you just give a certain percentage or a certain amount then you will have no problems, no job losses, no food insecurities, no medical issues. No - this is not that lie. Living a life marked by belovedness and generosity is a recognition that nothing we have, even our own lives, really belongs to us.
A famous prayer in our tradition is the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer:
“I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt;
Put me to doing, put me to suffering;
Let me be employed for the or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee;
Let me be full, let me be empty;
Let me have all things, let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things to that pleasure and disposal…Amen.”
This is truly a mindset change from the way our world sees ownership, possessions, and the driving urge to put me, myself, and I, first.
Scripture echoes this idea that all we have and all that we are…belongs to God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” - Psalm 24
“The land is mine…you are but aliens and tenants.” - Leviticus 25:23
In the creation narrative in Genesis, creation is given to humanity for us to be stewards of the earth - Stewards are those who take care of something that is not theirs, and stewards are a very common occurrence in the parables that Jesus tells.
Everything - from our money and possessions, the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, our very lives - they all belong to God. We are but stewards of these gifts. This realization makes us ask - How does God want us to use, or steward, these gifts? The answer is to share them generously.
Generosity begets generosity. Generosity includes caring for the poor and the least of these. Proverbs 22:9 wisely states that those who are generous are blessed for they share bread with the poor.
Generosity also binds all together in loving community. In a place where all belong. In a place where we take care of others and are cared for in return.
Because generosity is so important, Scripture helps give guidelines on giving. This is where the concept of the tithe comes in - mentioned several times in Scripture - a tithe literally means “a tenth.” It’s the theological concept that one tenth of what we have - our harvest, our income, whatever that may be - should be given back to God.
I am going to tell you today - don’t get caught up in the number. For many a ten percent gift, ten percent planned generosity, seems so impossible, that the discussion of a tithe actually shuts down all conversation about generosity and smothers the budding inclination towards a more generous life. The thing, the lesson of the tithe, that I want to focus on this morning is giving to God first. We call the tithe first “fruits” so let’s look at fruit as an example: we have ten apples. I am going to go ahead and say these are not Red Delicious apples from the grocery store, a misnomer name if there ever was one. These are delicious suncrisp apples from White House Fruit Farm. So anyway, we have ten delicious apples - and a tithe calls us to give one apple away and live off the other 9. If we give the one away first…and then live off the remaining nine, we may be tempted to take a bite out of that first apple, but it has already gone on to feed another. If we don’t give first, and then use up all nine and then…well, maybe we take a bite out of the tenth. Or we keep the whole tenth apple for ourselves, insteading of giving it away. There are the voices of fear, the voices of consumerism, the voices - a million voices - that tell us there are ways we can spend that apple for our own “happiness” or security - and generosity never happens.
And so, the concept of a tithe is all about making a plan to give, being intentional about giving - and to give first. Calculate the percentage of your giving - just so you know where you’re at. From there you can think about where you want to be without smothering the spark of generosity that has caused you to make an intentional effort to give in the first place.
And a reminder that more money doesn't actually make it easier to give. In 2025, Forbes reported that there were over 3,000 billionaires in the world. In 2017 there were just over 2,000 and that was twice as many as a decade before that. These are part of the systemic issues of class inequality…To put how much money a billion dollars is in perspective…if a billionaire spent roughly the average US YEARLY salary in a single day - it would still take almost 10,000 years for a billionaire to spend all their money. But, and here’s the cincher, billionaires rarely give more than single digit percentages of their money away.
Indeed, the more money you have - often the louder the voices of fear and self-gratification are - and the more removed we become from the generosity that thrives in connected communities.
Here’s a humorous story about this, originally told by Peter Marshall who was the chaplain of the United States Senate for many years:
“There was a man who struggled to tithe even though he had a large income. The man said to Marshall, ‘I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but.... But now… I am earning $500,000 a year and there is just no way I can afford to give about $50,000.’ Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said, ‘I can certainly see your problem. Let's pray about it.’ The man agreed. So Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Heavenly father, I pray that you would reduce this man's salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”
The truth is, regardless of income level - each and every one of us is going to wrestle with questions of contentment and generosity. Each and everyone of us is going to wrestle with how much “enough” is - how much is “enough” to live on. How much is “enough” for happiness…of course for contentment and happiness, there will never be “enough” for those things cannot be found in money and possessions. At Wednesday morning Bible study this last year, there was a point when we were talking about how much is “enough” to be giving away - is a tithe enough? What about giving beyond the tithe and so on and so forth - and for starters, this is a better conversation to be having because it’s coming from a desire to be generous - The desire to be generous, to give what what can, to give all one can, and to give to God and neighbor first.
I want to take a moment and thank you for your generosity here…I know, I know. I thank you for your generosity every week. I imagine some of you who are here weekly may tire of hearing me say, “thank you.” But truly - thank you! Your generosity sustains the life of this church. Your generosity creates beloved and caring community here. Your generosity allows us to gather to worship and to study the Bible and to be community together. Your generosity allows for our church to be a spot for the community to gather - a third space for AA, support groups, girl scouts and more. Your giving allows us to teach children - on Sundays and through the week as part of BUMP - that they are beloved children of God. Your generosity does so much - thank you! And thank you for those who go the second mile too. Jesus said if someone asks you to walk a mile with them, go a second too. The first mile is the generosity that sustains the life and work of this church. Planned and intentional giving - thank you. Many of you have chosen to walk the second mile by giving to our Today, Tomorrow, Together capital campaign to help ensure the longevity of our facilities and ministries for years to come. Thank you ALL.
Let’s take a step back from our context and talk more broadly again as to what happens when we choose to give and let our lives be defined by generosity. As I said in the beginning of this sermon - this is not the prosperity gospel. It’s not give and you will get what you want. AND. Generosity still affects us.
Generosity shapes our lives by the desire for all that we are and all that we have to bring glory to God. Generosity is a form of recognizing that we are God’s children, claimed in our baptism as beloved. We live into this identity when we give to God first - it is a very practical, tangible thing - that centers our intangible belovedness.
Generosity is the antidote that brings us relief from the voices of fear and self-gratification that can control our lives. If left to the world’s devices, we so easily become self-absorbed, money obsessed people who have little room for the joy of generosity in our lives. When we give - to God, our families, our friends, neighbors, and those in need - it opens our hearts, allowing them to be filled with joy.
And, generosity begets generosity. We don’t always see it but sometimes, in beautiful glimpses of the kingdom, the circle is closed. I recently had a conversation with a pastor who was my pastor at a critical point in my life. He played a huge role in my faith formation. About two years ago, His child heard a sermon I preached - and the Spirit spoke through that sermon, saving this child’s faith at a critical point in his life. And then my former pastor, his dad, came and told me. The circle was closed. This happens all the time but we just don’t always see it…
A gift is given that changes someone’s life for the better, allowing them to give a gift, allowing them to give a gift…until perhaps you are the recipient of a gift, a blessing, that makes your life all the better.
When we give, our world looks more like the world God desires for us all - a world marked with generosity and joy and community - a world where all of us live into our identity claimed in our baptisms as beloved children of God which overflows in contentment, joy, and generosity - and it is enough.
Scripture echoes this idea that all we have and all that we are…belongs to God.
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” - Psalm 24
“The land is mine…you are but aliens and tenants.” - Leviticus 25:23
In the creation narrative in Genesis, creation is given to humanity for us to be stewards of the earth - Stewards are those who take care of something that is not theirs, and stewards are a very common occurrence in the parables that Jesus tells.
Everything - from our money and possessions, the earth we walk on, the air we breathe, our very lives - they all belong to God. We are but stewards of these gifts. This realization makes us ask - How does God want us to use, or steward, these gifts? The answer is to share them generously.
Generosity begets generosity. Generosity includes caring for the poor and the least of these. Proverbs 22:9 wisely states that those who are generous are blessed for they share bread with the poor.
Generosity also binds all together in loving community. In a place where all belong. In a place where we take care of others and are cared for in return.
Because generosity is so important, Scripture helps give guidelines on giving. This is where the concept of the tithe comes in - mentioned several times in Scripture - a tithe literally means “a tenth.” It’s the theological concept that one tenth of what we have - our harvest, our income, whatever that may be - should be given back to God.
I am going to tell you today - don’t get caught up in the number. For many a ten percent gift, ten percent planned generosity, seems so impossible, that the discussion of a tithe actually shuts down all conversation about generosity and smothers the budding inclination towards a more generous life. The thing, the lesson of the tithe, that I want to focus on this morning is giving to God first. We call the tithe first “fruits” so let’s look at fruit as an example: we have ten apples. I am going to go ahead and say these are not Red Delicious apples from the grocery store, a misnomer name if there ever was one. These are delicious suncrisp apples from White House Fruit Farm. So anyway, we have ten delicious apples - and a tithe calls us to give one apple away and live off the other 9. If we give the one away first…and then live off the remaining nine, we may be tempted to take a bite out of that first apple, but it has already gone on to feed another. If we don’t give first, and then use up all nine and then…well, maybe we take a bite out of the tenth. Or we keep the whole tenth apple for ourselves, insteading of giving it away. There are the voices of fear, the voices of consumerism, the voices - a million voices - that tell us there are ways we can spend that apple for our own “happiness” or security - and generosity never happens.
And so, the concept of a tithe is all about making a plan to give, being intentional about giving - and to give first. Calculate the percentage of your giving - just so you know where you’re at. From there you can think about where you want to be without smothering the spark of generosity that has caused you to make an intentional effort to give in the first place.
And a reminder that more money doesn't actually make it easier to give. In 2025, Forbes reported that there were over 3,000 billionaires in the world. In 2017 there were just over 2,000 and that was twice as many as a decade before that. These are part of the systemic issues of class inequality…To put how much money a billion dollars is in perspective…if a billionaire spent roughly the average US YEARLY salary in a single day - it would still take almost 10,000 years for a billionaire to spend all their money. But, and here’s the cincher, billionaires rarely give more than single digit percentages of their money away.
Indeed, the more money you have - often the louder the voices of fear and self-gratification are - and the more removed we become from the generosity that thrives in connected communities.
Here’s a humorous story about this, originally told by Peter Marshall who was the chaplain of the United States Senate for many years:
“There was a man who struggled to tithe even though he had a large income. The man said to Marshall, ‘I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but.... But now… I am earning $500,000 a year and there is just no way I can afford to give about $50,000.’ Marshall reflected on this wealthy man's dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said, ‘I can certainly see your problem. Let's pray about it.’ The man agreed. So Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority, “Heavenly father, I pray that you would reduce this man's salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”
The truth is, regardless of income level - each and every one of us is going to wrestle with questions of contentment and generosity. Each and everyone of us is going to wrestle with how much “enough” is - how much is “enough” to live on. How much is “enough” for happiness…of course for contentment and happiness, there will never be “enough” for those things cannot be found in money and possessions. At Wednesday morning Bible study this last year, there was a point when we were talking about how much is “enough” to be giving away - is a tithe enough? What about giving beyond the tithe and so on and so forth - and for starters, this is a better conversation to be having because it’s coming from a desire to be generous - The desire to be generous, to give what what can, to give all one can, and to give to God and neighbor first.
I want to take a moment and thank you for your generosity here…I know, I know. I thank you for your generosity every week. I imagine some of you who are here weekly may tire of hearing me say, “thank you.” But truly - thank you! Your generosity sustains the life of this church. Your generosity creates beloved and caring community here. Your generosity allows us to gather to worship and to study the Bible and to be community together. Your generosity allows for our church to be a spot for the community to gather - a third space for AA, support groups, girl scouts and more. Your giving allows us to teach children - on Sundays and through the week as part of BUMP - that they are beloved children of God. Your generosity does so much - thank you! And thank you for those who go the second mile too. Jesus said if someone asks you to walk a mile with them, go a second too. The first mile is the generosity that sustains the life and work of this church. Planned and intentional giving - thank you. Many of you have chosen to walk the second mile by giving to our Today, Tomorrow, Together capital campaign to help ensure the longevity of our facilities and ministries for years to come. Thank you ALL.
Let’s take a step back from our context and talk more broadly again as to what happens when we choose to give and let our lives be defined by generosity. As I said in the beginning of this sermon - this is not the prosperity gospel. It’s not give and you will get what you want. AND. Generosity still affects us.
Generosity shapes our lives by the desire for all that we are and all that we have to bring glory to God. Generosity is a form of recognizing that we are God’s children, claimed in our baptism as beloved. We live into this identity when we give to God first - it is a very practical, tangible thing - that centers our intangible belovedness.
Generosity is the antidote that brings us relief from the voices of fear and self-gratification that can control our lives. If left to the world’s devices, we so easily become self-absorbed, money obsessed people who have little room for the joy of generosity in our lives. When we give - to God, our families, our friends, neighbors, and those in need - it opens our hearts, allowing them to be filled with joy.
And, generosity begets generosity. We don’t always see it but sometimes, in beautiful glimpses of the kingdom, the circle is closed. I recently had a conversation with a pastor who was my pastor at a critical point in my life. He played a huge role in my faith formation. About two years ago, His child heard a sermon I preached - and the Spirit spoke through that sermon, saving this child’s faith at a critical point in his life. And then my former pastor, his dad, came and told me. The circle was closed. This happens all the time but we just don’t always see it…
A gift is given that changes someone’s life for the better, allowing them to give a gift, allowing them to give a gift…until perhaps you are the recipient of a gift, a blessing, that makes your life all the better.
When we give, our world looks more like the world God desires for us all - a world marked with generosity and joy and community - a world where all of us live into our identity claimed in our baptisms as beloved children of God which overflows in contentment, joy, and generosity - and it is enough.
Amen.
