Sermons

Contending With Giving Opening Illustration: Something Cheap A husband on a business trip decided to buy a gift to take home for his wife. He asked the store clerk, "How much does this perfume cost?" "This bottle costs $30," she answered. "Thirty dollars!  For that little bottle?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Can you show me something cheap?" "Sure," she replied.  She handed him a mirror. When You Give, Are You G rumbling or G lad ? Background Of Malachi The final book of the Old Testament, Malachi received its name from its author (Malachi 1:1). In Hebrew, the name comes from a word meaning “messenger,” which points to Malachi’s role as a prophet of the Lord, delivering God’s message to God’s people.1 Malachi offered no other identifying information about himself, leaving out markers typical of other prophets such as his father’s name or the current leader of Israel. However, based on the cont...

Putting The Giving In Thanksgiving: The Creation of Giving Welcome A little boy and his father visited the country store, upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. "get a hand full of candy", the merchant said to the boy. The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, it’s free." Again the boy did not move continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said "Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine."  Illustration: My Pastor Will Find Me Two men were marooned on an Island. One man paced back and forth worried and scared while the o...