Zacchaeus - Selfish to Sacrificial

Manuscript Template

Title: Zacchaeus - Selfish to sacrificial

Elevator Summary:

Focus Statement:

We are called to be rivers of living water, allowing God’s blessings to flow through us making trajectory changing impacts on the hurting of the world, not reservoirs hoarding for ourselves while our hearts become toxic.

Function Statement:

To get the congregants to take the next step in their giving (time / talent / treasure) journey.

Tweetable Phrase:

We’re called to be rivers, not reservoirs

Scripture: Zacchaeus

Main Text:

Luke 19:1-10

Supporting Text:

Matthew 6:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; 1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:13

Redemptive Closure (point to Jesus):

God gave everything for you (Jesus) and wants to continue to give to a hurting world through you

Benediction:

Romans 6:13

WELCOME

Good morning!!! My name is Ryan Hanson and I have the honor of serving here at The Light KC as the lead pastor. I’m so glad you’re here with us, and a special welcome to those joining us online. We hope your doing well and hope to see you in person in the coming weeks.

KIDS SERMON

Do you know that this Thursday is Thanksgiving? On of my favorite movies to watch over Thanksgiving is The Grinch.

How many of you have watched the Grinch? What was the Grinch’s problem? [heart was 3 sizes to small]

What does that mean? [the Grinch only thinks of himself]

Was the Grinch someone you’d want to be around?

How many of you sometimes get a little Grinchy from time to time? I know I do. Sometimes I get stuck only thinking about myself, ignoring others, and being a pretty terrible person to be around.

Do you know that, just like with the Grinch, God wants our hearts to grow a few sizes when it comes to how we think about and act toward other people?

God give us all time, talents, and treasures (stuff) that he wants us to use to help others.

What could we do this week to use those time / talents / treasures to help others and reflect God’s love to those and need it?

Those are some great ideas.

Thanks for all the help, you can follow JoBeth down to you class.

ME/INTRO - Tension

Well…Good morning again.

How many of you watched the Netflix boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul?

Well, I didn’t, but seeing all the adds got me thinking. How great would it be to have a walk out song like boxers? When I enter a room, music starts to play, the drama increases, the tone is set, and before I say anything to anyone, people know something about me. Boxers have walk out songs, CEOs and Motivational Speakers have walk out sons, Politicians have walk out songs, why not all of us?

Here was Tyson’s

Tyson Walk Out Song vs Jake Paul - Netflix

[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/e77aG8jtT3I]

Mike Tyson clearly wants people to know that he is a “bad dude” that is not to be messed with.

BUT, the more I think about it, I think we all do have walk out songs. When any of us walk into a room, music may not actually play, but everyone already has thoughts, impressions, expectations for us. Some may even have songs playing in their heads. We can’t escape other people’s feelings toward us.

WE - Tension

What song do you think plays through people’s heads when they see you coming?

If I was completely honest, there was a time when my walk out song would probably have matched the song of the Biblical figure we’re going to talk about today. Let’s give it a listen.

Zacchaeus’s Walk out Song - You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch

0:00-0:58 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKWZ8p3pDQg]

For the last few weeks we’ve in a series called WORK IN PROGRESS where we’ve looked at some Biblical figures that God has called to make some huge changes in their lives and have been challenged to seek God’s guidance as to what changes we need to make in our lives. We’ve seen God call Abraham from Comfort to Called. We’ve seen God call Moses from Fear to Faith. We saw God call Paul from Sinner to Servant. Last week we saw God call Peter from Hasty to Humble.

Today we’re going to take a look at the life of Zacchaeus. Just like the Grinch, Zacchaeus had a heart that was at least 3 sizes too small. But through an interaction with Jesus, Zacchaeus’ heart grew.

[Grinch “Heart to Small” Picture]

Today we’re titling the sermon From SELFISH to SACRIFICIAL.

We’ll have the scripture on the screen, but if you have a Bible with you, or Bible app on your phone, I’d encourage you to turn to the passage and follow along. There is nothing that replaces having God’s word in your hand.

Today we’re going to start in Luke 19:1-10. As you turn there I want to give some context to Zacchaeus.

Chief Tax Collector - that means he was the supervisor of many other tax collectors

Tax Collectors - Jewish people who collected Roman taxes from other Jews - Hated by those Jews - Considered sinners

Rich - Tax collectors typically collected more than was required and got rich, skimming off the top, stealing from their fellow Jews

Zacchaeus being a chief tax collector profited from each of the tax collectors under him, so was complicit in the mistreatment of all the Jews in his territory.

Needless to say, Zacchaeus was by all accounts a not a popular individual, motivated by the SELFISH gain of money.

GOD - Text

Let’s jump in to Luke 19:1-10.

Luke 19:1–10 (NIV)

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

So far, most of the Biblical Figures we’ve looked at took a long time to learn what God wanted them to learn (decades in the case of Moses), Zacchaeus was changed immediately. He heard about Jesus, he did whatever he had to do to meet Jesus, and just by being in Jesus presence he completely turned his life around.

Zacchaeus didn’t just commit to doing what was right moving forward, he made restitution to all those he had wronged.

Now keep in mind, he didn’t just to what was legally required, he went quite a bit further.

In the first century, Jewish law required that anyone who acquired money illegally had to repay the money + 20%.

Zacchaeus doesn’t just promise to give the required 20% penalty but voluntarily chose to follow the Old Testament penalty in 2 Samuel 12:6, for rustling (stealing animals) of 4x the loss. And on top of that he chose to donate 1/2 of his wealth.

Within these short 10 verses, Zacchaeus’ heart grew and God took him from Selfish to Sacrificial.

The journey God took me on was a little longer and less direct than Zacchaeus’.

I don’t know your history with the topic of giving. I have to admit, when it comes to giving, I was jaded for a long time. I grew up hearing too many guilt laden, scripture light, cries for money from churches, televangelists, and other organizations. Most taught 10-10-80, were you give 10% to God through the Tithe to the church, give 10% to your future self through savings, and do whatever you want with the remaining 80%. I knew that this was a generally smart way to handle money, but I also knew it was not in the Bible. It was from an interview with Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil and one of the richest people of all time. I do not believe in the prosperity Gospel, where your motivation in giving is only to get rich. I knew that giving was more holistic than what I was being taught.

I knew that giving includes how we use our time, talent, and our treasures. Because of my jadedness, I focused all my giving in my 20s exclusively through the giving of my time and use of my talents but I did not give much of anything of my treasure (money). The problem is…that the way I was living is not the way God calls us to live through the Bible. Just like the Grinch, my heart was multiple size too small in the area of giving and generosity.

YET, God didn’t give up on me and kept bringing me back to Matthew 6:1-4, it reads

Matthew 6:1–4 (NIV)

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Whenever God repeats Himself, it is typically a good indication that we need to pay attention. In both verses 2 and 3, Jesus says “when you give”. As I mentioned earlier I was very comfortable giving of my time and using my talents to help others, but very cautious when it came to giving money. I was naturally a saver. In college I had heard you should save at least enough money to cover six months of expenses in case of an emergency. I followed this advice, and took a lot of comfort in the security that bank account balance provided.

And yet, after I got married, God wanted to grow my heart in the area of financial giving. Today, I’d like to share (2) experiences and (1) revelation God gave me on the journey that God took me through on my journey from SELFISH to SACRIFICIAL. I took the hard path. I pray that hearing the journey that God took me on, helps you avoid some of the mistakes I made.

Experience 1

The first experience God gave me was a few years into my marriage, I shared a few weeks ago, but my wife and I had our eyes opened to the need for foster parents through our church. We prayerfully considered it and felt that God was calling us to take in a foster child. We fostered one child for two months and another for a year. When the second foster child left to go live with family I felt God clearly ask me (not audibly, but more of an inner conviction that clearly was not from me), “Why did you foster?” I answered that I felt, it was what He wanted us to do and I genuinely wanted to help those kids. I again felt a deep conviction that could only have been from God, as I would never naturally do what God called me to do. I felt God say, “Then give away everything you were paid for fostering them.” I have an engineering degree and a master’s in business and the math was not hard. Over the year of fostering we were paid $12,500. Within days of this conviction, we received the Samaritan’s purse Christmas Catalog in the mail. Samaritan’s Purse is a huge, global non-profit that helps improve the lives of people in third world countries. The Christmas catalog is one way they help to make it easy to donate to fund their work. You can purchase Bibles, farm animals, school supplies, etc. The item that stood out to me was a $15,000 school. I felt that inner conviction again saying, “round up.” This was HUGE and beyond what I was prepared for. You remember my hesitancy in donating any monetary amount. For me this felt like, what I can only imagine the Israelites felt like after the exodus when they were stranded on the shore of the Red Sea with the Egyptian army chasing after them in Exodus 14. If you’re not familiar with that story, God had just miraculously saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. They were leaving the country when Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after them. They got to the Red Sea, the last hurdle to freedom, when they became trapped. They had to trust that God was leading them to a better future, or go back to the comfort of the known life they had in Egypt. I felt like I was at that last hurdle just like the Israelites. My wife and I were blessed with the opportunity to go to Egypt on a Bible study tour so I have stood on the shores of the Red Sea. Here is a picture.

[Red Sea Picture]

Notice you cannot see the other side. The Israelites, led by Moses, trusted God who opened up a dry path in the Sea for them to cross, saving them from the Egyptian army.

Feeling very unsure about this, I was faced with a decision. God has just challenged me to give $15,000 to fund the construction of a school in a 3rd world country. I don't know about your situation, but $15,000 is a lot of money. I could buy a car with that or go on a really nice vacation...(pause)…and that was the problem that God was exposing. My first thought was what I could do with the money if I spent it on myself. My second thought was the security I would lose, because this money would have to come from my emergency fund. I was not focused on what God could do through this donation for His Kingdom. It became clear to me very quickly that God was exposing a problem within my heart. It was a few sizes too small.

I talked to my wife about it. She was all for making the donation. She has always been more financially generous that me. But I still struggled. For me it came down to God asking me,

“What kind of God do you believe I am?”

This is a question I think we all, at one point or another, have to ask ourselves.

What kind of God do you believe God is?

Maybe you do not believe there is a God. Maybe you’re here under protest and the promise of a free lunch. If so, I am so glad you are here and I want you to know that even if you don't believe in God, God believes in you. He created you with a purpose and good plan for your life. I want you to know that even if you are not pursuing a relationship with God, God is pursuing a relationship with you. I want you to know that you may not love God, but God loves you more than you can imagine. He loves you exactly as you are, but loves you too much to let you stay that way. God wants you to live into the fullness of the potential that He has put inside you. I am glad you are here and if you have any questions please see me I’d love to have a conversation with you.

Maybe you believe in a God that created the universe but has disengaged. Your experience has shown that there is not enough to go around and everyone has to fight to get enough for themselves at the expense of others. Giving to others would mean that there may not be enough for you and your family. Being generous means that you suffer.

Maybe you believe in an active God. Your experience shows that God is working in the world, and provides just enough to go around. We have to give to ensure everyone has just their basic needs met, but having excess means that we are forcing someone else to suffer.

Or maybe you believe in a God that is not only active, but lovingly blesses us to excess. This God provides WAY more than enough and out of His love He blesses beyond what we could ask, want, or imagine.

At that time in my life, I believed that God provided just enough and giving to others mean that my family and I would have just enough to get by with nothing extra, no safety net (comfort). God was calling me to give this gift, challenged my understanding of who God was. Giving this gift was a huge struggle for me.

But giving this gift was made easier because I did not consider the money I received from the foster agency to be mine. It was given to me by the foster agency to use for the kids under my care. I was stewarding the money for the kids.

Since I would have taken care of those kids without any money from the foster agency, it was a little easier to give away. It was fully within my rights to keep it, but donating it to other kids in need seemed like the right thing to do. My wife and I chose to donate the $15,000 and this is the school that was built in Cambodia as a result. It turned out that $15,000 only builds 1/6th of a school. We found out later that we only sponsored 1 room of the 6 room schoolhouse.

[School #1]

Through the act of giving, God grew my heart a few sizes that day.

Whereas I felt okay giving away the money from the foster agency, I had to deal with the loss of my emergency fund and God forced me to put my trust in Him to a level that I have never done before. Over the months that followed, God provided. We were able to handle the unexpected expenses and even build the emergency fund back up over the next year.

Experience 2

What I did not account for was that once you get in the system, non-prophet organizations do not let you go.

The next year God gave me a second experience when Samaritan’s Purse gave me a call. “Can you donate again? We have another school we’d like to build.” This time it did not feel like the Red Sea, it felt like the Jordan River in Joshua 3. If you’re not familiar with that story, the Israelites were at the end of their 40 years of wandering in the desert and just had to cross the Jordan River to enter and take the land God had promised them. When they crossed the Red Sea God created the path before they had to move. Here at the Jordan River, God waited for them to act first. They had to step into the raging river, at flood stage, before God would stop the flow and create the path for them to cross. Again I was at a point in my life when I had one more hurdle to overcome to get to the place God wanted me to be. My wife and I have also been to Israel and seen the Jordan River. Because of Dams and Irrigation there is much less water now than there was then, but it is still a raging river. Here is a picture I took.

[Jordan River Pic]

On the trip I was re-baptized in the Jordan and even at the lowered levels of today and standing outside of the main current, I could barely stand up. The pastor on the trip tried to talk me out of it because it was so dangerous. I can’t imagine how scary it was back then at full flow.

[Baptism Pic]

God was calling me to give substantially for the second year in a row. It was at this point in my life that God used the one verse that had jaded me since High School to teach me.

Maybe this is true for you too, but I have found this to be one ways that God speaks to me. If I am bothered by something, it is typically because it is something that I need work on.

The verse God used in this case is 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. It says:

2 Corinthians 9:6–15 (NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

I had always heard people put the focus on this passage on verses 6 and 7, typically preaching that if we plant seeds by giving money than God will bless us back with even greater finances. They would then throw on “God loves a cheerful giver” right before passing the offering plate. This sermon always struck me as a little manipulative and guilt inducing.

Reading the whole passage changed my perspective on giving completely.

Giving is about pointing our hearts toward others, not ourselves.

Reading verse 6 again, Paul writes about Sowing and Reaping, which is about planting a few seeds, and getting a crop that is much greater.

God wants us to give in ways that make a huge impact.

I can get behind that. I want to maximize the impact that my giving produces. In verse 7, Paul writes about giving only what you have decided in your heart to give.

Giving is not legalistic, but something that God wants us to put a lot of thought and care into.

God wants us to use our time and talents and treasure wisely. In verse 11, Paul writes that

God blesses us, and gives us the ability to make money so that we have the means to bless others.

In verse 13, Paul writes that the result of our giving will be that others will praise God.

Reading this passage with fresh eyes changed my thinking about giving completely. Whereas I justified the first gift because I was stewarding the money for the two foster kids, this gift taught me that the money I earn at my job is no different. Just as the foster agency gave me money to use for the kids, God blesses us with the ability to earn money so that we can steward it and use to further His Kingdom.

10-10-80 is wrong. We don’t get to give 10% back to God, give 10% to our future in the form of savings, and spend the remaining 80% on whatever we want.

Everything we have is God’s

We need to use it, in any amount, however He calls us to. 10% is the Biblical starting point, but God may call you, or me, to do much more as He seeks to partner with us to bring His kingdom to earth now.

My wife and I talked and prayed about it. We obediently gave again that year, again depleting our emergency fund. In doing so, God taught us exactly what Biblical stewardship meant. This is the result, not only another Cambodian school but the second growth of my heart in the area of giving.

[School #2]

I want to take a pause because I mentioned a verse that is regularly used to get people to donate money. 2 Corinthians 9:6 states,

2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Has my wife and I come into a huge financial windfall? No.

Do we believe that the money that was sown in those two schools is reaping a huge cop in the changed lives of the 300 children that attend each of those schools every year? YES.

I think if you give because you think you will personally get something as a result, you are missing the point. Jesus does say we will be rewarded, but I do not think that should be the reason we give. I think my reward for these donations with be meeting the 600 kids per year (300 per school) that benefit from these schools and hearing the stories of how their lives were improved because of them.

Throughout the entire Bible, God chooses to partner with people to accomplish His plans.

We should give, because God generously gives to us so that we can give to others, furthering His kingdom plans now.

YOU - Takeaway

I am not sure what song perfectly sums up who I am right now, but I know what song I want to describe me.

Ryan’s Walk out Song - Matthew West - Unashamed

0:30-1:05 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwWzVePf0c]

So, I want to go back to our original question.

If you were to have a “walk-out” song, what would it be?

WE / JESUS - Redemptive Close - Call to Action

Revelation

God used these two experiences to show me a picture of giving that I can only describe as a revelation. God showed this to me while my wife and I were in Israel. We were learning about baptism on the banks of the Jordan River. 1 Peter 3:21 states that…

1 Peter 3:21 (NIV)

and this water [living water] symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

The water used in baptismal practices back in Jesus’ day was living water, which simply meant that it was flowing, not stagnant. 1 Peter tells us that through belief in Jesus and baptism we are saved from the consequence of our sins and given eternal life with God in Heaven. Until that point, I did not understand why the baptismal water must be living (flowing) water.

Seeing the Jordan River in person, not only helped me understand why living water was needed for baptism, it totally changed the way I view giving and generosity. Here is a picture of the Jordan River in Israel.

[Jordan River / Dead Sea picture]

The Jordan river is the life blood of Israel. Israel is a desert and the Jordan River is the only source of fresh water they have. They use it for irrigating their crops and growing the food that feeds the country. Israel is a world leader in farming and irrigation techniques because they have had to learn how to use the water from Jordan River as efficiently as possible. This river literally brings life to the entire country of Israel.

The Jordan River dumps into the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. The Jordan River flows in and nothing flows out. As the water evaporates, the minerals and sediment becomes more concentrated. The water becomes saltier and more mineral dense. The water in the Dead Sea is 8x saltier than ocean water. It is a ton of fun to float in because you cannot sink, but if you drink ½ a cup of it, you will die.

The Jordan River is a HUGE blessing to all of Israel, but it becomes poisonous when it stops flowing. The same is true of God’s blessings.

Holding onto God’s blessings becomes toxic

When we choose to use the blessings from God for purposes that He did not intend, our hearts harden, we become greedy, and just like the Grinch at the beginning of the movie, our heart shrinks.

In the same way a lack of generosity becomes a toxin to our hearts, when we let God’s blessing flow through us to others, we bring life to everyone we come in contact with.

God wants us to be living water for the lost and hurting of this world.

God is calling us to offer all of our time, all of our talents, and all of our treasure to Him to use for whatever purpose He desires. I like the way the Paul states this concept in Romans 6:13, he writes…

Romans 6:13 (NIV)

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

If you leave and only remember on thing from today’s teaching, remember that…

We are called to be rivers not reservoirs

Just like the Jordan River blesses the entire country through its supply of clean water, let the blessings God has given you flow through you to help the lost, the poor, and the needy. Don’t store them up, greedily keep them for yourself, slowly poisoning your heart.

God took Zacchaeus from SELFISH to SACRIFICIAL during 1 conversation with Jesus.

It took years of God working on me and challenging me to make progress toward becoming SACRIFICIAL.

Where in your life (time / talent / treasure) are you still holding back? What steps does God want you to take this week to become less SELFISH and more SACRIFICIAL?

Action Items

After we came back from Israel, my wife and I set goals for our generosity / giving. The one rule we set was that whatever we give to, we want it to have a TRAJECTORY CHANGING IMPACT on the lives of those who receive it. We want to partner with God to change the world. I want to offer three ways that you can become LIVING WATER, allowing God’s blessing to have a TRAJECTORY CHANGING IMPACT on people’s lives through your SACRIFICIAL giving.

The first trajectory I suggest we consider changing is your own. Maybe you’re in a spot where you need to…

Focus on getting yourself financially healthy

If you don’t know where to start, I have an MBA my wife has a finance degree and we’ve led quite a few financial classes at previous churches. Come find me and we would be more than happy to help get you started.

The second trajectory we all need to consider is our community.

Focus on your community For me, serving motivated financial giving because the causes of the organizations I volunteered at became my causes. What organizations has God put on your heart that need your time / talents / treasure?

I would also challenge you to start giving something to the church if you’re not already. My personal opinion is that I want to give to causes and organizations that I believe are doing good work for the Kingdom. My wife and I decided that we would only attend a church that we wanted to give to. Giving to your local church is a great first step in financial giving.

We also have an opportunity to bless the area’s homeless population by passing out backpacks with supplies. I’ve been going on morning runs by my house and can’t believe how many homeless there are (even when the nights are down in the 30’s). I’d encourage you to take a backpack or two on the way out and find someone to give it to. But don’t just give it to them. Talk to them. Have a conversation. Find out their story. Share God’s love with them.

The third trajectory we should consider is beyond our community. We are blessed for no other reason than we were born in the USA. The Bible calls us, over and over, to help the widow, the orphan, and the poor. One way we can live that out and make a HUGE TRAJECTORY CHANGING IMPACT is by putting our…

Focus on the needy of the world

Maybe you are solid financially, you serve, and even give to the church. I would challenge you to think broader. Jesus called the disciples to start in Jerusalem, then to Samaria, and then to the ends of the world.

What global organization, missionary, or cause has God put on your heart that now is the time to get involved with?

No matter where you are on the spectrum of giving and generosity, Jesus calls us each to take the next step. Commit to the action you will take before you leave.

Change the TRAJECTORY of your life by committing to getting financially healthy.

Change the TRAJECTORY of your community by commit to serving or giving to the church.

Or change the TRAJECTORY of the the least of these globally.

It may be different for you, but if I don’t act immediately, I end up doing nothing. Don’t ignore God’s call to be less SELFISH, more SACRIFICIAL, literally being LIVING WATER bringing life to everyone you come in contact with, commit to giving your entire self (time, talent, and treasure) to God’s use now.

PRAYER

Will you join me in prayer...

SONG

BENEDICTION

Romans 6:13 (NIV)

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

This week let’s live SACRIFICIAL lives, letting God’s blessings flow through us like LIVING WATER, blessing everyone we cross paths with.

I hope you have a great week.

Go in peace.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS