Spirit-Led Generosity

July 19th 2026

Series: The Generous Life

Sermon Title: Spirit-Led Generosity

Topic: The type of generosity we see in the New Testament Christian is abundant giving. The early followers of Jesus gave abundantly, sacrificially, as the Spirit led them. In this message, we will look at this reality and how Christians today are still called to Spirit led generosity.

Key Passages: Acts 1:15, Acts 2:41-47, Acts 4:32-37

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will discover what Spirit led generosity looked like in the New Testament and God’s desire for Christians today.

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Sermon:

Welcome to Family Church!

        For those here in person or watching online… thank you for being a part of today’s service!

Family Moment –

Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.

Celebrate salvation/rededications/baptisms last week.

Celebrate new disciples and disciple-makers.

If this is your first time joining us, thank you for being our guest today!

        I hope you have had a great experience so far, and that this service has already been a blessing and encouragement to you!

PAUSE

We are 3 weeks into a 4-part teaching series talking about how to live a generous life.

        We’re learning what a generous life looks like.

        How followers of Jesus are called to steward God’s resources and be generous in every area of their life!

In week 1 we answered the question: “What does it mean to live generously?”

We talked about the heart of generosity and how our Posture of Giving matters.

Last week, we learned the purpose of tithing.

We answered the question: “Why should I tithe faithfully?”

        And learned that tithing is a matter of trust, obedience, and priority.

Today, we’re going to talk the other side of the “giving coin.”

There is another term in the Bible called offerings.

And we are going to learn what that means from God’s perspective.

We learned last week, that tithing is about TRUSTING God and giving back to God what He has already given us…

Today were going to learn that offerings demonstrate our deepening LOVE for GOD and OTHERS

We’re going to answer the question: “What is Spirit-led giving?”

And then, next week, we’re going to finish this series by discussing stewardship.

Not just money or giving… but how do we steward our resources, abilities, and opportunities to best honor God.

We’ll answer the question: “How do I steward my life for eternity”?

I hope you will stay dialed in each week.

        I really believe this series will help us to better understand how we can live in God’s blessings and be a blessing for Him.

PAUSE

And let me say this right out of the gate today:

        We are NOT guilting you to give money.

        We are NOT forcing fundraising.

        We are NOT pressuring anyone.

        We are NOT manipulating anyone.

We are simply trying to…

        Provide biblical guidance for living a generous life.

We want you to know how to honor God with your money.

        We want you to keep eternity in perspective regarding the blessings God has given us. 

        We want you to respond to God’s best plan in EVERY area of your life… including our finances.

I hope this series will shed God’s light, from the Bible, on what He says and wants for us.

PAUSE

And by the way, every sermon I ever preach, God had to deal with MY HEART too!

        Before I ever get up here to preach to you.

God is examining my life.

        I have to adjust at times…

        I have to repent at times…

And this series is dealing with things that I have struggled with… just like many of you.

So, let’s be humble and open to what God wants for us today!

PAUSE

I want to start by connecting last weekend to where we’re going today.

If you’re taking notes…

Write this down:

Tithing is the starting point for New Testament generosity.

(Repeat)

Last weekend we learned the purpose of tithing.

As a reminder, we saw the Bible defined tithing as:

“The believer’s act of trusting God by giving the first 10% of their income—willingly, joyfully, and without clinging to it.”

We talked about how tithing isn’t just about what we give— it’s about who we trust.

We saw that tithing existed in the Old Testament, or time before Jesus.

AND that it was also affirmed by Jesus in the New Testament.

It’s important to remember…

The first Christians were Jewish—which means tithing would have been a normal part of their lives.

Nowhere in the New Testament do we see tithing dismissed or replaced.

There’s no clear moment where followers of Jesus are told to stop tithing or move away from it.

Tithing has ALWAYS been a consistent expectation for God’s people.

PAUSE

But… God also gave us this phrase in the Bible called “offerings.”

Something beyond tithing that leads into something even greater.

Offerings are talked about ALL OVER the Old and New Testaments!

What we read about in the Early Church… What we witness in the lives of the first believers in Jesus…

And what we clearly see in the Bible is this…

        And I know some of you will not like this point…

        But hang with me and let’s learn from the Bible…

Tithing was just the starting point. 10% wasn’t the finish line… it was the foundation.

        (Repeat)

PAUSE

So, if you have your Bible with you, and I hope you do, turn with me to the Book of Acts 2

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The book of Acts is really a history book.

        We did a whole series walking through it years ago.

It’s a history book of the early church.

A highlight reel of the birth of the Church.

And in Acts 2, we get a glimpse into the very beginning.

        Let’s start reading at verse 42.

Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.    

Stop there.

Now, there’s a lot happening in this snapshot of the early church…

This passage shows:

What they were devoted to…  What was taking place… What really mattered…

It’s all right here.

However, I want to draw your attention to verses 44 and 45.

Look at again:

44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

Note GOD’S phrasing…

ALL the believers.

        ALL of them…

        Not some of them…

        Were doing what….

45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Now some of you might wonder…

        How many people are we talking about here?

Well, we actually know that answer from

Acts 1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)

Jesus’ church began with about 120 believers.

The 120 believers are gathered in one place—waiting on the Lord.

And suddenly…

The Holy Spirit comes upon them. He fills them.

        And then Peter—one of Jesus’ closest followers—stands up and preaches.

And more people accepted Jesus and became a part of the church.

Look at

Acts 2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

So how big is the church in Acts 2 church?

Yes, 3,120!

120 believers in Acts 1.

3,000 added in Acts 2.

So…bring that full circle.

Here we are at Acts 2 verse 44.

Which we KNOW is at least 3,120 people.

Another way to look at this… Family Church across all our campuses has this amount of people in person weekly…

And it says, “They had everything in common.”

PAUSE

So, we should all ask… What does that mean?

What does it mean to have “everything in common”?

It means they were united around Jesus.

Driven by the same purpose.

Committed to the same values.

And don’t miss this!!!

One of those shared values…

One of those defining marks of their lives…

Was generosity.

And we know that because look again at verse 45:

45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Look at what that verse says.

When needed… they were willing let go of their earthly possessions in order to provide generously for OTHERS!

Not themselves!

Not their families!

They sold homes,

Businesses,

Land,

Cattle,

Donkeys,

Jewelry,

Anything of value…

These Christians were willing to give up their own wealth IF and WHEN the Spirit led them to do so.

Do you see that?

In fact, write this down:

A generous life is a Spirit-led life—open to God’s direction in every area, including property and possessions.

        (Repeat)

Again, I don’t want you to hear this through the lens of pressure, manipulation, or guilt.

That’s not the heart behind this.

I simply want you to see what Spirit-led generosity looked like in the lives of the earliest believers.

And I know…

Talking about money hits hard.

Because money drives so much of what we do or do not do in life.

And if we are honest…

Most of us cannot imagine living like this.

Most of us struggle to tithe…

And to go beyond that…

Seems crazy…

Because we live in a me focused country.

        We live in a consumer focused country.

LONG PAUSE

Now you might think…

Well, this was just one isolated event in the Bible.

And it is not.

Again, CRAZY generosity happens all over the Bible!

Like in 1 Chronicles 29 where David donates massive personal wealth for building the temple.

Then challenges others to give willingly.

The leaders follow his lead with joyful generosity.

Or Mark 12 where we seen an opposite story.

A story where the a poor widow gives two small coins…

Everything she has.

And Jesus said she gave more than the wealthy because she gave out of her poverty, not abundance.

Or in Luke 19 where after encountering Jesus, Zacchaeus gives half his possessions to the poor and repays anyone he cheated four times over.

Generosity is all over the Bible.

        Generosity is a theme of the early church.

        Move forward two chapters and let me show you another example.

Acts 4:32-37 All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

There’s that phrase again “ALL the believers”…

        Which means, whatever God is about to show us is not just one person going the extra mile…

        It was a culture of generosity that every Christian shared.

All the believers… were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

Don’t miss that.

        No one thought of their stuff as “THEIR stuff!”

        Everyone had a generous disposition.

Now let’s me be honest with you…

I have struggled with this at times.

        On the one hand; I BELIEVE that God owns everything…

        And that I am only a steward of God’s things.

        BUT… on the other hand…

                I have struggled at times to ACT as if it isn’t “my stuff.”

Does anyone want to admit you have struggled with selfishness?

PAUSE

So, how do we create a personal value of generosity?

        How do we become more closely aligned with the mentality of the people in the Bible?

Clearly, it is not a matter of belief alone…

Let’s keep reading:

33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them.

For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales

35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Pause here.

Let’s keep this in context.

By this point, the Church had grown to over 5,000 people.

You can read that in Acts 4:4.

So, this would be like saying ALL the people who attend Family Church on Holiday weeks…

We ballon up to 5,000 or more…

All 5,000+ people…

Verse 34 says that because of their Spirit-led generosity… no one lacked anything.

Not one person. No unmet needs. No one left out.

Think about that.

This is before food stamps. Before welfare. Before any kind of governmental support.

None of that was needed BECAUSE God’s Church…

God’s people…

Cared for one another.

How?

Through believers who were open to the Holy Spirit and willing to live generously.

Write this down:

Spirit-led generosity leads God’s people to meet OTHERS needs.

        (Repeat)

And this happens all the time here at Family Church.

        I could tell you story after story of people here who live with a generous disposition.

        Some have helped with bills.

        With food.

        With clothing.

        With free vehicle repairs, yes we have literally had people give cars to others!!!

        With free home repairs.

And it isn’t just stories that pastors are aware of…

        We have had people grab us and let us know about so many business owners who have gone above and beyond for them!

Pastor Keith and Pastor Adam had people grab both of them recently to give props to an automotive owner here at Family Church that went WAY above and beyond to help people!

Recently Pastor Adam heard a story about a guy who owns a fertilizing company and how he felt called by God to fertilize a guys house for FREE and to leave a prayer card on his door…because he heard he was at Mayo…  

And it blew the guy away..

ABOVE and BEYOND generosity!

We know many of you are living generously and letting the Holy Spirit lead you to meet the needs of others.

        Keep it up! 

        Keep on honoring God with your Spirit-led generosity!

PAUSE

Go back to Acts 4… and let’s read another story…

Verse 36 continues:

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),

37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

Barnabas, at this point in the story, is a new believer.

Later, he’ll become a great leader—partnering with the Apostle Paul in missions and church planting.

But right here… in this moment…we’re introduced to a successful man who simply wanted to honor God through generosity.

He sold a field.

We don’t know how big it was. We don’t know what it produced. We don’t know how much it was worth.

We just know this:

The Spirit led…

And he responded.

And notice what Barnabas did with the funds.

        Was saw this phrase in the last passage as well.

Verse 37 says he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

What does that mean?

Why is that repeated?

Well…

It goes back to tithing and where tithing goes.

It goes to God’s church.

Barnabas brought his freewill offering to the church leaders.

He didn’t earmark it. He didn’t try to control how it would be used. He didn’t place conditions on it.

He simply responded to God’s leading…

AND trusted God’s leaders to steward it well.

PAUSE

Church…

God isn’t after your money.

God is after your heart.

And when you truly internalize that God gave His ONE and ONLY son for you…

Because He LOVES YOU SOOOO MUCH…

When someone experiences the free gift of salvation.

When you realize that Jesus freely gave His life for you…

It doesn’t produce obligation…

It produces overflow.

Grace fuels generosity!

When God truly captures your heart….

Generosity follows.

PAUSE

Let me wrap this up with today’s life application.

        For those of you who are new to Family Church, we love to end our messages with something for you to consider applying to your life.

It says this:

Life Application: Where is God asking me to trust Him in my generosity? What needs to change in my life to follow the Spirit’s leading? As a result of today’s message, “I Will”…___________________.

Prayer:

        Make sure to do a salvation call!

Offering:

Thank you all for being here today!

        If you would like to continue your worship through giving, there are offering boxes by the doors as you exit, or behind me on the screens. You can also see other ways to give here at Family Church.

        You can also place any connection cards you filled out in there.

Week #3 –

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        It is as simple as texting FamilyChurchGive to 888-364-4483

Have a great week!!