November 28th, 2020
Have you ever reflected about being joyful givers? What is it about giving gifts that excites us so much?
As we approach the Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Christ. The wise men were excited to bring gifts to the King of the Kings; In fact they were “filled with joy.”
“When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy. After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” -Matthew 2:10-11
They didn’t worry about the years it took them to find Jesus. They didn’t rush through their time with Jesus. Instead they took their time to worship Him. They didn’t stress about what to give him or how much it would cost. They didn’t become anxious about how to present their gifts or who would be there. They were focused on worshipping Jesus.
Why is it that we lose focus of the reasons we give gifts in the first place? We focus more on ourselves and on what we have or don’t have. We forget that it’s not about buying the perfect gift, wrapping it the perfect way, hanging the perfect decorations or making the perfect moments.
As we approach the Christmas season, we celebrate the birth of Christ. The wise men were excited to bring gifts to the King of the Kings; In fact they were “filled with joy.”
“When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy. After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” -Matthew 2:10-11
They didn’t worry about the years it took them to find Jesus. They didn’t rush through their time with Jesus. Instead they took their time to worship Him. They didn’t stress about what to give him or how much it would cost. They didn’t become anxious about how to present their gifts or who would be there. They were focused on worshipping Jesus.
Why is it that we lose focus of the reasons we give gifts in the first place? We focus more on ourselves and on what we have or don’t have. We forget that it’s not about buying the perfect gift, wrapping it the perfect way, hanging the perfect decorations or making the perfect moments.
Gift-giving is about the gift of redemption we’ve received in Christ.
The wise men didn’t just bring Jesus the gifts of Frankincense, Gold & Myrrh. They also gave their resources, time and talents. We should be like the wise men and come to worship Jesus, by giving all of ourselves to Him :
The Wise men gave all of themselves to worship Jesus. They didn’t care how much it would cost or how much time it would take. They were joyful givers. Giving is an act of worship. Let’s make it our lifestyle and strive to be cheerful, joyful givers all year around.
- Give Our Resources – The Wise men used their wealth and other resources they had to make sure they were able to come worship Jesus. We should likewise use our finances and other material possessions to worship God. We can increase our giving, purchase items to donate, or inviting others over for a meal.
- Give Our Time – The Wise men took the time to make the journey to come worship Jesus. Time is valuable. We spend it every day, yet how often do we spend time with God or doing things to glorify Him? We can spend more time in prayer, more time studying His Word, or find ways to serve at church and local ministries.
- Give Our Talents – The Wise men used their talents to find Jesus so they could worship Him. We should look for opportunities to worship Jesus using our hobbies, spiritual gifts, professions, and other God- given talents and abilities. We can serve others in our communities both locally and globally. By utilizing our God-given abilities and God will open up moments for us to share His love with others.
The Wise men gave all of themselves to worship Jesus. They didn’t care how much it would cost or how much time it would take. They were joyful givers. Giving is an act of worship. Let’s make it our lifestyle and strive to be cheerful, joyful givers all year around.
Giving in Action
Give Our Resources
Giving Generously to Grace
Give generously towards the budget and Seed Money to forward the mission of Grace and bless our community and other ministries.
The Center for Women and Children
Grace is partnering with the Center by collecting gift cards to box stores (Walmart, Meijer, Target, Kroger, Thornton’s, etc.) so that their clients in need are able to shop for their own families.
You can also donate new, non-plush toys, games and activity sets for ages newborn to 17.
Give Our Time
Shively Area Ministries
We are in need of individuals to shop and package gifts for the volunteers at Shively Area Ministries. The staff at Shively Area Ministries are desiring to provide their 23 consistent volunteers during COVID this year with a Christmas gift. The staff does not have the time to shop and create festive boxes/bags.
Give Our Talents
Serve at Grace
Share one way you plan on giving more to Jesus either with your resources, time or talents. Let us know how we can pray for you and encourage you as you make this new change.
Giving Generously to Grace
Give generously towards the budget and Seed Money to forward the mission of Grace and bless our community and other ministries.
The Center for Women and Children
Grace is partnering with the Center by collecting gift cards to box stores (Walmart, Meijer, Target, Kroger, Thornton’s, etc.) so that their clients in need are able to shop for their own families.
You can also donate new, non-plush toys, games and activity sets for ages newborn to 17.
Give Our Time
Shively Area Ministries
We are in need of individuals to shop and package gifts for the volunteers at Shively Area Ministries. The staff at Shively Area Ministries are desiring to provide their 23 consistent volunteers during COVID this year with a Christmas gift. The staff does not have the time to shop and create festive boxes/bags.
Give Our Talents
Serve at Grace
- Join the Welcome Team
- Join the Cleaning Team
- Join the Grace Kids Team
- Use your gifts of construction/decorating to help beautify our
campus
Share one way you plan on giving more to Jesus either with your resources, time or talents. Let us know how we can pray for you and encourage you as you make this new change.
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