2 Corinthians: We Give Because He Gave

Sermon Outline for April 16, 2023
2 Corinthians 9:1-15 || We Give Because He Gave

Principle #1 – Our giving and generosity are motivated by Jesus’s generosity towards us (8:9)
Principle #2 – All good gifts are ultimately from God (9:10)
Principle #3 – God will bless generous givers, so that they might give
even more generously (9:8, 11)
2 Corinthians 8:9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sake he became poor,
so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Application: our giving should be:
1. Consistent – “on the first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:2)
2. Proportionate – “in keeping with your income” (1 Cor. 16:2)
3. Generous – “whoever sows generously will reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6)
4. Joyful – “not reluctantly ... for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7)
1 Cor. 16:2, On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping
with your income, saving it up, so
that when I come no collections will have to be made.
What if I don’t desire the glory of God or the good of other people?
1. Start giving (where your treasure, there your heart will be, Matt. 6:21)
2. Get invested emotionally
3. Continually dwell on the gospel and what Jesus has given to you

Questions for Discussion:
• How well do you practice generous and cheerful financial giving? Does your giving ever feel reluctant or
dutiful? What might be hindrances towards greater financial generosity?
• In the four points of application (see above), which do you most need to grow in?
• Verse 10 says God provides “seed for the sower.” Seeds are needed for our hard work to produce fruit.
What are the “seeds” God has given you, that have helped make you financially secure today? (For
example: being born in a place with access to education; born into a financially stable family or a family
culture that values hard work and discipline; childhood lessons on how to handle money; our physical,
mental, and emotional giftings that enable us to hold down jobs; etc.). Why are all these things seen as
God’s grace to you?
• If the so-called “prosperity gospel” is defined as, “the belief that a person’s financial generosity will result
in even greater material possession,” how does this passage deny such a claim? What is the difference
between a prosperity gospel and what Paul writes in vv. 6-11?