The Blessing of Provision
Sermon Notes
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
- Acts 20:35
13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
- Genesis 15:13-14
2 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.
- Exodus 13:2
11 “After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors,
12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord.
13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons.”
- Exodus 11-3
You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your free will offerings or special gifts.
- Deuteronomy 12:17
18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.
19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
- Joshua 6:18-19
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.
- Genesis 4:3-5
14“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’
16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.
- Exodus 13:14-16
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
- Malachi 3:10
Table Group Resources
Mixer
What one fear would you like to conquer?
‘Neighborly’ - Daily Devotional
To get the Daily Devotionals delivered to you every morning, text ‘dailydevotional’ to 97000.
The Daily Devos launched as podcasts this week! Did you listen? What did you think? Could this be a new rhythm for you?
Sermon Questions
Scriptures: Acts 20:36; Gen 15:13-14; Gen 13:2, 11-13; Deut 12:17; Joshua 6:18-19; Gen 5:3-5; Ex 13:14-16; John 3:16; Malachi 3:10
What impacted or challenged you in today’s message?
How do you define sacrifice and provision? God’s view vs your view?
As with His people in today’s Scripture verses, God wants us to be dependent on Him. What does this mean? How do you surrender your independence to God but still live independently in the world?
Pastor Jared said that God does not take silver. In the Gospel, He hangs a gold medal on giving us His first and His best - by giving His Son. What kinds of things are you hanging your gold medal on - could these be idols? What is something that you have sacrificed?
How does giving the first and best of your money or your time fulfill God’s sacrificial system? What is the posture of your heart?
Read Exodus 13:14-16. How does “remembering the day of Ramen noodles” lay the groundwork for trusting in God’s provision in your family? What would you teach your children/grandchildren/next generation about the principle of giving their first and best to God?
Do you believe that God wants to bless you, and is just waiting on an opening to give it to you? What will you turn over to Him this week?
Go Deeper - with Goodbook
Dr. Mark Strauss and Pastor Ken Ingold
Sermon on the Mount | Session 6 | Fasting and Treasures (Matthew 6:14-24)
Why is it so critical that we forgive others who have sinned against us?
What are some good reasons to fast?
Have you ever fasted for spiritual purposes? What was the experience like for you?
How do we differentiate between heavenly and earthly treasures?
What earthly treasures are your greatest temptation? Why? How can we move toward greater heavenly treasures?
What does it mean that our eyes are the window to our soul? How can we better focus on that which is God honoring?
Is money evil? What does it look like for money to be for good and not evil?
For the Zoom link to join the Tuesday Night 7:30pm online Q & A sessions: ken@thechurchrb.org
Serve
Mark your calendars! Serve Day is coming up on November 20th! More info to come!
Pray
Pray over the launch of the new Daily Devotional podcasts “Neighborly” this week! We give thanks to God for His idea and His resources to do this! And we pray that the workings of His Spirit each day will stir the heart of the listener (as well as the reader!) to establish unique bonds with their Heavenly Father, and that they will look forward to meeting with Him regularly.
