{"id":13804,"date":"2023-05-21T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/?post_type=ctc_sermon&#038;p=13804"},"modified":"2023-05-23T13:22:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T17:22:05","slug":"generosity-vs-self-reliance-2","status":"publish","type":"ctc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/sermons\/generosity-vs-self-reliance-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Generosity vs. Self-Reliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-gdm-google-drive-embedder-viewer\"><iframe width='100%' height='100' frameborder='0' scrolling='yes' src='https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1DlMLYM1wNAxl_BjnueoRQ9Zx0S9JI4wv\/preview?usp=drivesdk' allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h6>READ<\/h6>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Acts 4:32-5:11<\/p>\n<h6>CONSIDER<\/h6>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">My sister was married the same weekend I attended my cousin\u2019s funeral, who had passed away from cancer.\u00a0 It was a confusing experience to be celebrating one moment and grieving another.\u00a0 In today\u2019s text, we experience something similar.\u00a0 It begins with joy as we see the church working exactly the way it should followed by the sudden death of two of its members.\u00a0 Luke does this intentionally to make his point: generosity creates community but deceit destroys it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">When the Spirit of God is working in us, the church acts as his witness to the world but there is a warning embedding about the danger of allowing deceit to infiltrate our community.\u00a0 As we gather together this Sunday, I hope that we will walk away with a heart overflowing with generosity and also alert to how sin can tear our community apart.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: right;\">Pastor Tim Sreedharan<\/p>\n<h6>PRAY<\/h6>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Lord, let us desire the following:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cWhoever would love life<br \/>and see good days<br \/>must keep their tongue from evil<br \/>and their lips from deceitful speech.<br \/><strong><sup>11\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>They must turn from evil and do good;<br \/>they must seek peace and pursue it.<br \/><strong><sup>12\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous<br \/>and his ears are attentive to their prayer,<br \/>but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: right;\">1 Peter 3:10-12 (Psalm 34:12-16)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 2\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h6>DIVING DEEPER<\/h6>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 2\">\n<div class=\"section\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Download the complete Acts sermon series study guide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Acts-study-guiderev.pdf\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Read 4:32-37. What 3-5 words would you use to describe the early church? Read 5:1-11 and discuss the differences between the two passages.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">This was a time of growth and transformation for the early church yet Luke chose to include this passage about deceit in giving.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Why do you think this was the case? Take a look at 4:32. Point people to the unity of the church (one heart &amp; mind) and how this serves as a warning for others not to allow their selfishness to hinder the unity of the body.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">The expression \u201cfrom time to time\u201d (4:34) notes the actions alluded to were extraordinary and voluntary acts of Christian concern done in response to special needs among the believers*. What does this teach us about the nature of giving from this passage?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Giving is voluntary, not prescriptive or mandated, and comes from the overflow of the gospel transforming our hearts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">At first glance, the punishment doesn\u2019t seem to fit the crime. What merits are there for such a severe punishment?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Watch the six-minute video <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=4RF1XO1kcx4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>HERE<\/strong><\/a> to help you understand why this punishment seems so extreme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Acts 4:32-5:11<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":13662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","ctc_sermon_topic":[],"ctc_sermon_book":[108],"ctc_sermon_series":[541],"ctc_sermon_speaker":[525],"ctc_sermon_tag":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/13804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ctc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13804"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/13804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13839,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/13804\/revisions\/13839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_topic?post=13804"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_book?post=13804"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_series?post=13804"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_speaker?post=13804"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scbc.com\/em\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_tag?post=13804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}