Everything that one has is the result of a gift.

Life - Genesis 2:7

Abilities - Psalms 23:1

This calls for us to be grateful and a giving people.

Why give?

God needs nothing that we have. Acts 17:27

But we need to give - need the blessing God bestows for service.

To have a correct view of God’s attitude toward giving, we must carefully consider what He has said:

Honors God (Proverbs 3:9

Is a mark of righteousness (Proverbs 21:25-26

Is a grace (II Corinthians 8:7

Failure to give robs God (Malachi 3:8

God hates covetousness (Psalms 10:3

Our giving is to be:

I Corinthians 16:2

Regular

Personal - every one of you

As prospered

II Corinthians 8:8

Because of love

Willingly, not because of pressure

Bountifully, not sparingly

Planned and purposed

Not grudgingly

The gift that takes care of it all

II Corinthians 8:5 - “They first gave their own selves to the Lord.”

Galatians 6:1 - how the words “spiritual” and “religious” are used in the Bible.

What must we do?

Honor God instead of self.

Colossians 2:20-23 - the danger of self-made religion

Find the true religion.

Mark 7:1-9

Many are fed up with the hypocrisy of many organized religions. Their reaction should be to find true religion.

I Corinthians 14:37 - We must be careful to not follow anything except the Bible.

I Timothy 4:1-6 - how to be a good servant of God

II Timothy 4:3-4

Realize that we cannot save ourselves.

Psalms 49:5-10 - Only God can save us.

Ephesians 2:13-18 - Jesus is our path to redemption.

Acts 17:22-31

Here’s the main point the Bible will teach us about joy:

A Christian’s joy emanates from the saved relationship - its hope of heaven plus any current blessings.

I Peter 1:8

What can we learn about the source of joy from passages such as Hebrews 10:32-36?

Acts 22:4-5

“knowing that you have a better possession and an abiding one”

What was it that elicited the rejoicing on the part of the Ethiopian man (Acts 8:38-39?

They had been baptized into Christ! They now experienced the joy of salvation.

Psalms 51:8-14

Matthew 13:44

What was Paul’s circumstance when he was inspired to write Philippians (Philippians 1:7?

He was in prison.

What can we learn about joy from the book of Philippians?

Joy comes from:

Being saved

Being in fellowship with other saved people

Being able to get others saved

What does the Bible mean when it describes people who were, for instance, “continually filled with joy” (Acts 13:52?

Continual joy is the long term attitude of joy that is not threatened by the ups and downs of life.

Hebrews 12:11

If others see a Christian being truly joyful, it has a good influence on them.

• Loss of spiritual appetite.
• An aversion to straightforward Bible teaching.