A Saturday Series during December
by Melanie Mentzer

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

As I started to think about what I wanted to talk to you guys about giving, I started to think, “what really is giving?” When I think about giving, I think of the obvious, giving things to others, giving my time, money etc. But I forget to think about where it initially started, Jesus.
We all know the above verse, most of us have it memorized. It’s one of the most famous bible verses. You’re probably thinking, “Why are we talking about this?” Well like I said, when it all comes down to it, it started with Jesus. “For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only begotten son…” I don’t know about you guys, but every time I read this verse, it just makes me appreciate what God has done for us. That God would sacrifice His son, and Jesus suffered for our sins and drank the cup of God’s wrath. Abraham was another great example of this. He was about to sacrifice, and give God his only son, who he waited years for, because he knew all what God had done for him. To me this it true giving. Obviously I’m not saying we all need to do what Jesus did and lay down our lives at the cross, but we do need to realize what giving is all about. God has done SO much for us, and without Him we wouldn’t be here today. The source of everything we have comes from Him, so giving to others is little into comparison for what He’s done.

Application:
What do you think of when you hear the word, “giving”?
How does this verse apply?