[show slides / play ‘What a wonderful world’]

One response is to praise God for all he has given us. The spectacular scenery; the incredible sea and animal life; the people that surround us – all these and much more speak volumes of the nature of God and his creative genius! From times of old, people throughout the ages have sought to express from the heart something of the wonder and gratitude to God for all that he has provided us with. Listen now to these words written by the Psalmist from Psalm 95:

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

Here, the Psalmist has hit the nail on the head by declaring that everything is God’s, and as such, any proper response should be one of calling all people to bow the knee before Him who is the creator of all. What an amazing God and what a wonderful world!

As I was preparing this sermon, I was reminded of a song I used to sing at church when I was younger. Its words go like this:

Jesus is a giver and he gives me good things
Jesus is a giver and he gives me good things
You know I really can’t get over all the things that He brings,
Jesus is the giver of life.

He gives the sun in the morning and the moon at night,
He gives the raindrops that glisten with their clear little light,
He puts the colours in the rainbow what a beautiful sight
He is the giver, the giver of life.

He puts the song in the birdies and the buzz in the bee
He puts the flowers in the garden and the fish in the sea
He puts the stars in the heavens just to twinkle at me
He is the giver, the giver of life.

Yes, He is indeed the giver of life, but have you ever asked yourself why God would even want to give us such an incredible, diverse, breathtaking world to live in? Well, the answer is because He loves us – He loves us so much that He wants only the very best for you and for me - and it is His love that under girds everything He gives us, from this wonderful world to his Son Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate giver – He is the ultimate generous giver - He is ‘the’ model for generous giving!

Now, two weeks ago Sue Ives challenged us all about giving generously to God, especially from those areas in our lives that we are poor in. Today’s reading from 2 Corinthians 9 also picks up this theme – in verse 6 (p1163) we read: ‘Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.’

Here we are reminded again through the use of an agricultural metaphor that the size of a harvest is proportional to the amount of seed sown in the first place. What you and I are willing to invest in the Kingdom of God in the ‘here and now’ is proportional to that which we will reap. If we invest little, then the return will be little – if on the other hand we invest much, then the return has the potential to be so much greater. So, just as God is the ultimate generous giver, so we too are called to be generous givers.

However, if we were to stop there, it would do this passage an injustice, because today’s passage isn’t just about calling us to be generous givers. In fact, we can be the most generous givers possible with all that God has given us but if we lack one thing then it’s all in vain! And what is this one thing? In verse 7 (p1163) we read: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

At the heart of all giving, must be the right heart attitude – a real desire, a sense of joy and a happy disposition to give. From Old Testament times, this has been God’s desire for humanity. For example in Deut 15:10 Moses tells the Israelites to give generously to those in need and to do so without a grudging heart.

Today it is no different, for we too are called to be a joyful, generous people – in fact only when we do, do we even begin to learn what it means to be God’s people – and that is a people who live to love God and the world.

As such, CC’s Strap Line – ‘Living to Love God and You’ should under gird everything we do, including how we give back to God out of what he has lavished upon us. So, in all of this, it is important to remember that God doesn’t want our gifts because we can give BUT because we want to give! For without a real desire to give, giving becomes a futile, meaningless exercise.

Let me ask you this morning, when you give, do you give with a sense of joy and love in your heart? Or is what you give, given more grudgingly? Today, if you don’t know where you stand, can I encourage you to sort it out with God so that whatever you give, will always be given with so much joy and excitement that it causes you to bubble over inside!