abundance

This morning I went in my local Starbucks and ordered my usual grande coffee and a bottle of water. It costs the same thing it costs every morning…4 dollars and some change. 5 bucks. I have spent 5 dollars several times today. I normally don’t blink at anything costing 5 dollars. It’s like the 25cents of a grown up.

Funny thing, when I was a kid, 5 dollars was my weekly allowance. I saved up my 5 dollar bills in a can to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. It took over a year. It’s funny how what used to be a HUGE amount of money is now pretty small.

Abundance is defined by environment and need. When I was a kid that 5 dollars could do a lot more than it can now. My environment was different and my only need was to try out the Konami Code.

We are continuing our conversation on giving in the church this weekend. Our focus scripture is Luke 5:1-11.

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

When we define abundance, we look at our environment and need. When Jesus defines our abundance he looks at environment and need as well…but also at possibility. The Holy Spirit has the ability to mobilize our resources in ways we can never imagine.

You see, Jesus can multiply when we can only add.

See you in worship this week. If you missed last week, you can catch the message below as well as download the scripture and discussion guide.

Chad Brooks - March 9, 2014

Practicing Prayer

Practicing Prayer

Have you ever felt like you bumble through prayer or are dissatisfied with your prayer life? One of the keys to the Christian life is understanding how prayer builds a big vision of who God is. This week we look at the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and find out how it helps us build a great prayer life.

From Series: "Celebration of Discipline"

For Lent we are taking a journey into the disciplines. The disciplines are the garden in which we are planted and grown into mature followers of Christ.

Scripture and Discussion

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