The Moment We See Grace

Pastor Scott welcomed us with gratitude for the grace that brought us together, drawing us to remember not just what God has done in our lives, but who He is: "He alone is good." His prayer set a foundation, asking God never to let us forget where we've come from and to let our lives be an evident truth to that transformation. There was this undercurrent: every time we gather, it is evidence that grace finds us first, and no one is beyond its reach.

The Weight of Giving: More Than Money

Pastor Scott opened by sharing the lingering fear that comes with preaching on giving. He told the story of a friend who, on the edge of losing his leg, told Scott, "All you preachers want is my money." That memory left a mark, making Scott cautious about addressing money from the pulpit. But he pressed on, reminding us, "What we do here is about spiritual development. God's going to take care of us."

He confessed that our Western approach often leaves giving as a checklist, detached from transformation. We risk telling people, 'Just believe in Jesus,' then expecting no more. Scott challenged this: "I've often argued for the idea that I am being saved, present tense. God is changing me as I go."

Belief That Continues to Change Us

He guided us through the book of Matthew, uncovering a repeated pattern, giving and receiving woven all through Jesus' teaching. He described his own study process: starting chapters back from his preaching text and listening for what the Spirit might highlight, even while doing daily things like trying to lose weight.

As we followed, he noted, "If there's no one being changed by Jesus, he's not going to just show up all the time. He's the God who wants to work through his people, and that's what he intends to do." For Scott, being part of the church means being part of Jesus in the flesh again, his people embodying his presence.

Reading Jesus on His Own Terms

Pastor Scott led us step-by-step through the sweep of Matthew, emphasizing Jesus' parables about readiness, stewardship, and the kingdom. He said, "Apparently there is an expectation that God has from his people. He has expectations, which means you and I have responsibilities."

He called us to set aside everything we'd heard before, "Take everything you've ever heard, set it aside, act like it's the first time you've ever read it", and have the courage to let Jesus' own words set the criteria for life and eternity.

The Judgment Picture: Sheep, Goats, and Inheritance

We arrived at Matthew 25. Scott read carefully, letting the words land: Jesus separates all nations as a shepherd does sheep and goats, saying to the sheep, "Come, you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." The sheep are surprised, not aware of when they fed, clothed, or visited him. Jesus answers, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

Scott pointed at the real tension many of us feel: How can a loving God send anyone to hell? He answered, "Who makes the choice of where you go? You do... You are going to get what you want from God. If you don't want God, you don't want his people. He's not going to cram it down your throat." The kingdom, Scott said, is for those who want it, the criteria are set by Jesus, not by a bare claim of faith but by a life lived in response to grace.

"Giving results in inheritance because it defines who you've become at judgment."

Giving Means Meeting Real Needs

Scott returned again and again to Jesus' attention to those in need: "Because you gave to those who were sick, they were naked. They were strangers. They were thirsty. They were hungry. They didn't have anybody looking after them. You did those things." Our ordinary mercy becomes the evidence of Christ's life spilling through us.

He named the resistance most of us feel: what if we are struggling ourselves? He named the story of the widow with two mites who gave all she had, "She's one of us," Jesus said. Pastor Scott explained, "Those who meet their needs, whether they have needs or not, these are the people that God says are my people."

He acknowledged how easily we justify ignoring the needy, sidestepping those very people Christ identifies with. "Those are the ones who will be in the goat pin."

"Your lifestyle should be that you are at Jesus's disposal. Whatever you have is because he gave it to you and he expects you to employ it into his service. And apparently it will be measured on the day we all stand before him."

The Church Family: Loving Through Practical Acts

The sermon moved close to home. Scott focused on how we treat not just strangers, but each other in the body of Christ. With urgency, he said, "How we treat or don't treat each other apparently is important when we stand before Jesus Christ. What you do to a brother or sister, you do to Jesus."

He called out the temptation to justify withholding generosity, because of suspicion, injury, or past church hurt. He also named the way people can "vote" with their giving and time, warning, "Any trouble that would be with me, don't be fooled. Whatever you're doing to me or any of these other brothers and sisters, you're doing to him."

A Living Example at Hilltop

Scott gave thanks for the Wednesday night youth ministry and the $54,000 gift, but quickly turned those blessings back to the church's calling: "We're doing our level best to make sure that our teenagers are getting fed on Wednesday nights. We're trying to meet all the needs that we can because this right here compels us to do so."

He drew the circle wider: "We need each other. And we need all of our churches in Pickkins County to be healthy. If they're going to be healthy, it's going to be because they're finding ways to do exactly what we just talked about."

Scott emphasized again, this was not a push for money, offering time had already passed, but an invitation to participate in the real life Christ gives: "I'm certain of that. That's why I started going to church. I was reading scripture and the Lord compelled me. He said, 'You need to tithe.' I didn't have any money to tithe. I did it. But I had to go to the church to make sure that the pastor wasn't misusing the money."

"If you do that, you're going to hear the words, 'Come, come receive the inheritance that's prepared for you since the foundation of this world.'"

Living It Out: Becoming the Evidence of God's Kingdom

We are reminded as a church community that giving, of time, compassion, material resources, is not another requirement to check but a sign we are being transformed by grace. To participate courageously in Christ's ongoing work means letting his generosity shape every part of our life.

When we ask, "Whose need am I called to meet today?" or "Is my life showing who I belong to?", we echo Jesus' own question. All we have received, we now let flow outward, not under compulsion, but as those becoming ready for that inheritance.

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Discussion Questions

1. When you look at your own acts of giving, what do they reveal about who you are becoming in Christ?
2. In what difficult moments have you sensed Jesus calling you to meet the practical needs of others, even when it cost you something?
3. How do you respond to the tension between grace being free and Jesus' command to give sacrificially, what is Jesus redefining in your understanding of inheritance?