Preaching generosity

Giving in Grace website has a series of five sermons based on Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospels.

Matthew 18:21-35 The Parable of the Two Debtors — Preach Matthew — Giving in Grace

• Detailed sermon notes focusing on Generosity as well as interactive ideas for an all age congregation – here.
• Giving in Grace website has a series of five sermons based on Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospels. Today’s gospel reading Matthew 20.1-16 is the Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard — Preach Matthew — Giving in Grace
• Sermon starters for the lectionary readings:

Exodus 16.2-15: God faithfully provides for and teaches trust to his people even when they complain and doubt in times of need.

Matthew 20.1-16: God’s kingdom is governed by grace rather than human ideas of fairness, with God generously rewarding all who respond to his call.

Both passages connect harvest and generosity through God’s provision. What we receive comes ultimately from God’s grace rather than what we deserve.

In the Old Testament reading God provides manna and quail in the wilderness, giving his people daily food whilst they are unable to produce a harvest, focussing on God’s abundant provision and our need to trust him.

In the Gospel, the vineyard is the harvest, the landowner’s decision to pay all the workers the same wage highlights extraordinary generosity, focussing on God’s grace, which is given freely rather than earned.

Both passages reveal a generous God who provides abundantly for our needs and invites us to trust His grace rather than rely on our human ideas of earning, fairness, and scarcity. God’s kingdom is marked by abundant provision, where blessings are given through grace and generosity.

If you’re preaching on harvest and generosity, these two passages work well together because they move from God’s provision in the wilderness to God’s grace in the kingdom.

Closing Thought: In Exodus, God feeds hungry people who are complaining and bemoaning the fact God had saved them from slavery. In Matthew, God rewards workers equally and for some beyond what was expected. Together they remind us to trust God to provide what we need and that He is not only fair, but extravagantly generous.

• Detailed sermon notes focusing on Gratitude as well as interactive ideas for an all age congregation – here
• Sermon starters for the lectionary readings:

Exodus 17.1-17: God faithfully provides for us when we trust in Him, even during testing times filled with doubt. He gives not because we have earned it, but because of His love and care for us.

Philippians 2.1-13: True Christian discipleship calls us to reflect Christ’s humility and self-giving love, serving others above ourselves whilst trusting God to work in us for His purposes.

Matthew 21.23-32: God values repentant obedience over empty profession

These three passages offer a rich harvest theme that goes beyond crops and provision to focus on the kind of community God wants to cultivate, living lives which bear the fruit of faithful action.

The Old Testament demonstrates God’s power bringing life where there appears to be none and that true abundance comes from God’s provision, not human resources.

The New Testament shows us how God is at work in us, enabling growth and the harvest of character. He calls us to be generous in spirit, putting others before themselves just as Christ demonstrated ultimate generosity by emptying himself and taking the form of servant.

The Gospel invites us to live with deeds not words. God is generous even to those who initially reject him, He values the fruit of repentance.

This Harvest can we trust instead of moan? Be humble instead of selfish and obey with actions. Ask: Where am I struggling to trust God’s provision? How can I reflect Christ’s generosity toward others? Is my faith producing the fruitful action?

Closing Thought: As we celebrate harvest, we remember that God’s greatest gifts are not just the things he puts into our hands, but the work he does in our hearts. The God who brought water from a rock, who gave himself in Christ, and who welcomed repentant sinners into his kingdom is still generously at work today. God’s generosity is the seed; our faithful response is the harvest.

• Giving in Grace website has a series of five sermons based on Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospels. Today’s gospel reading is Matthew 21.33-46 is the Parable of the Rented Vineyard– Preach Matthew — Giving in Grace
• Sermon starters for the lectionary readings:

Exodus 20.1-4,7-9,12-20: God’s holiness calls for wholehearted worship and obedient living

Philippians 3.4b-14: God calls his people to let go of earthly measures of success and pursue the lasting harvest that comes from knowing and following Christ.

Matthew 21.33-46: God entrusts His harvest to His people and expects lives that bear fruit and acceptance of Christ.

These readings connect well around the idea that God’s generosity calls forth a harvest of faithful living. The readings are a useful reminder that everything begins with God’s generosity. That we are called to live faith filled lives due to grace already received.

In Exodus 20, the commandments begin with God’s reminder: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” The commandments are a framework to shape us reflecting God’s generous and compassionate character; they serve as a reminder that life, land, freedom, and blessings all come from God.

The New Testament and Gospel readings offer the same messages. In Philippians 3, Paul recognises that his standing before God comes not from his achievements but from God’s gift of grace through Christ. In Matthew 21, the vineyard is God’s gift which is received by the tenants who did not plant or work to create it. God gives us all we have, before there is a harvest to gather, there is a generous God who provides.

We show our gratitude by our faithfulness as Paul urges us to seek spiritual growth and in the Parable of the tenants, the focus is not ownership but fruitfulness. God is seeking not what we have or own but our hearts to create a blessed Kingdom. When the tenants begin acting as if the Vineyard is theirs, Jesus warns they will be brought “to a wretched end.” (v41) and in Philippians, Paul rejects confidence in his own achievements viewing everything through the lens of Christ’s grace.

Generosity should produce gratitude, and gratitude should produce faithful stewardship.

Closing Thought: As Harvest is celebrated, we give thanks for everything we have, but these passages remind us that God is looking for more than a harvest from the land; he is looking for a harvest from our lives.

Our God gives to us generously and asks for us to produce fruit through gratitude, obedience, faithfulness, and love. We do not own God’s gifts but are stewards of them and because, through Christ, God has been generous to us, we can be generous in return.

• Giving in Grace website has a series of five sermons based on Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospels. Today’s gospel reading is Matthew 22.1-14 is the Parable of the Rented Vineyard– Preach Matthew — Giving in Grace
• Sermon starters for the lectionary readings:

Exodus 32.1-14: God generously provides for His people and seeks their wholehearted devotion, warning against the false gods that distract them from gratitude and faithful trust.

Philippians 4.1-9: God’s people are called to trust Him with their worries and to live faithfully together. In return He produces peace and joy in them.

Matthew 22.1-14: Our abundant God graciously invites us all to his feast, seeking a harvest of lives that gladly accept his grace and are shaped by it

Together these passages draw themes of a God who desires for us the harvest that transforms lives. They pull out themes of the consequences of false responses to God’s generosity contrasting it with the fruitful life God desires for us. God is generous and invites us to be generous too; we need to consider the right way to receive God’s gifts and this can be challenging.

The Old Testament passage demonstrates that despite Israel’s recent rescue from Egypt and God’s continued provision, God’s generosity is quickly forgotten. The Israelites receive God’s blessings but turn to idolise a golden calf; fear and impatience leads them away from God.

In Philippians, Paul reminds us to rejoice and live in peace knowing Gods continuous care, to focus our minds on whatever is true, noble, and praiseworthy, cultivating our hearts to be centred on God. He asks how we should respond to God’s generosity: thanksgiving instead of worry.

In the Gospel reading the king’s feast represents God’s abundant grace and His desire to include everyone in His kingdom, but the guests reject the invitation failing to honour it appropriately. Some guests are too preoccupied with their own concerns to accept the generosity. Gratitude keeps us focussed on the Giver; whilst distraction causes us to lose sight of God’s blessings.

God generosity to us is that of overflowing abundance, providing for us and inviting us into a relationship with Him. How do we respond? With trust, gratitude, and faithful discipleship, or do we allow other things to take God’s place.

Closing Thought: During Harvest, we rightly thank God for everything on our table. But these scripture passages remind us that God’s greatest gifts is not in fields, homes, or bank accounts, but in his invitation, his presence, and the peace he can bring to our lives. The Israelites received provision but forgot who provided. The guests received an invitation but ignored the host.

The true harvest is not measured by what we gather, but by what God’s generosity grows within us: grateful servants, faithful worship, and open hearts ready to accept His invitation and share His abundance with others.

• Giving in Grace website has a series of five sermons based on Jesus’ parables in Matthew’s gospels. Today’s gospel reading is Matthew 22.15-22 is the Parable “Render to Caesar”– Preach Matthew — Giving in Grace
• Sermon starters for the lectionary readings:

Exodus 33.12-23: Beyond all the blessings of harvest, God’s deepest generosity is the gift of His presence. Guiding, sustaining, and drawing us all into a closer relationship with Him.

1 Thessalonians 1.1-10: God’s word transforms lives, producing faith, love, and hope that we may become a sign of his transforming grace in the world.

Matthew 22.15-22: Because we are blessed with the receipt of God’s abundant generosity, we are called to be faithful stewards of all we have; acknowledging that our lives and everything we have belong to Him.

These readings focus on the idea that God’s greatest generosity is the gift of Himself, and that a fruitful life is one that responds to that generosity with faithful witness and stewardship. God’s Presence and we by sharing the Good News with our community we connect with God more deeply and are transformed whilst transforming others. By generously giving us His presence, grace, and calling, our lives bear fruit and reflect God’s image in the world.

In the Old Testament, Moses’ deepest concern is not reaching the Promised Land but having God’s presence with him and the Israelites. God’s promises: “My presence will go with you.” (v.14). So, generosity is expressed not merely through gifts and blessings, but through his promise to be present. Moses understands that everything depends upon God and not upon human strength or achievement and acts as a witness to God’s glory.

In Thessalonians, the church became an example to others because their faith, love and hope were visible. Lives were transformed because they encountered the living God through the gospel.

In the gospel reading, Jesus reminds us that earthly rulers may claim taxes, we belong to God. Our lives therefore should reflect whose image we bear. As the coin bears Caesar’s image, we bear God’s image and are called to reflect him in the world. Point others towards him.

More importantly, whilst Jesus teaches Caesar should be paid what is due to him, we give to God what belongs to God. Everything we have, and are, comes from God; so we are called to be responsible stewards to God’s resources.

Closing Thought: These readings invite us to count something greater than what we own/ possess. As Moses discovered God’s presence is worth more than promised land. The Thessalonians show us how a life touched by God’s grace becomes a witness to the world. And Jesus reminds us we bear God’s image and should pay God what is due to Him.

The true harvest of God’s generosity is a people who know him, belong to him, and bear his likeness in the world. Amen.

So as we give thanks for all that God has provided, we remember that the finest harvest God seeks is lives shaped by his presence, reflecting his image, and generously sharing his love.

Christian Aid have prepared resources to enable you to talk about Legacies, and how people’s faith and generosity have blessed us and our communities and can inspire us to leave gift in our wills to help our church’s mission in the future

There are five sermons here looking at:

Legacy as Gift: Faith Will… let your values live on

Legacy as Commitment: Faith Will… act

Legacy as Resolution: Faith Will… move mountain

Legacy as Harvest: Faith Will… bear fruit

Legacy as Change: Faith Will… let your love live on

There are additional ideas of how to celebrate this season eg in-memory celebrations of loved ones and their impact on people’s lives, give away seeds to show what’s planted now grows and bears fruit later (foxgloves and poppies are seeds that like to be planted in the autumn) or use the Christian Aid film Faith Will video – Christian Aid Resources