It’s one thing to have core values. It’s another thing to have core practices that model those values. Your talk talks and your walk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.
The core practices this week are simplicity and generosity.
Last week Landon Hamel shared a word about being intentional. After the service several people shared how they had recently felt the Lord was speaking the same thing to them.
Margin in your life matters more than you may realize.
Simplicity empowers generosity.
Somewhere along the way I decided to never take in more clothes than I currently have. Any time I get a new shirt I give one of mine away. A new pair of pants means I give one away. This has empowered me to be generous every time I increase. Normally we just keep packing it in.
It is exactly the same with our schedules! How have you seen stress in your life affect the way you treat people? Love is patient, kind and generous! A custodian made an unusual request to meet with the CEO of a large company. As the meeting began the CEO removed his watch and placed it upside down on his desk. It spoke volumes to this man who felt the clear sense that time was being taken, and room was being made for their conversation.
Do your actions tend to say to those in your five-foot circle, “You matter” or “I’m busy”?
Your talk talks and your walk talks but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. Do you live sacrificially in light of eternity?
Luke 18:29-30 Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life. NIV
Sacrificial generosity produces a reward in this life and the next!
Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. NIV
Generosity produces emotional stability, relational enrichment and spiritual strength and it is nourishment to the soul.
Dr. Karl A. Menninger, one of the most influential psychiatrists of the 20th century said, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.”
Giving has always been part of God’s plan for worship throughout the generations. David said I will never offer something in worship that cost me nothing 2 Sam 24.
Sacrificial generosity not only produces a reward in this life but also in the next life. What will this look like for you in eternity?
Leonard Ravenhill said, “Five minutes inside eternity and we will wish that we had sacrificed more, wept more, grieved more, loved more, prayed more, and given more.”
BE INTENTIONAL! Faith is not a wait and see attitude. Sacrificial generosity is a word of direction to unlock a season that is more than a year! Please pay attention to this!
Harvest is happening. This past year multiple universities reporting thousands of people giving their lives to Christ: University of Kentucky (Feb 2025) — ~8,000 students gathered; about 2,000 gave their lives to Christ with many baptized on the spot.
Ohio State University (Feb 2025) — ~6,500 attendees; nearly 2,000 made decisions for Christ with visible baptisms.
University of Tennessee (Oct 2025) — ~8,000 gathered; around 500 decisions for Christ and baptisms reported.
University of Cincinnati / area (Nov 2025) — ~5,500 students attended, with numerous conversions and connections to churches reported (exact count not specified).
Grand Canyon University (Oct 2025) — ~7,000 students; thousands rededicated their lives and hundreds made new commitments to Christ.
Clemson University (Nov 2025) — ~6,000 students; hundreds surrendered to Jesus and dozens baptized.
University of South Florida (Sept 2025) — ~7,000 attended with 2,000+ decisions for Christ and baptisms (reported via social posts).
Last week we looked at how more than a million people have converted to Christ in Iran causing the closing of 50,000 of the 75,000 Mosques in that country!
The Bible speaks in terms of an end time harvest where hearts will turn to the Lord, and the wealth of the world will be transferred into the hands of those who are aligned with eternal values.
To those who embrace God’s values we can be trusted with God’s valuables to expand God’s Kingdom. When we carry his values, he can entrust to us his valuables
One of the leaders we work with in the UK shared last week, we are about to be amazed at the sudden increase in the body of Christ, but it is not to be focused on self. This increase is for Kingdom advancement. God’s family is expanding so get ready!
God desires to pour Kingdom blessing through our lives! Like saturated sponges we can’t take in more to pour out until what we have is squeezed out and given away.
The absence of prayer reveals the presence of pride. The absence of giving reveals the presence of greed.
God is inviting us into a deeper place. A deeper place comes at a greater price but great is the reward for those who choose this path with God. Be intentional!
GP2RL: Work on simplicity this week and budget for generosity.
