Today, we turn our focus to generosity. While reading 2 Cor. 8:1-15 and 9:6-15, we will see that generosity comes from understanding the Gospel and being willing to help others, as God has helped us.
Today, we look at the shaping virtue of gratitude. All gospel benefits are received as undeserved gifts from a gracious God. The only appropriate response to such generous grace is gratitude. A thankful heart is cultivated the more we remember, understand, and appreciate all the ways the Lord has blessed us in the gospel and through his common grace, by which he “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
Today, we look at the shaping virtue of encouragement and how it’s portrayed in the Bible. Encouragement is not merely patting someone on the back or offering a kind word. Biblical encouragement is lifting up the saints by holding up Christ and His gospel treasure in order to strengthen them for joyful service to him.
Pastor Dave York looks at the shaping virtue of humility. The Lord promises to bless the one “who is humble and contrite in spirit” (Isaiah 66:2). Humility is an accurate view of God and ourselves. It is foundational to all other shaping virtues, because without humility we will experience neither the desire nor the grace necessary to cultivate them. The gospel humbles us as we come to grasp that “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This humility before God prompts humility toward others. In keeping with Jesus’ example, we are commanded, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THE FELLOWSHIP.
