The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of October 14, 2018

In five of his letters, (Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, I Timothy and Titus) St. Paul says roughly the exact same thing: “Jesus gave Himself for us.”

Jesus gave Himself for us!  Of course, Jesus knew all about proportionate giving too.  He learned it from His earthly parents.  In fact, the first conversation of Jesus that the Gospels record is when as a boy He was taken to the Temple and His family duly offers the prescribed sacrifice.  This lesson was one that Jesus in turn taught; “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”  While Jesus was taught proportionate giving from His earthly parents, His heavenly Father sent Him to give disproportionately!

Jesus owed nothing, yet gave everything, so that there wouldn’t be anything between us and God and He might give unto us all things in Christ.

Jesus owed nothing!  He and He alone was pure and holy; blameless before the law and righteous before the LORD.  Jesus owed nothing!

Jesus gave everything!  From each consideration, conversation and action of Jesus that was perfect, to His last drop of blood and final breath, though He was innocent, Jesus gave everything!

There isn’t anything standing between us and God.  Jesus has “torn down the dividing wall” as Scripture says.

And God gives us all things in Christ; His mercy, grace and forgiveness to be sure.  Yet, it is also true that all of our earthly possessions are gifts from Him.

Jesus owed nothing, yet He gave everything, so that there wouldn’t be anything between us and God and He might give unto us all things in Christ.  This reality is what drives us to the action the Bethany Blueprint describes as “Giving Proportionately.” 

We return a first fruit gift of all that we have NOT in order to get anything from God, but because He has already given us all things in Christ, who gave Himself for us!

-Pr. Kevin Kritzer