Refresh
A Recap from Sunday’s Sermon

Preaching Text: Matthew 20:1-16

This passage deals with the connection between God’s blessings and our identity.  God is generous and it is meant to be contagious.  However, rather than bless others from a place of abundance, we are tempted to envy others and resent God’s kindness to them. 

In the parable, one of the workers who served a full day objected that the owner of the vineyard “made them equal to us,” referring to the ones who worked less than a full day but received the same wage.  The owner calls out this envy by saying, literally in the Greek, “is your eye evil because I am good?” (v. 15).   Envy is far more advanced than coveting because it makes a person want to be better than the other.  It’s not enough to have an equal share in the good thing.  It’s seeking validation through superiority.

What the complainer misses is that God is beyond fair.  He is generous.  He is a good Lord to work for.  He’s even gentle with the complainers, calling the detractor “friend.” Finally, his compassion is seen on those who anxiously waited all day in hopes of bringing something home to eat. 

God’s generosity to usis meant to go through us.

Jesus was the most preeminent and deserving person in the universe, yet he emptied himself and became “last” for our sake.  He left his Father’s side and became poor so we could become rich.  He offers us a share in his inheritance, calling us co-heirs with him. 

We must be thankful for such a generous God.  We must celebrate when others are blessed by God.  We must cultivate generosity like God’s.    

Taking It Home: Count your blessings by naming three ways that God has been generous with you.