This week we conclude our sermon series “A Double Blessing,” with the message “A Generosity of Hope."  It is only appropriate to discuss blessing others before we leave the series.

This week not only will be talking about being generous with others, but also talking about the fact that we can only GIVE what we HAVE.  This is why any flight attendant will tell you to put on your oxygen mask first BEFORE helping others.

We have been talking these past weeks about Compressed Grief - grief that piles up on top of itself, until there seems to be almost no room left.

Now we are going to discuss two more words:

Capability and Capacity.

Capability is our ability to do something. Capability comes from the tools that we have in our box.  As Christians, our tools include the Bible, the Words of our Savior.  These are constants - always present.  So we ALWAYS have the capability to do something - like loving one’s neighbor, and giving to others, 

Do we have the capacity?

One could argue that capacity is our ability to do something as well.  Granted.

But capacity is also how much something can hold (a cup has 8 oz capacity).  It can be how much we can hold.

If we have hatred...

If we gossip…

If we are sad…

When hold those on to these things (which are all arguably compressed grief in many forms), they take up space in our cup.  We can only give what we have.  It is a vicious cycle too -  being full of negatives makes us lack the capacity for positives. 

Thus, we always have the capability to do the right thing (we always have the tools), but we do not always have the capacity (the mental space) to do the right thing (we ARE human).

God’s word gives us the capability.  CHRIST GIVES US THE CAPACITY.

Explore with us this week as we seek both to be filled, and to give.

In His Love,

Pastor Tracy