Today we are encouraged to not fall into the Summer slump, but instead see, love, pray and work as Jesus models.

Today, we see that God takes great delight in replenishing the flow of generosity in the lives of cheerful givers.

Paul is encouraging the local church to give. Throughout the counsel of God's Word we see that we are to give to the church for the support of its leadership, support of its ministries and for the support of people to help meet basic needs.

Christians are to practice gospel-shaped giving with Jesus Christ as our model and motivation to express the grace of Christ to others.

Our prayer is that God would create and grow a culture of generosity among us.

As the kingdom of God continues to expand and spread we see both those who receive the message and those who reject it.

From its small beginnings the kingdom has expanded with faithful followers willingly paying the price to follow Jesus.

The resurrection calls us, allows us, and empowers us to live a courageous life.