Generosity is a spiritual practice that manifests in the joyful and voluntary giving of things (money, time, space, resources, skills, etc.) to worship God and serve others, to support the church and ministry, thereby participating in the renewal God is bringing to our city and world.
In Matthew 6, Jesus described generosity as a core practice that would shape his followers. This makes sense, because Jesus himself is the ultimate embodiment of generosity. As Bill Wichterman has observed,
Generosity is at the heart of the gospel. Generosity is about the Lord laying down his life at the request of the Father on behalf of us sinners. And so we are called to model what it means to be God followers by doing that. And generosity is not an optional thing for Christ-followers, but I would argue it is integral to what it means to follow the Lord.
Though essential for Jesus’ followers, practicing generosity is a challenge. It’s a challenge because money and the stuff money can bring (such as possessions and power) exerts enormous influence over our lives. It is through the practice of generosity that God’s people learn how to resist the idol that money can become.
As a church, one step we’re taking together to grow in our practice of generosity is to have a time of offering in all our Sunday worship services going forward. What we do in worship—our liturgy—forms us as we gather Sunday after Sunday. Starting on September 14, this short but important moment called “offering” is the space we’ll have to prayerfully offer our money, our time—our whole self—to God who has given so generously to us. We will conclude our time of offering every Sunday saying the following prayer together, which I’d encourage you to begin praying even now:
Gracious God, everything we have comes from you. As we remember who you are and all you have done for us, enable us to be truly generous—with our money, our time, and all we are and have. Use what we give for your glory and the good of our city. Amen.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Bijan
Redeemer West Side is living out a sacred call by Jesus to love our neighbors and heal our city. To view our most recent Annual Financial Report or to learn more about ways to give, please click here.
New Leaders and New Hosts
In preparation for the new ministry year, a season where we are welcoming many newcomers into our church, we are asking for all of you to get excited with us and help us launch new pilot community groups! Please take a moment to think: who has a welcoming spirit and places their trust in the word of God? Who has been a great encouragement to you in your own CG? And practically speaking, who might have space to have six or more folks over to hang out for a couple of hours? Please recommend someone you know (or volunteer yourself) to serve as a Pilot CG leader or host.
Upcoming
- Sep 9 | Men’s Bible Study
- Sep 10/11 | Moms Groups
- Sep 17 | 20s & 30s Kickoff
- Sep 19 | OWLS Group Restarts
- Sep 19 | “Another Part of Me” Gallery Opening Reception at W83
- Sep 20 | Oh Sparrow Live Show
- Sep 21 | Vision Sunday Worship Service
- Sep 21 | West Side Family Picnic
- Sep 23 | Alpha
- Sep 23 | CFW Vocation Groups Launch Night
- Sep 26 to 28 | Lake Champion Fall Retreat Work Crew
- Sep 28 | New at RWS
- Oct 15 | Kids’ Community Group Begins
- Oct 20 | Faith & Work 101
Get Involved
Register your child for Kids’ Community Group ASAP!
Join the RWS Prayer Team!
Listen to songs from Redeemer West Side Music.
Subscribe to our Neighborhood Engagement Newsletter.
Redeemer Counseling: Sign up for Your Asian American Journey, Emotional Strength & Peace, or Exploring Your Sexual Story: Women’s Group.
HFNY: Pray together on September 10.
