Pastor's Picks Part 5 | Made To Be Generous with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

or to give online, please go to hdv .church slash

connect or hdv .church slash give. If at any

point during this message you feel called to

make a change in your life, text change me to

97000. Now enjoy the message. It's your last

weekend, summer ending, unfortunately, of course,

but football is starting, so there's something

better around the corner. If you're joining us

from home, thanks for welcoming us into your

space. I just want to give you a few additional

announcements and some updates. First, if you

want to get our updates of what's happening in

our community, There's this Thursday email that

goes out every Thursday with a devotional from

me and updates about what is happening in our

church. You can sign up for that at the Welcome

Hub if you don't get it or you can scan the QR

code on the back of your chairs. We've had people

say they didn't know about this, they didn't

know about that. We would love to inform you

of everything that's happening in our church.

Thursday email, QR codes on the back of your

chairs. Now you may have noticed some construction

on the back of our campus. I wrote this in the

email this past Thursday. We are partnering.

with an organization called Scout Solar out of

Arizona, and we are building a solar array on

our property. This array will literally cut our

electric bill in half, provides enough green

energy to supply the neighborhoods around us

with electric, and we have a wonderful structure

that we can have our kids play under that's going

to be lighted. It has many opportunities for

the future. We have spent absolutely nothing.

We are partnering with Scout Solar. They're spending

$500 ,000 to build it. And we're just reaping

the benefits of it. And in 20 years, we'll own

the entire thing. So our property value increases.

It's only a win -win out of the entire situation.

It should be done in a few weeks or so. And it's

also going to open up more parking for all of

us, which we are excited about. So that's what

is happening on our campus. Also, we're taking

a... short -term mission trip to north carolina

to help rebuild houses and clean up from the

devastation that happened there a little over

a year ago if you're interested in going there's

still a few spots open you can see gary at the

welcome hub directly after this gathering. Now,

I really wanted to share a testimony to kick

off my talk this week. In between our second

and third, our first and second gathering last

week, Darlene ran up to me and told me this story.

I said, please email it to me so I can share

it with our entire community of faith, Darlene

writes. On August 17th, as I was leaving church,

I grabbed a pink post -it off the cross in the

back. So we have two crosses in the back where

you can grab a post -it with a pen and write

down any prayer requests that you may have, stick

it to the cross. And of course, if you don't

have any prayer requests, you could grab one,

take it with you, and begin to pray for it. The

following day, Darlene writes, my husband and

I started praying every morning for a lady named

Penny who had surgery scheduled for August 25th.

A week later, on August 24th, I was serving in

the cafe, handing out coffee, and a lady approached

me wiping tears from her eyes. As I handed her

coffee, I asked if she needed a hug or prayer.

Her response was, I could use both. I came around

the cafe, hugged her, and asked her her name

so I could offer up a prayer. She replied, my

name is Penny. I said a short prayer and then

said to her, Penny, are you having surgery tomorrow?

She replied, yes, I am. I bet you may be wondering

how I know that. Yes, I'd want to know. Darlene

responded, my husband and I got your prayer request

and have been praying for you every day this

past week off of the cross. I think God wanted

you to know that people are praying for you.

What did God want me to learn? God works through

post -it notes, coffee, hugs, and prayers. It's

the little things that count in God's kingdom.

So I tell you, those crosses used to be filled

with post -it notes, but as the weeks went by,

there's very few on there. Let me just say to

you that God even works in post -it notes. So

if you have a prayer request and you don't want

to get prayer up front, be sure to put that need

on the cross. Now, some of you may be wondering,

well, Chris, why are you wearing a rugby jersey

from Kenya? Well, the reason is... Right now,

my son is on a train headed to Philadelphia and

tomorrow will depart and fly to Kenya where he

will serve with the Peace Corps for the next

two and a half years. One thing that I've learned

this week and I want to challenge all of you

with is this. Every day comes to an end. Meaning

all of us are going to put our head down on a

pillow tonight and go to sleep. And for the last

three days, I've been fighting off the desire

to go to sleep because I've had this flood of

memories of me and my oldest son. And now I'm

saying goodbye. And it's not forever, of course,

but two and a half years is a long time. And

it's made me realize that every single day is

important. Every single day. We are given the

ability to speak life into our children, into

our family, into our friends, even to people

that we don't even know. And it matters. It matters.

I don't want to go to bed every night regretting

something that I could have or should have done.

So I'm wearing this journey seat to encourage

all of you, please be praying for my son. His

name's Isaac, and he will be journeying to Kenya

tomorrow at 10 a .m. on a 16 -hour flight, and

I believe that God is going to use him in a mighty

way. Now, last week... I share with you what

it looks like to see giving through a kingdom's

lens. That when it comes to our finances and

our money, we have to learn that God is the one

who provides everything for us. Today, I'd like

to share part two of this generous talk. And

please understand, listen, if you're new to our

community of faith, if you're just checking us

out, every year I share a money and financial

series here at HCV. This is important to me because

money is very an important part of our lives,

right? Money, in fact, impacts how we think,

how we feel, and how we operate every single

day. Plus, throw in the fact that God has a lot

to say in the area of finances. I would not be

a good spiritual leader if I did not offer this

insight. But let me just say, as a community

of faith, We want nothing from you. This talk

is not about what we can get from you. I want

you to learn what God wants to do through you

and your family in this area of finances. And

before we dive in, I just want to open in prayer

and ask the Holy Spirit to open our minds, our

hearts, to receive all that he has for us. Let's

pray. Holy Spirit, come. God, we are just thankful

for the ability, the opportunity to gather together

and worship you. I just pray, God, that you would

open our minds, our hearts, God, to receive and

to be challenged to grow closer to you. Specifically

in this area of finances, God, may we steward

what you've given us well. In Jesus' name, amen.

Our first thought this morning as we move forward,

humanity was created to be generous. Our God

is a generous God and generosity is in fact for

all of us. John 3, 16, for this is how God loved

the world. He gave his one and only son so that

everyone who believes in him will not perish

but have eternal life. See, God, he gave it all.

He gave his best. He gave his one and only son,

Jesus, so that today we can experience the forgiveness

of sin. We can have his spirit, his life -giving

spirit, live inside of us. We can overcome challenges

in this life that we could never overcome on

our own. We could experience a kingdom life of

redemption, restoration, and freedom right now

and for all of eternity. That is what our generous

God offers to us every single day through Jesus'

death on the cross. Have you experienced that

grace? And listen, if you haven't today, you

can. Just yesterday, I received a text from a

friend asking, Chris, can you please send me

the prayer that we pray at the end of every Sunday

gathering, every single week? I have a friend

that's struggling. He's questioning life, and

I want to lead him into a relationship with Jesus

because that's what life is all about. about

see all of humanity you and i we desire to be

generous because we were created with this desire

genesis 1 26 to 27 then god said let us make

human beings in our image to be like us and if

god of course is a generous god and we're created

in his image then that generosity is birthed

inside of us god is generous and he created us

In fact, we crave to be generous. From a UAB

scientific journal, giving back has been shown

to boost happiness, reduce stress, enhance self

-esteem, and strengthen social connections, says

Megan Hayes, Ph .D., a clinical psychologist

at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Engaging

in acts of generosity activates the brain's reward

system, fostering positive emotions and a sense

of purpose. Hayes says studies have shown that

such acts improve mental health, can contribute

to physical health benefits such as lower blood

pressure and healthier immune profile. Research

suggests that volunteering, particularly when

driven by a genuine desire to help others, is

associated with a longer lifespan. And she said

it's being generous both in our volunteering

and our giving. Why? Why does all of this happen

within us? Because we were created to be generous.

And not only were we created to be generous,

we were created to be part of a community that

is bigger than one individual person. that impacts

and changes the world. Next Sunday, I'm going

to be kicking off a new series called We Are

Family, and it's going to be focused on what

it means to live in community. Why be in community?

Because this is the church that God created.

See, God sent Jesus to redeem humanity. He died

on a cross, was buried, and on the third day

rose from the grave. He appeared to over 500

eyewitnesses over a period of 40 days and then

ascended. into heaven. Upon his ascension, Jesus

leaves these earlier followers that, of course,

would become the church with a mission statement,

and we read that in Matthew 28. Therefore, go

and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father and the Son and

the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to

obey all the commands I've given you, and be

sure of this, I am with you always, even to the

end of the age. See, the church is called to

be generous with what we receive from God. God

desires that we, you and I, the church, share

our life, share our story, share our building,

share our testimony, so that others in the tri

-state area can experience God's grace and redemption.

And to do this, as individuals, we have to be

generous with our time, our talent, and our resources.

2 Corinthians 8, verse 7 says, Since you excel

2 Corinthians 8:7

in so many ways, in your faith, in your gifted

speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, your

love from us, I want you to excel also in the

gracious act of giving. See, we are called to

extreme generosity. That word excel means to

abound, to be in abundance, to overflow, to exceed

the ordinary. So the same God who calls us, the

church, to reach people who are not in a relationship

with him also calls us to extreme generosity

so those people can be reached. And as you read

through the New Testament, you will find a common

thread and challenge from God which leads us

to our next thought. The church... is called

to share the good news and be generous. The book

of Acts is an account of the first church that

started after Jesus ascended into heaven, after

Peter preached to over 3 ,000 people, right?

Acts 2, 44 to 47 says, and all the believers

met together in one place and shared everything

they had. Notice, everything. They sold their

property and possessions and shared the money

with those in need. Right? There wasn't this

discussion about the appropriate percentage it

should be given. They gave everything. They gave

it all. They worshiped together at the temple

each day, met in the homes for the Lord's Supper,

and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.

And notice, there it is again. Generosity equals

joy. And as they're praising God and enjoying

the goodwill of all the people, each day the

Lord added to their fellowship those who were

being saved. See, this continuous theme of extreme

generosity partnered with reaching the lost,

the broken, and the forgotten equals miraculous

results. Miraculous results. 2 ,000 years later,

we are still experiencing the same results. I

mean, this past Friday, we went to the square

in downtown Hagerstown and gave away ice pops

for Labor Day weekend. Hundreds of ice pops given

out to cars driving by, people walking the sidewalks,

and each one given out, we were greeted with

a smile, which we gave them. An ice pop and a

card that said, this pop is free, so is God's

love. We pray that you experience that blessing

in your life. Right? It's a part of what we do

as a community of faith. Why? For us? No. To

share God's love in a practical way. And for

those of you that want to get involved, we're

going to have servant evangelism scheduled every

month for the next year because it's a great

way to get outside of our boxes and give away

God's love. But it's not about just giving away

God's love. So far in 2025, we have seen 175

baptisms right here at Hub City Vineyard, right?

We've had three baptisms, New Year. Good Friday,

and then the summer. And we've had 175 people

declare that they are publicly following Jesus.

But it's not just baptisms. We've received story

after story of God's miraculous healing of physical

bodies. Addictions broken, families restored,

and the lost coming home. I personally believe

all this is happening because we as a church

are focused on being radically generous. And

reaching those the church has forgotten. And

that is why I share about generosity every single

year. So that all of us can ask a very simple

question. God, based on what you've done for

me, what am I giving to build your kingdom, not

mine? God, based on what you've done for me,

what am I giving to build your kingdom, not mine?

And we're going to focus on that simple question

that all of us can ask God based on David's prayer

recorded in 1 Chronicles chapter 29 of the Old

1 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

Testament. Even if you've not been in church

for a while, chances are you've heard of this

guy named David. He's the guy that killed Goliath

and then became the king of Israel. He is the

one man that God described as having a heart

just like his. See, David had a heart that pursued

God's heart, that pursued his kingdom and his

righteousness. And this is very important, in

fact, because Jesus challenges us with these

words. Wherever your treasure is, there your

heart will also be. And see, we're going to learn

that David was generous with his riches. He went

to God first. He gave to God first. And as he

did that, his heart followed. And David's prayer

will challenge all of us to become generous people.

Now, to understand this prayer, we have to look

at the context of what was happening. The people

of Israel were about to build the first tabernacle

or temple for God. Previously, the people used

to set up tear -down tabernacle, kind of like

us. In year one, when we planted our church,

we were at... E. Russell Hicks Middle School.

And we had a little trailer that showed up every

Sunday. And we would set up and tear down. And

we would set up and tear down for three consecutive

years. That was part of planning the church.

That is what is happening here to the people

of Israel as they traveled through the wilderness.

However, this would be the first physical structure

that would become the house of God. And David

was casting vision for the construction of the

temple so that the people would support the building

of it with their finances. And this is what we

read in 1 Chronicles 29, 2 through 3 and 5. Using

every resource at my command, I have gathered

as much as I could for building a temple of my

God. Now there's enough gold, silver, bronze,

iron, and wood, as well as great quantities of

onyx. and other precious stones, costly jewels,

and all kinds of fine stone and marble. And now,

because of my devotion to the temple of my God,

I am giving all of my own private treasures of

gold and silver to help in the construction.

This is in addition to the building materials

I've already collected for his temple. Now then,

will you follow my example and give offerings

to the Lord today? That is extreme generosity.

And notice, in the writing, in the words that

we just read, David was excited to give. He had

confidence that God would provide and meet all

his needs, as seen in this prayer that he prays

a few verses later. Which leads us to the first

question that we should ask ourselves to become

generous people. Simply ask, who am I? Who am

I? 1 Chronicles 29, 13 -14 and 16. O our God,

we thank you and praise your glorious name, but

who am I? Who am I and who are my people that

we could give anything to you? Everything we

have has come for you and we give you only what

you gave us first. O Lord our God, even this

material we have gathered to build a temple to

honor your holy name comes from you at all. belongs

to you. David asked, who am I? Notice he humbles

himself before God to ask that simple question.

Who am I to have the resources to be able to

give something back to you to build your kingdom?

Who am I that I can experience the purpose and

joy found in giving? Not to build my kingdom,

but to build yours. To release your joy into

the lives Now this past July, we sent out our

first ever missions team on a short -term missions

trip. This included teenagers, young adults,

and adults. They went to the Dominican Republic.

And during their night of sharing testimonies

about what they experienced, nearly every teenager

said their eyes were opened to how blessed they

were to be born in and live in the United States

of America. They shared testimonies of how the

children that they were serving, teaching, playing

with in the Dominican Republic, they had no toys.

They had nothing. They played with trash. Yet,

in their playing with trash, they were happy.

And they were excited about life. My daughter

Lily told me about playing with a little boy

that found a discarded tire. Just an old rubber

tire. And she would run up to the top of the

hill with this little boy. He would push the

tire down the hill and try to beat it time after

time after time after time. Even though they

had nothing, they were still experiencing joy

because they were experiencing life to the full.

Who am I? Who am I to be born in a country that

is wealthy? Now, I get it. Many of us, we think

and in our mind, well, I work hard to earn my

money and it's my money. Okay, I understand that.

But who gave you the ability to work hard? Who

gave you the mind and the thought process to

be successful? It's not you. It's God. All of

us have access to free public education where

we can aspire to make ourselves better. Who allowed

me? To be born in a country where this is a possibility.

Right? Last night as I was lying in bed, I didn't

want the day to end. And my mind was constantly

running over memories of my oldest son growing

up and playing baseball and riding his bike and

throwing snowballs. Right? Just these memories.

Did I do enough? Was I a good dad? Could I have

done more? Didn't even want the day to end. I

didn't want to lose those memories, right? And

in doing so, I reflected on who am I to be given

such a blessed life? That my oldest son would

desire to go halfway around the world to make

a difference, to do something great. Yes, I'm

going to be sad. I'm going to miss him. It's

a long time, but I'm living my best life. Not

because of anything I'm doing, because of what

God is doing through me. Everything that I have

is because of God. And I will continue to give

to him first because he's the reason that I have

it. David gave extravagantly, even when he didn't

have to. A man offered to give him everything

he needed to make a sacrifice. David said, no.

2 Samuel 24, 24. I will give it all to you, your

majesty, and may the Lord your God accept your

sacrifice. But David replied to Arunah, no. No,

I insist on buying it, for I will not present

burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have

cost me nothing. The message says it this way.

No, I've got to buy it from you for a good price.

I'm not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices

that are no sacrifice. Right? David wanted to

give an offering to cost him something. It's

not an offering if it doesn't cost us something.

That's why Jesus reminds us in Acts 20, 35, you

should remember the words of the Lord Jesus that

is more blessed to give than to receive. See,

when we sacrificially give to God, we are making

a way for people to experience God's kingdom.

That's how we change the world. Right? If we

want to become generous, we first have to ask

the simple question, who am I? Who am I to attend

a Sunday gathering at HTV where I can freely

experience the presence of God and freely give

it away? Which leads us to our next question.

Just simply ask the Holy Spirit what to give.

Remember, God's presence, God's spirit lives

inside of you if you're in a relationship with

him. David's prayer continues. 1 Chronicles 29,

17. I know, my God, that you examine our hearts

and you rejoice when you find integrity there.

You know I have done all this with good motives

and I have watched your people offer their gifts

willingly and joyously. Friends, God knows our

hearts. He knows. If we're ungrateful and selfish

when it comes to our finances. He knows if we

make excuses as to why we don't give or why we

can't give. He knows if we're consumed with stuff

and want more for our kingdom rather than his.

God knows our hearts. And that's what he looks

at. Remember, David was described as the man

after God's own heart. If we're to look into

a mirror. and we're in a relationship with Jesus,

right, and the Holy Spirit is living inside of

us, have a conversation with him about your finances

and your generosity. Allow God to speak to you

about what you give or don't. 2 Corinthians 9,

7. You must each decide in your heart how much

to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response

to pressure, for God loves a person who gives

cheerfully, happily, excitingly. After last week's

gathering, Donnie, who does our sound team back

there, shared with me, he was on a mission trip

to South Africa to build a church in a tribal

area. While they were there building, they had

a worship night with the missions team. And during

a very lively praise and worship session, the

people began dancing forward to give an offering.

He said he saw a lady broken. Right? Poor, but

full of joy to dance to the front and put in

two bars of soap as her offering back to God.

He said it was probably all that she had, but

she was willing to give it all. Why? Because

she desired to make a difference. She was willing

to allow God to speak to her about her gift,

which leads us to our final part of the prayer.

We need to be obedient. 1 Chronicles 29, 8 through

19. Oh Lord, the God of our ancestors, Abraham,

Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want

to obey you. Notice David's prayer. People obey

God's teachings. See to it that their love for

you never changes. He prays for his son. Give

my son Solomon the heart and desire to obey all

your commands, laws and decrees and to do everything

necessary to build this temple for which I've

made these preparations. Obedience is the key

to generosity. David prays for it and he challenges

the people to follow God, to put him first, to

practice his ways and follow his guidelines for

living. And when we do this, Jesus promises abundance.

That our laps would be overflowing with the joy

and the blessing of generosity. We read this

in Mark 12, 43 -44. Jesus called his disciples

to him and said, I'll tell you the truth. This

poor widow has given more than all the others

who are making contributions. For they gave a

tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as

she is, has given everything she had to live

on. See, when it comes to obedience in terms

of our finances, I believe in and teach about

the tithe. I believe God has outlined a principle

where to give our first 10 % of anything we earn

back to him. Jess and I have always lived by

this principle because we believe God's promises

to meet our needs. I have always said. That God

offers the opportunity for us to test him on

this promise. Now think about this. In Malachi

Malachi 3:10

chapter 3 verse 10, Jesus, I mean not Jesus,

God says and outlines, bring all the tithes into

the storehouse so there's enough food in my temple.

If you do, I will open the windows of heaven

for you and I'll pour out blessings so great

you won't have room to take it in. Try it, put

me to the test. This is... The only verse in

the Bible when God says, test me. Every other

time throughout the Bible, he says, don't test

me. But when it comes to the error of our finances,

he says, test me. Why? Why would God want us

to test him in this area? Because it's all about

trust. It's all about faith. And it's not about

getting more back, right? It's not about being

financially prosperous. It's about living an

abundant life. It's about giving to him. First,

God is saying over the long term, a person who

tithes and gives to God's work will be blessed

financially and in every other way to which a

person desires to be blessed. Now, I get it.

Finances and church, how does it all work? Why,

Chris? Why would you tell us all of these things?

Well, because I want to share with you what good

we have done as a community of faith over the

past year. Right? Just this month, we held our

backpack giveaway. We saw hundreds of families

stream through our doors where they got haircuts

and clothes and hot dogs and over a thousand

backpacks and supplies to get them ready for

school. Every winter we serve at the Reach Cold

Weather Shelter, serving the forgotten, the homeless,

and providing them with the means to hear about

Jesus. Every Christmas we give away hundreds

of Christmas gifts during Operation Angel Tree.

We partner with families that are incarcerated

so that their children can have a Christmas with

gifts. Every Thanksgiving we give away hundreds

of Thanksgiving meals. Why? Because people need

food. Every February, we partner with Tim Tebow

and host a prom that welcomes individuals with

disabilities and special needs where we can celebrate

them. Over 200 special guests came through our

doors just this past year and had the prom of

their life. Last October, we established our

inaugural tie -dye run for freedom during our

Compassion Weekend. We saw 173 runners. Compete

in a 5 or 10K with all the proceeds going to

Compassion International. There were 92 Compassion

children sponsored during that weekend alone.

The $11 ,000 that we raised from the run and

the weekend all was given away to El Salvador

to moms, pregnant moms, to teach them and give

them jobs so that their children wouldn't grow

up. without parents with the possibility of being

abducted and taken from their families. This

October, we're doing our second annual Tie -Dye

Run, and we want you to participate. If you know

a runner, an individual that likes to be healthy,

invite them to our run. Have them be a part.

Our goal is over 200 runners this year, so get

in shape, church. You need to get out there.

and run a 5 or 10K. And then on Sunday evening,

you heard last week, we've already rented Meredith

Park for what will become the largest community

worship night of the year. Upwards of 20 churches

partnering together to worship and to make a

difference for children all around the world.

Oh, and it doesn't end there. In August and September

of last year, we partnered with Convoy of Hope

to collect over $17 ,000 that went to the build

a kitchen in Kenya and hurricane relief efforts

in Asheville, North Carolina. That same kitchen

that we built, Jess and I visited the school.

Now here we are 16 months later, and I'm sending

my son as a gift back to Kenya to make a difference

in that country. God is moving in our community

of faith. And it's because we are focused on

being radically generous and reaching those that

the church has forgotten. Listen to how David

closes out his prayer. First Chronicles 29 20.

Then David said to the whole assembly, give praise

to the Lord your God. And the entire assembly

praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors,

and they bowed low. and knelt before the Lord

and King. Will you stand with me? Can we proclaim

together how great our God is? Can we declare

that God is moving in the tri -state area as

we are radically generous and as we reach those

the world has forgotten? So let's sing boldly

and proclaim that God is. celebrate when one

lost person comes home. They have a party in

heaven and celebrate it. And that's why every

single gathering we offer the opportunity for

people to come home. So if you're distant, you're

far from God, you've walked away from your faith

and what you believe, this is your opportunity.

And friends, we all pray this prayer together.

Because it's not about an individual. It's about

a family coming together to celebrate what God

wants to do. Amen? Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Forgive

me. Change me. I believe you're God's son. I

believe you died for me. Make me new. Set me

free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me, God,

to be radically generous and serve others. In

Jesus' name, amen. So if you prayed that prayer,

see me, hug me, text me, do something so we can

give you some next steps. But before we go, I

want to do one more shout of praise back to God.

Can we do that? And the two words of knowledge

this morning. Two words of knowledge. If you

have pain in your neck, in the back of your neck,

into your shoulders, we want to pray for you.

If you have a dislocated shoulder, we want to

pray for you. If you need a fresh filling of

the Holy Spirit, we want to pray for you on your

left, my right. Now, let's declare how great

our God is. For.