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Home Life Ministries
Character Journal No. 9                                                              Generosity

The Character Journal is a monthly e-zine designed to help parents teach Biblical character qualities to their children. Each month a different character quality will be presented with suggestions for Bible lessons and projects. The length of time you spend teaching these principles to your children each day is not nearly as important as your sincerity and consistency. Begin each time with a relevant hymn or chorus. Then take a verse, theme or story from the suggestions below as the basis for your daily "Bible Time" with your family. Give relevant application of the lesson to your family; and don't forget to ask your children the questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How? Get each member of the family involved by assigning different verses to be read. Finally, conclude your time with family prayer.

Related Hymns and Choruses

Bible Verses Related to Generosity

Spend an evening (or several) looking at just one of these verses at a time. Don't forget to ask your children the questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How? Discuss with your family what each verse or story teaches about the character quality; and give vital application of how this quality can be applied to your family. Choose several verses to memorise together as a family.

Bible Stories

Character Definitions

Realising that all I have belongs to God and using it for His purposes (IBLP)

generos'ity or gen'erousness noun liberality of nature, the quality of being free and unstinting with one’s possessions, money, time; nobleness of nature, magnanimity; a generous act; nobility of birth (archaic). »Latin generosus of noble birth, from genus birth (Chambers Dictionary)

How to Demonstrate Generosity

to God

to Parents

to your Employers

to your Church Leaders

Potpourri

LIBERALITY, examples of
(Select Reading, De 26 Mal 1:6-14 3:4-12 Mt 6:1-4)

Gifts of Israel for the Tabernacle
# Ex 35:22

Over-plus of Gifts
# Ex 36:5

Offerings at the Dedication
# Nu 7:3

David's Gifts for the Temple
# 1Ch 29:3,4

Gifts for the Repairing of God's House
# 2Ch 24:10

Offerings for the Rebuilding of the Temple
# Ezr 1:6 2:69 8:25 Ne 7:70 Lu 19:8

The Poor Widow's Offering
# Lu 21:1-4

Liberality in the Early Church
# Ac 4:34,35 11:29 2Co 8:2 Php 4:16

The "I Wills" of Generosity

Share a personal illustration from your own life of when you were generous or stingy. Be sure to emphasise that there were benefits to being generous and consequences to being stingy.

-Character First! Education Series 1

LIBERALITY AS A CROWNING QUALITY OF WOMANHOOD

# Ex 35:25 Pr 31:20 Lu 8:2,3 21:2-4 Joh 12:3 Ac 9:39

DIVINE PROMISES TO THE GENEROUS

# Ps 41:1 Pr 3:9,10 11:25 22:9 28:27 Ec 11:1 Isa 58:10
# Lu 6:38 14:14 2Co 9:7

Returned With Interest

When the British preacher C. H. Spurgeon went to Bristol for the purpose of ministering there, he hoped to collect 300 pounds to support his work with homeless children in London. At the end of the week of meetings, many people had been blessed, and his financial goal had been reached. That night as he bowed in prayer, Spurgeon seemed to hear a voice saying, "Give that money to George Mueller." "Oh no, Lord," answered the minister, "I need it for my own dear orphans." Yet he couldn't shake the idea that God wanted him to part with it. Only when he said, "Yes, Lord, I will," could he find rest. Early the next morning he made his way to Mueller's orphanage and found that great man of prayer on his knees. The famous preacher placed his hand on his shoulder and said, "George, God has told me to give you this 300 pounds I've collected." "My dear brother," said Mueller, "I've just been asking Him for exactly that amount." The two servants of the Lord then wept and rejoiced together. When Spurgeon returned to London, he found a letter on his desk containing 300 guineas. "There," he cried with joy, "the Lord has returned my 300 pounds with 300 shillings interest!"

- Our Daily Bread

Give of Your Best

A missionary told of a woman in India who was holding a weak, whining infant in her arms, while at her side stood a beautiful, healthy child. The man of God saw her walk to the banks of the Ganges River and throw the robust youngster to the crocodiles as an offering, and then turn toward home again still clutching the sickly child to her bosom. Tears were running down her cheeks when he stopped to question her concerning her shocking actions. She proudly replied in defence of her conduct, "O sir, we always give our gods the best!"

- Our Daily Bread

Shrink My Income?

A man knelt with his pastor and committed himself to God to give a certain percent of his income as long as he lived. From his first week's pay he gave $1 to the Lord. Soon his weekly offering had increased to $10. As time went on, he continued to prosper. Before long he was giving $100 a week, then $200, and in time, $500 a week. Finally he called the pastor. "Please come and see me," he said. "It's urgent!" When the minister arrived, the host said, "You remember that promise I made to God years ago? How can I get released? When I made the promise, all I had to give was a dollar, but now it's $500. I can't afford to give away money like that." The wise old pastor looked at his friend and said, "I'm afraid you cannot get a release from the promise, but there is something we can do. We can kneel down and ask God to shrink your income so that you can afford to give a dollar again."

- Our Daily Bread

A Wise Investment

Shortly before the turn of the century, two young students were working their way through Stanford University. At one point their money was almost gone, so they decided to engage the great pianist Paderewski for a concert and use the profits for board and tuition. Paderewski's manager asked for a guarantee of $2,000. The students worked hard to promote the concert, but they came up $400 short. After the performance, they went to the musician, gave him all the money they had raised, and promised to pay the $400 as soon as they could. It appeared that their college days were over. "No, boys, that won't do," said the pianist. "Take out of this $1600 all your expenses, and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance for your work. Let me have the rest."

Years passed. Paderewski became premier of Poland following World War I. Thousands of his countrymen were starving. Only one man could help-the head of the U.S. Food and Relief Bureau. Paderewski's appeal to him brought thousands of tons of food. Later he met the American statesman to thank him. "That's all right," replied Herbert Hoover. "Besides, you don't remember, but you helped me once when I was a student in college."

- Our Daily Bread

"Let Her Be Generous"

A small boy was given two apples and told to divide them with his sister, and in doing so to be generous in giving her the larger one. He said finally, "Look, Ma, you give her the apples and ask her to be generous."

-Encyclopaedia of 7,700 Illustrations

Champion Blood Donor

Joe Kerkofsky was America's blood donor champion. The American Association of Blood Banks honoured the 62-year-old retired security guard at a special presentation in Chicago. Mr. Kerkofsky lost an arm in an accident when he was six. He was thence rejected for military service in World War II. Since then he donated nearly 31 gallons of blood. The human body contains 10 or 12 pints of blood. Joe has donated more than 20 times that amount. "Giving blood makes you feel like contributing life itself," he says. "There's no more precious a gift than life. Money can't buy the joy of giving blood to help someone who needs it."

-Encyclopaedia of 7,700 Illustrations

Quotes

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose." - Jim Elliot

Six Probing Questions

-Character Clues Game, IBLP

Projects

Sources used for compiling this mailing: