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
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
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
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.