Integrity and Generosity: Lessons from Acts 4-5
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for outreach
1. "Generous giving has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us and freeing our spirits. Generosity breeds a sense of fulfillment and joy that material possessions can never provide. When we focus on helping others, it can be the best remedy for our own troubles." [14:05] (-2 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Perhaps you have heard of what is known as the monkey trap of greed. In the jungle, the bait will be placed in a cage. And whenever the monkey comes, they'll put a banana in the cage. And whenever the monkey comes, it wants the banana so badly that it will reach in with both hands and arms on each side of the cage and grab the banana. But whenever the monkey grabs the banana, he will not let go of it because he has it in his grasp and will not let go of it. And so therefore, because of his greed and unwillingness to let go, he is easily trapped." [15:41] (63 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "The Christian community should be head and shoulders above the materialistic world we live in. And this is an example of what happened with Ananias when he lied about how much he was giving. I like to remember how the woman who had little or nothing brought all that she had and gave to Jesus. She gave not out of her abundance, but she gave out of her want. She did not give just a little, but she gave it all. That's what God is calling upon us to do, to give our all to him." [24:52] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Character is what a person does when nobody is watching. But we have to know and have to realize that God is observant of all things that we do, and there is nothing that we can hide from him." [30:43] (15 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We need to know and call on ourselves to be accountable in regards to how and why we give our time, our money, our resources, wherever we give it. If we are giving it to be further remunerated somehow in recognition, we are reminded that whenever we do those things to be recognized by man and we get a recognition and we get an applause, we have our reward. That's all we get." [32:49] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for members
1. "Accountability is so important, and it's very well demonstrated in the lives of the characters we will study today. First, we want to look at Barnabas. He is the first exhibit as presented as if a lawyer is presenting a case in court. And so Barnabas becomes our first exhibit, our first example. And his example of accountability and sharing is quite a contrast to the next one. We will see as a part of this contrasting accountability. Calling us to be accountable." [02:01] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "The Levites hold a special status and distinction in the Israelites' religious and cultural life. They are traditionally regarded as descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. Here are some of their functions: they had priestly functions, that is, attended things in the temple, doing the various kinds of services that were held in the temple. They guarded the sanctuary, they were responsible for preparing the offerings, and they were given the responsibility of singing and playing instruments during services, and they assisted the priest in their duties. But also, the third responsibility is the one that I think is most important in considering how Barnabas fits into this story as a Levite. That is, they had the responsibility of teaching moral correctness." [06:34] (95 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "The greed of Ananias and Sapphira, they wanted the prize without the price. That is, they wanted to have the same reputation and admiration for generosity as did Barnabas, but they were not willing to pay the price. That is, they kept back some of the money for themselves, pretending that they had given it all. There's always a high cost of lying. Their sudden and swift death demonstrated the gravity of this sin against the Holy Spirit. Deception and greed have a high price, as they learned in their peril." [27:42] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "We are accountable at the workplace, and we ought to be honest in all those things we do daily as we work. We are accountable in our family to make sure that we have the rules and expectations for not only our children, but for ourselves as well. I thought my mother had one of her favorite expressions was, 'Don't do as I do, but do as I say do.' And she always responded to us when we caught her doing the things that she told us not to do. There's got to be a connection between our talk and our walk." [28:51] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We need to find groups that hold us to that standard of accountability. Accountability groups that, when we are seen walking outside of the straight and narrow way, that group is there for us. They will call our hand on such behavior. I think this is what the lesson helps us to do, to realize that what is in our heart is going to be revealed. And if we try the idea of deception, we are going to be in a trap like that monkey trap, and we're going to be a hostage to that." [34:56] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "Generous giving has a way of routing out the tough old miser within us and freeing our spirits. Generosity breeds a sense of fulfillment and joy that material possessions can never provide. When we focus on helping others, it can be the best remedy for our own troubles." [14:05] (-2 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Perhaps you have heard of what is known as the monkey trap of greed. In the jungle, the bait will be placed in a cage. And whenever the monkey comes, they'll put a banana in the cage. And whenever the monkey comes, it wants the banana so badly that it will reach in with both hands and arms on each side of the cage and grab the banana. But whenever the monkey grabs the banana, he will not let go of it because he has it in his grasp and will not let go of it. And so therefore, because of his greed and unwillingness to let go, he is easily trapped." [15:41] (63 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "The Christian community should be head and shoulders above the materialistic world we live in. And this is an example of what happened with Ananias when he lied about how much he was giving. I like to remember how the woman who had little or nothing brought all that she had and gave to Jesus. She gave not out of her abundance, but she gave out of her want. She did not give just a little, but she gave it all. That's what God is calling upon us to do, to give our all to him." [24:52] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "Character is what a person does when nobody is watching. But we have to know and have to realize that God is observant of all things that we do, and there is nothing that we can hide from him." [30:43] (15 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We need to know and call on ourselves to be accountable in regards to how and why we give our time, our money, our resources, wherever we give it. If we are giving it to be further remunerated somehow in recognition, we are reminded that whenever we do those things to be recognized by man and we get a recognition and we get an applause, we have our reward. That's all we get." [32:49] (37 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for members
1. "Accountability is so important, and it's very well demonstrated in the lives of the characters we will study today. First, we want to look at Barnabas. He is the first exhibit as presented as if a lawyer is presenting a case in court. And so Barnabas becomes our first exhibit, our first example. And his example of accountability and sharing is quite a contrast to the next one. We will see as a part of this contrasting accountability. Calling us to be accountable." [02:01] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "The Levites hold a special status and distinction in the Israelites' religious and cultural life. They are traditionally regarded as descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. Here are some of their functions: they had priestly functions, that is, attended things in the temple, doing the various kinds of services that were held in the temple. They guarded the sanctuary, they were responsible for preparing the offerings, and they were given the responsibility of singing and playing instruments during services, and they assisted the priest in their duties. But also, the third responsibility is the one that I think is most important in considering how Barnabas fits into this story as a Levite. That is, they had the responsibility of teaching moral correctness." [06:34] (95 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "The greed of Ananias and Sapphira, they wanted the prize without the price. That is, they wanted to have the same reputation and admiration for generosity as did Barnabas, but they were not willing to pay the price. That is, they kept back some of the money for themselves, pretending that they had given it all. There's always a high cost of lying. Their sudden and swift death demonstrated the gravity of this sin against the Holy Spirit. Deception and greed have a high price, as they learned in their peril." [27:42] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "We are accountable at the workplace, and we ought to be honest in all those things we do daily as we work. We are accountable in our family to make sure that we have the rules and expectations for not only our children, but for ourselves as well. I thought my mother had one of her favorite expressions was, 'Don't do as I do, but do as I say do.' And she always responded to us when we caught her doing the things that she told us not to do. There's got to be a connection between our talk and our walk." [28:51] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "We need to find groups that hold us to that standard of accountability. Accountability groups that, when we are seen walking outside of the straight and narrow way, that group is there for us. They will call our hand on such behavior. I think this is what the lesson helps us to do, to realize that what is in our heart is going to be revealed. And if we try the idea of deception, we are going to be in a trap like that monkey trap, and we're going to be a hostage to that." [34:56] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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