In the opening message of our new series, Generous God, Generous People, we are challenged to consider what it means to give God our first and best. Preaching from Malachi 1, we explore how God’s people were saying the right things but offering half-hearted sacrifices—and how their actions revealed hearts far from Him. Generosity, we’re reminded, is not a side-topic for super-Christians; it’s a reflection of our relationship with God and the condition of our hearts.

God doesn’t need our first and best—He is the Creator and Owner of all things. But He wants our first and best, because He wants our hearts. And He leads by example. God gave us His first and best in Christ—His one and only Son—so that we might be saved and live generously for His glory. Whether it’s our time, talent, or treasures, we’ve been blessed to be a blessing. A surrendered, generous life is simply the natural response of someone captured by the beauty of the gospel.