Why Should I Be Generous This Christmas Season?

The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is typically accompanied by the shelling out of countless amounts of cash for a multitude gifts and several holiday get togethers. The season does not go without somewhat of a financial burden and yet we are being asked to be generous. And that begs the question of why. Why be generous during a time when our wallets are being drained by so many different things? Well let’s start by looking at Jesus. The Christmas season is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the ways that Jesus has been generous with us. First, God generously sent His only Son to die on our behalf and Jesus willingly gave His life for each of us (Ephesians 1:7-9). Praise God for the generous giving of His Son! Beyond His most significant act of generosity, God shows Himself to be a generous God throughout Scripture (Psalm 65:9-13, Psalm 78:15, Matthew 7:11, Acts 14:17). He repeatedly gives abundantly to His children and He calls us to do the same. In Ephesians 5:1, we are called to be “imitators of God.” Thus, we should be a generous people as people who have experienced the endless abundance of God’s generosity. And as we imitate God’s generosity, we shine Christ to the world and bring glory to God!  

And that brings us to the question of how can we be generous this Christmas season?

1. Ongoing Giving to MVC
   If MVC is your church family, one of the ways God calls us to worship Him and mature in Him is through our ongoing, sacrificial, and cheerful giving to the work of the ministry at MVC. Your giving allows us to continue to reach our city and see the Gospel spread throughout the world. For more information about ongoing giving, go to www.mvcchurch.org/giving. 
2. End of the Year Gift
   Another way to be generous is to give a year’s end gift to MVC that allows us to finish the year strongly and set up ourselves well for the new year. If God has blessed you above and beyond this year, consider giving a special one time gift to further the work of the ministry at MVC. End-of-the-year giving needs to be received by Mountain View by December 31st in order to be included on this year’s taxes. For more information about how to give an end-of-the-year gift, go to www.mvcchurch.org/giving. 
3. Christmas Giving Opportunities
   Lastly, we have created some additional giving opportunities to allow people to be generous this Christmas season. These include giving to Hope for Christmas, supporting the Nepal Mission Trip, sponsoring a high school student for Summer Outreach Camp or a Backcountry Trip and sponsoring a child in Nepal. Christmas giving can be done by utilizing one of the Christmas Giving envelopes on the back table in the sanctuary or by going to www.mvcchurch.org/christmasgiving.