DAY 7 — Sunday, December 7, 2025
GIVING SUNDAY!
A day to demonstrate compassion through action and spontaneous generosity
When Compassion Gets Moving
Scripture
1 John 3:17–18 (ESV)"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."
The Man Who Stopped
A few winters ago, a family's car died on the side of I-285 during one of Atlanta's rare but brutal winter storms. No heat. No food. Cell phone battery at 2%. They huddled together in the backseat, trying to stay warm, watching car after car slow down as they passed curious eyes glancing their way but nobody stopping.
Then, an old pickup truck pulled over. A brother in a worn jacket and work boots stepped out, walked up to their window, and said, "Y'all alright?"
He gave them blankets from his truck. Called a tow service on his phone. Drove them to a nearby diner where they could wait in warmth. When the family tried to pay him, to thank him over and over, he waved them off and said something simple but unforgettable:
"Compassion is only real when it moves."
That one sentence captures a profound kingdom truth: love that doesn't act isn't really love, it's just sentiment. Compassion that stays locked up inside is incomplete. Generosity that lives in your heart but never makes it to your hands is unrealized potential.
The Good Samaritan wasn't praised because he felt bad for the man on the side of the road. He was celebrated because he stopped. He moved. He acted.
Today, Giving Sunday, God is inviting us into a core value that reflects the very heartbeat of Jesus Himself and one of our core values, namely, Spontaneous Generosity, the readiness, the willingness, the urgency to respond to a need the moment we see it. Why? Because spontaneous generosity requires compassion in action.
1 John 3
What John Makes Unmistakably Clear
In 1 John 3, the apostle makes one of Scripture's most challenging and clarifying statements about what authentic faith actually looks like. He breaks it down into three movements:
First, the Observation
"If anyone sees his brother in need…"
Real generosity starts with real awareness. You can't respond to what you don't see. And here's the thing; God often introduces opportunities for generosity disguised as interruptions, inconveniences, or unexpected encounters. The question is, are we paying attention?
Second, the Confrontation
"…yet closes his heart against him…"
This phrase should shake us a little. John is saying that when we see someone in need and choose to do nothing; when we withhold compassion, when we keep our wallets closed, when we turn away it reveals something deeper. It exposes a heart that isn't fully aligned with the love of God. Ouch.
Third, the Application
"Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."
Biblical love is always evidence-based. Jesus didn't just say He loved us; He demonstrated it on a cross. John is calling us to reflect that same pattern: our love must move.
So here's the bottom line: generosity isn't just a donation. It's a demonstration. It's the outward proof of an inward transformation.
What It Looks Like Right Now
We live in an era where compassion gets expressed through Facebook posts, retweets, crying emojis, and heartfelt comments. And listen, I'm not saying those things don't matter. But Scripture teaches us that compassion without action is incomplete.
True compassion does three things:
It feels deeply
you're moved by what you see.
It thinks redemptively
you ask, "How can I help?"
It acts decisively
you actually do something about it.
That's what makes EBC different. Our value of Spontaneous Generosity means we're not a church that talks about caring; we actually care. We don't just preach about meeting needs; we meet them. We respond. We show up. We serve. We give. We lift. We reach. We move.
Today, Giving Sunday, isn't just another offering. This is a covenant moment. This is our collective declaration that:
Compassion is our calling.
Generosity is our culture.
Love is our language.
Through what we give today, lives will be touched. Families will be supported. Communities will be served. Ministries will be empowered. And the kingdom of God will advance in ways we may never fully see this side of heaven.
The Truth That Changes Everything
Compassion becomes Christ-like when it becomes active.
Before You Give Today
I want you to do something before you release your offering. Pause. Take a breath. And whisper this prayer over what you're about to give:
"Lord, let my Giving Sunday offering move Your heart, bless Your people, and demonstrate Your love in tangible ways."
Give out of compassion.
Give out of gratitude.
Give out of joyful obedience.
Let your gift be an act of worship, a seed of faith, and a declaration that you are all in with what God is doing in and through EBC.
Let's Pray Together
Lord, today I offer my gift as an act of love, an expression of faith, and a demonstration of compassion. Let my generosity reflect Your heart and extend Your hands to people who are hurting, struggling, and in need. Make EBC a beacon of active, radical, unshakable love in our city and beyond. Empower us to live out spontaneous generosity not just today, but every single day. Let our love move. Let our compassion act. Let our faith produce fruit that lasts. In Jesus' name, Amen.