In 2007, a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman wove a new phrase into the vocabulary of Western culture. This new phrase also happened to be the name of the movie: The Bucket List. A bucket list is a series of experiences that you want to have before you “kick the bucket.” Near the end of the first book of Chronicles, we find the bucket list of Israel’s most revered king, David the son of Jesse—but it’s not the type of bucket list you might expect a king to keep. There was, in fact, only one item on David’s bucket list, and it was this: “It was in my heart to build a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:2).

God, however, refused to allow David to fulfill that one item on his bucket list. Instead of building the temple that he had envisioned, David gave everything he possessed to build a resting place that his eyes would never see. David died with an open hand.

Living to Die with an Open Hand

In the process, David pointed our attention to a future king who would die with an open hand as well. What we glimpse in David’s life and death gives us a template for living and dying with open-handed generosity today.

Those truths are what I explored in this sermon that I preached at the Midtown congregation of Sojourn Community Church, “Dying with an Open Hand.” Click here to listen.

To learn more about the life and leadership of King David, take a look at chapters 3 and 5 in my book The God Who Goes Before You.

Think About Dying with an Open Hand

Listen to this message from the Midtown congregation of Sojourn Community Church. In what areas of your life is God calling you to live more generously so that you can live and die with an open hand?

Main image is the property of DeMissio.