Purpose: GIVE
We’re back to our Purpose Series by looking at giving and living generously, not just with our treasures but also with our time and our talk.
Worship Suggestion:
In Revelation, there’s a praise from Heaven that says this:
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!”
This passage speaks of the power that comes from sharing testimony together, so spend some time sharing stories of thanksgiving and testimony about what you have seen God doing recently, both in your own life and in that of others, particularly if it has been a prayer point over the last few months.
Group Questions:
1. Generosity flows out of a confidence in God’s character, not out of an assessment of our own resources. God’s resources are endless.
Read Matthew 6:31-34 together, and chat about what causes this worry Jesus is referring to in this passage and how it gets in the way of us being generous.
2. Luke 12:34 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. Money, homes, resources… do we see these as gifts from God or as things we’ve built up for ourselves?
If we’re honest with ourselves, what’s “enough” in our minds before we would feel able to be truly generous?
3. Luke 19:5-10 gives us an example of Jesus’ generosity when it came to His time. He makes space in His life for others, because He has an eternal mindset in the way he approaches His time. What spaces can we invest in for the sake of others? What are the non-negotiables in our minds that might need negotiating?
4. In Colossians, Paul encourages us to “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
We know language defines everything, and describes what’s really going on inside; usually a lack of confidence.
How good are we at asking ourselves “Why am I doing/saying this? What do I lack right now in my relationship and confidence in God that’s causing me to direct myself in this way towards someone?”
Application/Prayer:
Pray for each other that we’d all learn to be more generous as our confidence in God grows and that He’d give us all opportunities to be generous with our treasure, our time and our talk this week.