Monthly Practice:
Giving
Dec 3
-
December 30, 2023
Overview
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:16-18
Giving is the intentional practice of surrendering a portion of our money, energy, time, and other resources as an act of trust in God.
The story of the Gospel can be summed up in two words: God (the subject) gave (the verb). If we are to reflect our Creator's image, we must be willing to live lives of extravagant generosity. We must be willing to give our time, skills, and finances. We reflect our Creator's generosity and share the love and hope of the Gospel with others through our giving.
Weekly Guides
Week 1
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Make sure you have access to the overview video and are able to play that for the group.
- Review the weekly Big Idea for your reference. These are intended to give you context for the week. You can choose to start with these and use them for discussion or bring them up as applicable during your Group practice time
- Read through the Group and Individual Practices ahead of time.
BIG IDEA: Giving teaches us to surrender and trust.
- When we give sacrificially, we are choosing to be dependent on God.
- True surrender releases us from carrying the weight of being in control.
- God wants us to trust him with our needs and remember that everything belongs to him
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Application - 40 Minutes
Group practice - do this together in Group
- WATCH the overview video together, then engage in discussion.
- REVIEW the Discussion Highlights for this week.
- ASK: Have you practiced giving as a consistent spiritual practice before? If so, how has it helped you grow closer to Jesus?
- DECIDE how your group can practice giving together this month. You could set a monetary goal for the group to raise and donate, or simply an event to give to or serve at together. The best opportunities are Definition's Vision Offering on Dec. 10 and the Giving Hope event on Dec. 16!
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Individual practice - to do on your own throughout the week
- Take a step toward generosity this week. It could be helping a neighbor with something, paying for the person behind you in a drive-through, giving to the church for the first time—anything to practice giving!
Pray - 10 Minutes
Week 2
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Make sure you have access to the overview video and are able to play that for the group.
- Review the weekly Big Idea for your reference. These are intended to give you context for the week. You can choose to start with these and use them for discussion or bring them up as applicable during your Group practice time.
- Read through the Group and Individual Practices ahead of time.
BIG IDEA: Giving provides us with contentment and blessing.
- The Holy Spirit wants to produce contentment and integrity with whatever we have.
- We give because we are children of the God who created everything and owns it all.
- Everything you will ever need is already promised to you through Jesus.
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Application - 40 Minutes
Group practice - do this together in Group
- DISCUSS the previous week's individual practice. How did you practice generosity in the last week?
- WATCH the overview video together, then engage in discussion.
- REVIEW the Discussion Highlights for this week.
- ASK: Do you find it easy or difficult to give sacrificially? What makes giving easier or more difficult for you?
- ASK: What has helped you find contentment in life?
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Individual practice - to do on your own throughout the week
- Take some time to make two lists: the first, a list of some ways that you can see how God has blessed you already, and the second, a list of the things you may feel dissatisfied with. Spend a moment each day thanking God for what he has done, and asking him to give you contentment in place of each dissatisfaction.
Pray - 10 Minutes
Week 3
Coming soon
Week 4
Coming soon
RESOURCES
Memory Verse
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."
Matthew 6:33
Definition Sermons
Books
The Blessed Life. Robert Morris.
Video Resources
Have a Small Group Story?
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