2025
Rich Toward God
Passage: Luke 12:13-21 and 2 Corinthians 8:9
“We are saved by grace of course, and by it alone, and not because we deserve it. That is the basis of God’s acceptance of us. But grace does not mean that sufficient strength and insight will be automatically ‘infused’ into our being in the moment of need. … A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living.”
—Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines
During this sermon series Trellis & Vine: Habits of Healthy Christian, we are considering the following practices:
- Silence and solitude to pray
- Fasting to pray
- Listening to God’s word
- Community in sabbath & corporate worship
- Community in small groups & friendships
- Generosity with money
- Generosity with time
Sermon Outline:
- A Subtle Danger
- False Promises of Money
- Cultivate Generosity
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What has shaped your understanding of money and generosity? What’s the easiest thing for you to spend money on?
Read Luke 12:13-21 . What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage? What phrases stand out to you that help shape your understanding of God’s character and your identity as a member of God’s family?
Jesus says in Luke 12:15: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” How can we be on guard against greed and what kinds of greed do you personally need to watch out for?
Money can falsely promise self-worth and security. In what ways does money make these false promises? How does Jesus fulfill these promises fully and perfectly for us? How do we cultivate an understanding of enough for ourselves because of the gospel?
Consider these four ways of cultivating generosity in response to God’s provision. What do these practices look like in your life? Are there other ways you have cultivated generosity with money?
- Communally: talking through your financial decisions with someone else who is trustworthy
- Systemically: planned and intentional giving to church family and mission
- Directionally: creating habits that directs us towards generosity (direction over perfection)
- Spontaneously: having financial margin to give when a need arises
Read 2 Corinthians 8:9. We’ve been given a great inheritance in Jesus because of his work on the cross. How might we practice generosity in a way that reminds us of the generosity we’ve been given in Jesus? What motivates you to be generous?
What from these passages and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
John 15:5 / “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”