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Welcome to the Deeper Wider
Group study,

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and thank you so much for interrupting
whatever you were discussing

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to spend a few weeks talking
about money, specifically stewardship.

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One reason I wanted
our entire network of churches

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to get on the same page
in their small group

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is because of an experience

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Sandra and I had
early on in our marriage.

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You may be familiar
with Crown financial study.

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Crown is a group curriculum
that covers much of what your group

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is going to be discussing
for the next few weeks.

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In year two of our marriage,
a couple invited us

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to participate in a Crown group
in their home.

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Sandra and I were both
raised in church.

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We were both taught
to tithe as children,

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so giving 10% of our income
to the church was a childhood habit

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that carried on into adulthood
and into our marriage.

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But neither of us had ever done
a really deep dive

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into what the New Testament

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and Jesus, in particular,
taught about generosity.

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Of course I had heard

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dozens of sermons related
to God and money and giving.

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And since I was a giver,

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those messages were more affirming
than maybe challenging.

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But those Monday nights

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with that group shifted our thinking.

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It was so impactful
that Sandra and I

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went on to lead three groups
through that Crown curriculum.

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Of course there were several takeaways,

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but perhaps the biggest takeaway is
actually the focus of this first session.

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It’s summarized in 1 Chronicles 29.

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The author writes, “Everything
in heaven and earth is yours.

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Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

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Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.”

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Here’s what Jim Dowda* does: 
“everything” and “all things”.

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That was a game changer.

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As I said, I was raised
to give a portion of my income

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to God’s work in the world
through my local church.

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But, honestly, I had never
really considered the fact

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that everything belongs to God,

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not just a percentage
of my income that I chose to give.

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Another surprising takeaway
from that study was this:

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How contagious generosity can be.

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There were two couples in our group

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whose generosity stories
were challenging and inspiring.

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We already considered ourselves
to be generous Christians,

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but in that group, we discovered

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the difference between giving
and living a generous life.

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One of the things I hope you’ll do
over the next few sessions

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is share your personal
generosity story.

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If you don’t have one, my hunch is,

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when you hear others in your group talk
about how they learned to be generous,

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it’s going to inspire you
to become, well, more generous.

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And if you fear that,
fear not.

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Generous people are happy people.

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In fact, some would argue

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that generous people
are the happiest people.

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If you grew up attending church, you may
push back on this level of transparency

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in light of something that Jesus said.

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On one occasion, Jesus said -

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in relationship
to giving and making donations -

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He said, “don’t let your left hand
know what your right hand is doing”.

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And many Christians, unfortunately,
have taken that to mean

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that we should never
talk about our generosity.

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But that was not his point.

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His point was that we shouldn’t
brag about our generosity,

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which, of course, you don’t do.

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For the next few weeks,
In the safety of your circle,

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I want to challenge you
or encourage you

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to open up about
your personal generosity.

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How did you learn to be generous?
Or maybe why you’re not generous.

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Perhaps why the topic
of generosity scares you,

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or why it used to scare you
but it doesn’t anymore.

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Talk about how
your childhood experiences

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impacted your view of money.

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In other words, 
just put it out there.

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That’s what small group
is all about, right?

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The other thing is this -
throughout this series,

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we’re going to circle back

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to the difference between
average American generosity

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and generosity that’s taught
in the New Testament.

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My hunch is this -
you’re already a generous person

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the way that the average American
defines generosity,

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but over the course
of the next five weeks,

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you’ll be challenged to rethink
your definition of generosity.

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And not only generosity.

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You’ll be challenged to adopt 
a different perspective on your income

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your legacy and your opportunity

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to participate with your Savior
in expanding his kingdom.

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So, this is a big deal.

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And it’s a bit emotional because,
well, of course money is emotional.

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Jesus knew that, and he knew
that we would all be tempted

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to place our trust in riches rather
than in the One who richly provides,

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which is the perfect place
to begin your discussion

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with the question I introduced
in Week 1 of the message series:

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Whose is it anyway?

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Here’s the thing -

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if you embrace the paradigm-shifting
idea that God owns it all

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and that you are merely a manager,
it will truly change your life.

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And not just the way
you view and manage your money.

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This shift in thinking will impact
just about every facet of your life.

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Again, thanks for participating.

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And now I will turn it over
to your more than capable leader.