Welcome to the Deeper Wider
Group study,

and thank you so much for interrupting
whatever you were discussing

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

One reason I wanted
our entire network of churches

to get on the same page
in their small group

is because of an experience

Sandra and I had
early on in our marriage.

You may be familiar
with Crown financial study.

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

is going to be discussing
for the next few weeks.

In year two of our marriage,
a couple invited us

to participate in a Crown group
in their home.

Sandra and I were both
raised in church.

We were both taught
to tithe as children,

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

that carried on into adulthood
and into our marriage.

But neither of us had ever done
a really deep dive

into what the New Testament

and Jesus, in particular,
taught about generosity.

Of course I had heard

dozens of sermons related
to God and money and giving.

And since I was a giver,

those messages were more affirming
than maybe challenging.

But those Monday nights

with that group shifted our thinking.

It was so impactful
that Sandra and I

went on to lead three groups
through that Crown curriculum.

Of course there were several takeaways,

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

It’s summarized in 1 Chronicles 29.

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

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

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

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

That was a game changer.

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

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

But, honestly, I had never
really considered the fact

that everything belongs to God,

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

Another surprising takeaway
from that study was this:

How contagious generosity can be.

There were two couples in our group

whose generosity stories
were challenging and inspiring.

We already considered ourselves
to be generous Christians,

but in that group, we discovered

the difference between giving
and living a generous life.

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

is share your personal
generosity story.

If you don’t have one, my hunch is,

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

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

And if you fear that,
fear not.

Generous people are happy people.

In fact, some would argue

that generous people
are the happiest people.

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

in light of something that Jesus said.

On one occasion, Jesus said -

in relationship
to giving and making donations -

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

And many Christians, unfortunately,
have taken that to mean

that we should never
talk about our generosity.

But that was not his point.

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

which, of course, you don’t do.

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

I want to challenge you
or encourage you

to open up about
your personal generosity.

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

Perhaps why the topic
of generosity scares you,

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

Talk about how
your childhood experiences

impacted your view of money.

In other words, 
just put it out there.

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

The other thing is this -
throughout this series,

we’re going to circle back

to the difference between
average American generosity

and generosity that’s taught
in the New Testament.

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

the way that the average American
defines generosity,

but over the course
of the next five weeks,

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

And not only generosity.

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

your legacy and your opportunity

to participate with your Savior
in expanding his kingdom.

So, this is a big deal.

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

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

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

which is the perfect place
to begin your discussion

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

Whose is it anyway?

Here’s the thing -

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

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

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

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

Again, thanks for participating.

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