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.