SERIES TITLE
Fearless
series overview
The world today can be a scary place, but it doesn’t have to be. All too often fear is what holds us back. So, what can we do about it? Join us as we learn how to lead FEARLESS lives of grace, faith, and generosity.
sermon TITLE
Fearless Generosity
weekend in review
Guest speaker Carl Kuhl speaks about living a life of generosity, responding to God’s generous grace toward us, and the joy of being a part of the good things God is doing in our communities and world today.
WARM UP
- If you won the Lotto, what would you do with the money? OR
- Do you replace the toilet paper roll going over or under?
DISCUSSion
- Read Romans 5:8. How does it feel knowing that “it’s grace when I come to Jesus, it’s grace when I walk with Jesus, it’s grace with money, grace with marriage, grace with my arrogance, just always … grace … So if you came in here beat down, failed again, cheated again, lashed out again, lazy again—Jesus has you, you have grace, it’s still there, he still loves you, you are still his—and nothing you can do can change that!”?
- Read Luke 12:13-21. Carl said, “Money is a tool. It’s like a hammer. I can take a hammer and build a house, or I can take a hammer and hit someone in the head with it. Nothing wrong with the hammer. It’s just a tool.” What could you/would you like to be able to do with your “hammer”?
- Read Luke 12:15 and 1 Timothy 6:17. Money can be something that helps you or it can be something that controls you. How have you seen money control you or others?
- Read Exodus 23:19a. Mark Batterson said it this way: “God can do more with my 90% than I can do with my 100%.” Is something holding you back from being fearlessly generous?
- Carl has found freedom in this area by following Jesus. He told us some of the reasons he lives a giving lifestyle. “I give so I know I’m growing, because it helps me manage money better, because I want to teach myself to follow God, and because I want to be part of the church.” Talk about the freedoms you’ve experienced by following God in this area. What are the reasons you give?
- Read Matthew 6:19-21. A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God. Does your treasure reflect the priorities in your heart?
- Carl’s dieting experience illustrated “If I don’t have a system, I don’t do it.” What systems do you have in place to help you remember and stick to things? To tithe?
- What if you were to practice regular generosity? What would that look like?
- What are some opportunities, projects, or situations regarding which you would like to be able to say, “I didn’t cause that, but I was a part of that.”?
application
- If anyone in your group would like to be baptized, you can find out more by going online to eastside.com/baptism. Offer to support them in their decision by looking into it now while you are all together.
- Prayerfully consider where you are regarding being a good steward of your generosity. What changes would you like to be able to make in the next month? Year? Decade? What steps can you do to begin that journey?
WRAP UP & PRAYER
Share prayer requests and spend time praying for each other.
Thank God for the grace he has given to us. Pray for all God’s children who are living in poverty and those who struggle with finances. Pray for those who feel like outcasts. Pray for the church’s continued blessing to be able to extend compassion to communities in need throughout the world.
Pray God continues to work in the hearts of all who are invited to tithe, and all who are resisting the call to fearless generosity. Pray for those who are eager to be more generous and only need the resources.