St Luke's Church, Great Crosby

  Homegroup Leaders' Notes for 2 October 2005
 

GIVING IN GRACE

Study 3
THE APPLICATION OF GRACE
2 Corinthians 9:1-5
Welcome Ask each member of the group to tell the rest of the group about one charity that they support (apart from the church) either now or in the past (ie what does it do and why do they support it).
After all have spoken, make the point that giving has 2 elements: the need to be met and the motivation to give.
Worship You might like to have a time of worship at the end of the meeting. The material is quite challenging and it might be good to put the group's focus back onto God and think of his generosity. The words of the hymn When I survey the wondrous cross could be read to introduce the time of worship.
Word

Read the passage: in Paul's day the giving of a generous gift brought honour to the giver and the receiver of the gift. If there was no gratitude, then both the receiver and the giver were shamed.

vv 1-4

  • What does Paul mean by 'boasting' about the Corinthians?
  • What things would bring honour to a church financially? what things would bring shame to a church financially?

v 5

  • Why would sending the brothers in advance help the Corinthians to give gladly and generously?
  • Why is motivation important in giving and what should be our motivation?

1 Corinthians 16:1-4: Paul has already given clear instructions as to how the Corinthians should give. There are 5 ways and they all begin with the same letter P ! (see if you can remember them).

  • How does the way we plan our giving compare with Paul's advice?
  • How do you decide what to give to God's work through St Luke's?
  • Do our children know that we see money as a gift from God?
  • How many different ways of giving money to the church can people think of? Make a list and ask people what are the advantages and disadvantages of each way.
Witness which of the 4 parts of the Giving in Grace vision does the group feel most passionately about and how would they get involved in it?
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