Choose Generosity – STUDY GUIDE

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Icebreaker: Share a specific way someone else’s generosity has blessed you personally.

Sermon Title: Life in the Red Letters – “Choose Generosity”– Acts 20:35

Group Discussion:

Read Luke 12:16-21 – We were made to pour out, not bottle up. What was the man’s sin in this parable? What does God’s response to his choice reveal about how He wants us to use the blessings He gives us? Discuss what this should look like for us as Jesus’ followers today.

Read 1 Timothy 6:17-18 – Become generous followers by first becoming grateful followers. What does this scripture say believers of Jesus need to be rich in? Discuss how embracing gratitude can shift our perspective on possessions and prepare us for practical, radical generosity.

Read Acts 2:45 & 1 John 3:17-18 – Choose generosity; meet real needs. How does the early church’s example of selling possessions to meet one another’s needs challenge the way we view our own resources today? Plan to meet real needs before Christmas, as a group, a family, or individually.

Read Proverbs 11:25 & Hebrews 13:5 – Choose generosity; model a different path to joy. Discuss the power that money can have over us and why it often leads to anxiety and fear (e.g., have more, want more, obsess over more). What dangers, and potential joys, do we see in these scriptural promises? Discuss how they are different from what the world claims money will provide.

Read Luke 8:1-3, Mark 14:3-9, & 1 Timothy 6:19 – Choose generosity; help make the Good News more available. How does investing in the Lord’s work bring a different kind of joy and security that money or possessions cannot provide? Discuss how these scriptural examples can encourage us to practice generosity (e.g., finances, time, talents, skills) and contribute to advancing Jesus’ Kingdom.

Spiritual Discipline: Review resources for this sermon series on our Church Center app: Church Center / Home / Sermon Resources – They include free studies, compelling articles, and a podcast.

Action Steps: (1) Prayerfully Consider: Write down 3 specific ways God has provided for you this week and thank Him for each one, (2) Share the Wealth: Find one way to use your resources (e.g., finances, time, talents, skills) to meet a need this week, whether through your own community or through a Mt. Gilead ministry like Bundle Up or Giving Tree, and (3) Work Together: Check in on a struggling friend and find a need you can meet while encouraging them on their walk with Jesus.