Leader Guide 5-25-08 / Luke 21:1-4

Small Group Leaders Guide
May 25, 2008

When It Comes To Giving….
Luke 21:1-4
Mark 12:41-44

Getting Started:
1. What do you consider before making a financial gift? Do you have a goal for you giving?


Going Deeper:
2. Read 2Corinthians 8:1-5. Why do you think Paul uses the word, “grace” in verse 1? What is grace?

• Grace is often defined as “unmerited favor.”
• It is something you can't earn and don’t deserve.

3. What does it mean in verse 5 that the people “gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will?”

4. Read Mark 12:41-44. What is the difference between giving “out of their wealth” and “out of her poverty?”

5. How does the widow demonstrate the principle of sacrificial giving? What did that mean for her? What would sacrificial giving mean for you?

6. Often, the term, “tithes and offerings” is used to define giving categories. What is the meaning of the word, “tithe?” What is the difference between tithes and offerings? Do you separate your giving into these two categories?

7. Imagine Jesus handing you the offering bag at the end of a Sunday morning church service. Would you do anything different regarding your giving at that moment? Read Matthew 25:31-40. How does this passage change your perspective about your giving?

8. Often when people hear the word “giving,” they think of money. Why do you think that is? What is harder to give, money or time? Which represents more of a sacrifice for you personally?

9. What would you say to someone who says they have the desire in their heart to give but have nothing to offer?

10. How do you define generosity? If two people gave amounts of 50.00 and 500.00 respectively, which gift would you say is more generous? Why?


Putting it into practice:
11. What is it that you want your giving to accomplish in God’s kingdom? In you? Pray about that in your groups


Quote Of The Week:
If your offering means nothing to you, why would you expect it to mean anything to God?
--Unknown