Before We Get Started

For our discussion today we will be using the sermon series discussion guides. If you would like to follow along you can access this discussion guide on the website at mosaicchurchaustin.com and then select “community group resources” in the menu options.

Prayer

Because the main goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for, or  anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together.

This Week’s Topic

Today we continue our series titled When Richie Met Gracie. We are taking a look at what happens when our money and resources come into a relationship with the love and grace of Jesus. How might the way we view, manage, and spend our money impact both our relationship with Jesus, as well as the way the world around us experiences the grace of God? Let’s find out as we dive into this love story of financial proportions.

Discussion Questions

Have you ever given something valuable (i.e. time, money, possessions) away to someone in need? If so, how did you feel afterwards?

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In your own words, what do you think Jesus is saying here?

Why do you think our money and our possessions tend to have so much power and influence in our lives?

From a logical standpoint, if there is life after death, how much sense does it make for us to put that much weight on our money and possessions? 

John 15:11-13

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

What is the difference between joy and happiness?

Joy and generosity typically go hand-in-hand. Why do you think there is a corrolation between those two things?

Is it always easy to believe that you will find joy on the other side of generosity? Why or why not? And how does that tend to play itself out in your actions?

What story do you want people to tell about you when you’re gone? And, how can we leave that kind of legacy?

Acts 20:35

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 

Why should we trust Jesus when He tells us it’s more blessed to give than to receive? 

How does the Gospel free us from the grip of materialism and empower us to live lives of generosity?

Closing Thought