God is Love, Guide 1: Gratitude
Take Communion (2 minutes)
Leader Note: Begin this time by taking communion together, whether as a full meal or some version of the bread and the cup before or after your meal. If you don’t already have a Communion liturgy, have someone read through the prayer as written below.
“God, before anything existed, you were there—and you were love. You didn’t become love; you’ve always been love. Out of that endless love, you made us. You pursued us. You brought us back to yourself. And here at this table, we see what your love looks like: self-giving and sacrificial. We remember you, Jesus—your body given and your blood poured out for the world. We love because you loved us first. Help us receive your love fully and share it generously—by the way we spend our time, care for others, and give of ourselves. Amen.”
Read This Overview Aloud (5 minutes)
At the center of our faith is this stunning reality: God is love (1 John 4v8). This means that love isn’t just something God does—it’s who he is. Out of this very nature, God created life and sent his Son into the world. He did not do this in response to our love for him, but because he first loved us (1 John 4v9–10). As followers of Jesus, we are invited to receive that love deeply and let it shape our whole lives.
From the earliest Christian communities to today, the cross stands as the ultimate expression of God's love; it is self-giving and sacrificial. In response to this love, the earliest Christians shared their resources freely—selling possessions to care for the poor, supporting widows and orphans, and welcoming strangers with radical hospitality. Financial generosity was never seen as a burden, but as a joyful, natural response to the love they had received.
Practicing gratitude can help anchor us in God's generosity to us, serving as an antidote to the fear and anxiety in the world around us. As we remember how God has been generous to us, that gratitude forms us into people who live from security and not for security.
Throughout this teaching series, each of our Community Guides will be aimed at deepening our practice of Generosity. Since our generosity is only ever a response to God's generosity to us, this first Guide will focus on cultivating gratitude. The following Guide will help us to reflect on our own personal rhythms of Generosity. And the final Guide will be an experience of communal generosity, as we combine our resources to bless someone in need.
Do This Practice Tonight (25 minutes)
Our practice for tonight will have two parts. First, we'll take a few minutes to discuss the idea of gratitude as a whole, and then we'll actually practice it together by sharing our own experiences of God’s goodness—something we'll do at the start of each Guide in this series. Let’s take the next few moments to consider the following questions:
Why do you think gratitude and generosity are so closely connected?
Do you currently have a practice of gratitude? If so, what does it look like?
Leader note: Watch the time. This discussion should be kept to about 10 minutes to preserve at least 20 minutes for the second portion of the practice.
Now, we’re going to spend the rest of our time tonight telling stories.
We want to make space for each person to share one or two specific ways they have recently experienced God’s generosity. It might seem big or small—anything from financial provision to beautiful weather on a hard day, a restored relationship to an encouraging word from a friend. Every good thing comes from God (James 1v17).
As each person shares, let’s listen well because each story is a glimpse of God’s faithfulness and is part of the bigger story of his love at work in our lives. After each person shares, we will have someone pray a quick prayer of blessing over them—thanking God for how they’ve experienced his generosity and asking that they’d have more experiences like it.
Leader note: Assess the size and personality make up of your group. If 20 minutes isn’t enough time to give everyone the chance to share and be prayed for, consider breaking into smaller groups of 4–5. Set a time for 15 minutes, and when the timer is up, gather the group back in to close out the night with the Practice for the Week Ahead.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead (3 minutes)
Before we dive deeper into the topic of financial generosity in our next Community Guide, we want to each take a preliminary step of setting aside time to consider how our habits reflect the values we want to be shaped by. So, at some point this week, set aside 30 to 60 minutes to think through your financial practices—your income, spending, and current rhythms of Generosity. As you do, prayerfully ask yourself these few questions:
What do my habits show me about my priorities? How do they reflect what I truly value?
How am I already living generously?
And if God were inviting me to start a new rhythm of Generosity, what could it be?
After you spend some time reflecting, commit to one small step toward better aligning your rhythms with your values this week. And if it’s helpful, you might consider journaling about what you discover, or talk about it with someone in our Community—it could help prepare your heart for our conversation next week.
End in Prayer (5 minutes)
Leader note: Close your time together in prayer, asking the Spirit to grow in each of you a heart of gratitude, a deeper trust in God’s generosity, and a desire to reflect his generosity to others.