Unforced Rhythms of Grace, Pt. 5: Generosity
Take Communion
Leader Note: Begin your time together by taking communion, 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 from the gospel of Matthew 11v28–30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Review the Last Practice
Leader Note: As you review last week’s Practice, it may be helpful to remind everyone that this is a space to simply notice how it went, not to correct or advise anyone.
Before we jump into tonight’s Practice on Generosity, let’s take a few minutes reflecting and sharing what our experiences with fasting (Lenten or otherwise) have looked like over this last week, including what we may have sensed the Spirit inviting us to fast or abstain from.
How are you engaging the Spirit’s invitations to you this Lenten season? (e.g. fasting from a specific food, abstaining from TV or social media, etc.)
Read This Overview Aloud Together
In the Trinity, God exists as a community of self-giving love. Generosity is integral to who God is and how God exists in the world. Since we’ve been made in God’s image, generosity is a way by which we get to mirror God to the world. But it doesn’t start with us: the Apostle John wrote that “we love because he first loved us” (1 John 4v19). Our generosity can only ever be a response to God’s generosity. We do not practice generosity for God’s love, but from it. Generosity is worship by which we return to God what was his in the first place. God doesn’t need our money. God wants our hearts. But, as Jesus teaches, money does too. In the same way the Israelites were enslaved by Egypt, we can become enslaved to our desires.
And as with most things in God’s Kingdom, there is an unbreakable connection between what God is doing in me and what God is doing for the world. So the impact of Generosity is both communal and individual because it is a foretaste of the Kingdom. Generosity enacts a world without need and cultivates joy as we see God meet our needs through each other. The message Jesus modeled and the foundation on which we build a theology of generosity is simple: In God’s kingdom, there is enough.
Tonight, we are going to take some time to talk about how Generosity often points us back to the truth that Jesus taught: it is happier (or better) to give than to receive.
Do This Practice Tonight
Generosity is possibly the most joyful of all the practices. At the heart of the gospel is an outflow of generous, self-giving, forgiving love. God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, and the Son in turn gave the Spirit. When we give our money, resources, time, and love, we get to participate in that divine outflow of love. This is where we often see that being a blessing to others not only enlarges our hearts, but transforms us to the core.
So, the practice for tonight has two parts. First, we want to talk about how each of us has experienced generosity with God and others. Then, we’ll create space to consider how we do and can practice Generosity personally.
Leader Note: Before the discussion, welcome the Spirit to come guide your time together – inviting God to bless the Community as you become people marked by generosity, believing in God’s abundant goodness and provision.
Let’s start with hearing from one another about how we’ve experienced generosity with God and others.
How have you experienced the true generosity of God? And how has that increased your faith?
How have you experienced the generosity of others?
What does it feel like for you to give to others? (e.g. money, acts of service, encouragement, resources, time, etc.)
Leader Note: It may be helpful to play some soft, instrumental background music for this next part as people will be invited to do some self-reflection. And perhaps consider setting a timer too.
The second part to our Practice tonight is a self-examination of how we are giving away our money, resources, and time. This is important because what we do with our money does something to us. Let’s take the next 2-3 minutes in silence to quietly reflect on (or journal about) these three questions:
Who or what are the regular recipients of your financial generosity?
How do these currently align with your values?
Is there anything that you sense the Spirit inviting you to change, add, or increase?
Leader Note: Close the 2-3 minutes in silence by praying a prayer of gratitude for the ways God has individually met with everyone.
Lastly, let’s close this portion of the night by hearing from a few of us in response to our time in silence – not necessarily sharing the specifics about who or what we’re giving to, but more about any invitation to adjust our perspective towards Generosity to better align with God’s.
Read The Practice for the Week Ahead
This week we want to engage the practice of Generosity by taking a step towards one of the invitations we sensed God invite us into. As we set aside intentional time to invite God to speak into how and what we’re giving away, we want to respond to that by giving. If you don’t have a regular practice of Generosity, consider where you’d like to start and then give it a try. And if you already do, consider what it would look like to increase what you give – money, time, or other resources.
The next time we meet, we’ll take time to hear about how this Practice of Generosity went for each of us.
End in Prayer
Leader note: Close your time together in prayer, asking God to continue teaching your Community that his yoke is easy and his burden is light through the Practice of Generosity.