3.Discussion notes

‘Starter for Ten’ Question – to introduce the holy habit and get everyone talking

• Jesus says: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ (Acts 20:35) What’s the best gift you’ve ever given, and how did it make you feel to give?

Looking at the Bible – to see what God says about this holy habit

• Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 in the Bible.

• What stands out to you in this passage and why?

• The farmer has a generosity mindset – he always looks for ways to plant generously and he knows that God is the one who provides his seed. Could you be described as having a generosity mindset? What could you change so that people said it about you?

Discussion Questions – to dig a bit deeper into the holy habit

• We can be generous with our words through evangelism, discipleship and prophesy – share stories of this kind of generosity in action. With whom could you be generous with your words this week?

• Sometimes we find it easier to be generous in certain situations over others, but as Lyndon said, “If we want to be generous like Jesus, it’s going to cost us something.” In what areas would generosity cost you, and how could you take steps towards this in your life?

Getting Practical – to put the holy habit into practice in our lives

If appropriate, share with one another the names of people you know with physical or spiritual needs and spend some time praying for them.

Finally, as it says in Isaiah 32:8, plan how you can be generous as a community to one or more of these people this week – e.g. cooking meals, sharing words of encouragement, offering a financial gift, giving your time to listen.

In thinking about generosity, I’ve been drawn to the example of Mary, from Bethany - the sister of Martha and Lazarus. 

If I asked you what you know about Mary, many of you would probably initially think about the story of Mary and Martha, which can be found in Luke 10:38-42. Here we see that whilst Martha is busy preparing - and let’s not forget she was doing things that needed to be done - Mary chose instead to sit at Jesus’ feet and spend time with him. What a great reminder that in the busyness of life, where there are no doubt things we need to do or achieve, we can be generous in the time we spend with Jesus.

We also hear about Mary when Lazarus dies. Jesus asks for Mary to come to him, and the bible says: “When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping ... he was deeply troubled.” John 11:33. Mary came to Jesus when he called her, but she chose to weep in front of him, not cover it up, and when Jesus saw it he was deeply troubled. 

Sometimes British culture doesn’t help us with this. We’re a culture that doesn’t often show how we’re really feeling, and we “keep calm and carry on”. We can learn from Mary’s example, and truly open up to Jesus, sharing with him how we’re really feeling. It’s not normally the context of how you’d think about being generous, but if you look at the definition of generous it says “showing a readiness to give more of something, especially money, than is strictly necessary or expected.” It may not be necessary to share everything with Jesus, he knows it all anyway, however like Mary we can choose to be generously open with what we share with him.

And then finally, many of you will know about the time when “Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.” John 12:3.

The perfume was equivalent to a labourer’s wages for a whole year. What incredible generosity Mary shows. As we reflect on generosity, we can also think about what we can give financially to Jesus. It’s not that he needs our money, but we can still choose to pour it all out for him - to give beyond what is expected, in demonstration of our love for the King.

I love the detail we find in this passage that says that “the house was filled with the fragrance”, and I’m struck that the impact of the moment of generosity went beyond just the immediate room they were in, but filled the house. As we think about being generous this week, let’s do it with faith that our impact will be far greater than we had ever imagined. That the fragrance of our generosity will fill our houses, our streets, our city and our nation.

We’d encourage you to watch the video together online, discuss the questions, and read the blog post in order to go deeper.

It might look something like this:

• 7:30pm: Saying hi and catching up

• 7:45pm: Watch the teaching video

• 8:00pm: ‘Starter for Ten’ question

• 8:10pm: Look up the Bible passage and discuss

• 8:30pm: Discussion questions

• 8:45pm: Practice the holy habit and/or make plans for how you can do that this week

• 9:00pm: Say your goodbyes – see you next week!

• Don’t forget to begin by debriefing next week!

We know that every group is different, so feel free to do this in a way that works for you.

Not part of a community but want to join the journey? We’d love to hear from you and help you be part of the family! Email Charlotte on charlotte.henard@wellsheffield.com.

If you’re a community leader and have questions or need technological help, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do!

6.Previous weeks