Rule of Life for the Future Church: Generosity (04.12.21)
Together Practicing Our Rule of Life And Unpacking Our Future Church Sermon Series
Leader’s Note
- Each week will focus on the practice presented in the previous week’s sermon, discussing the sermon, and checking in on how practicing our Rule of Life is going in your group—just as we have been in our repeatable guide.
- Please feel no pressure to complete the whole guide, but rather follow the conversation where it organically goes in your group.
Opening Prayer
After the group welcomes one another, have one person open in prayer and then take 5 minutes of silence. As you sit in silence, ask the Holy Spirit to help you be lovingly open to God and your groupmates.
Sermon Response
Sunday’s sermon focused on consumerism, materialism, justice, and generosity. Use these questions as a jumping off point for an open group discussion:
- Learning: What did you find surprising, compelling, or challenging from the sermon, especially the sermon text 1 Timothy 6:6-19?
- Confession: In what ways do you see consumerism and materialism negatively at play in your life? How do these get in the way of giving generously of your time and money for the sake of justice?
- Invitation: What do you believe God is inviting you into through this sermon, scripture, and practice?
- Practice: How have you experienced the spiritual practice of generosity? How would you like to grow in generosity? What could it look like to encourage one another in this practice?
Repeatable Sharing on Rule of Life
Though over the coming months and years we will slowly expand to eight practices, our church is officially keeping three foundational practices in our Rule of Life right now:
- Scripture: Reading the Bible daily.
- Fasting: Abstaining from food for a brief period of time weekly.
- Sabbath: Pausing work and tech for a time to rest in God weekly.
Share about your experience of the Rule of Life honestly, prompted by the questions below, and follow these steps for each person sharing:
- Share – A person responds to any of the prompts below.
- Discern – The group pauses for 30-60 seconds to take in what was shared. After pausing the sharer can add anything they want, and the group can ask clarifying questions.
- Offer – The group gets to make offers of support for the person, such as offering prayers, one-on-one connections, financial care, acts of service, verses from scripture, or words of encouragement.
- Bless – One person in the group prays blessing over whoever shared.
If helpful, set a timer to make room for everyone to share or allow your group to focus on just a few people each week.
Take turns responding to any of these questions:
- What is something you believe God’s teaching you or revealing to you through practicing our Rule of Life? (For example, a reaction to a scripture, an insight from fasting, or a challenge from sabbath.)
- How do you believe God is at work in your life circumstances (work, family, social life, etc.)?
- What are some requests to your group for help or prayer?
- If you have anything you really want your group to know about you right now, what is it and why is it important to you?
Closing Intercession
Pray for your group, our church, our city, and our world.