Notes:

· God made you to be joyfully generous.

· God loves a cheerful giver – 2 Corinthians 9:7b.

· Generosity is about your soul, not your wallet.

· 2 Corinthians 8:8: 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.

· Generosity cannot be commanded.

· Action proves love.

· Someone needs to set the standard

· Malachi 3:10 – Bring all the tithes (10%) to the storehouse, says the LORD, that there may be food in my house.

· 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

· 10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

· It’s not how you start, but how you finish.

· Income arrives, generosity first.

· Think more, not less.

· Take opportunities.

· 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. 13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.

· Therefore if you are willing to be present…

· Your generosity puts you there

· Not equal gifts, but equal sacrifice

· God wants your generosity to be based in reality.

· At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

· Give us this day our daily bread.

· Be generous with what you have; trust God to care for you.

· Let go of you, so God can make you into the generous person he designed you to be.

LIFE GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Starter: How do you react when someone tells you what to do? Is it possible this is the source of people’s resistance to be generous?

Discussion:

1. Read 2 Corinthians 8:7

2. In your opinion, what is the best way to show the sincerity of our love to Jesus?

3. Read 2 Corinthians 8:9

4. How would you describe Jesus’ poverty on earth?

5. Read 2 Corinthians 8:10-11

6. In your opinion, what would cause a person to falter in their generosity? How might you encourage someone to re-engage in developing a generous soul?

7. How would suggest we help people not feel about the amount they give and feel positive about giving what they have?

8. Read 2 Corinthians 8:12-13

9. How would you help a person determine what generosity means to them?

10. Read 2 Corinthians 8:14-15.

11. When has someone’s generosity arrived at the right time in your life? When has your generosity arrived at the right time in someone else’s life?