Family Generosity Devotional

Transcription

1 Family Generosity Devotional

2 FAMILY GENEROSITY DEVOTIONAL This Devotional is intended as a resource for you as parents to use with your kids during February and March in conjunction with Hope s Creating Space initiative. It is designed to complement the upcoming sermon series on generosity as a way of life for followers of Jesus. This devotional also builds upon the Generosity Journal which we have asked adult members and regular attendees to work through. This family study of generosity is comprised of four units, which we would encourage families to work through between now and Commitment Sunday, March 22. The questions provided are a guideline to help parents have meaningful conversations and disciple their kids in the area of generosity. Money and generosity are frequent topics in Scripture, so we want to take advantage of the conversations sparked by the Creating Space initiative to provide biblical teaching and discipleship in this particular portion of our lives of faith and to include our kids in that conversation. Tips for using this study: Communicate to your kids that this is something that our whole church family is doing right now and you want to include them in what you re thinking about and learning right now. Family devotionals are challenging for most families. Find a time that will work each week and try to make it special and enjoyable. (Make dinner together and discuss it over dinner, or make popcorn and play a family game after the study). Be creative. Be curious about what each of your kids think. Expect them to have thoughts and opinions, don t just try to communicate information. Every family is different, adjust the study to fit your kids attention spans and interests. Try to include everyone. If some of your kids are too young to answer the questions, let them read the passage out loud for the family. Ask a different person to pray at the end of each lesson. Consider ways for each of your kids to earn some money (through chores, babysitting, etc.) during this study so that they can learn in very practical ways.

3 Unit 1 - Generosity and Trust Key Theme: Generosity starts with trusting God to take care of us. When has someone given you a gift or shared something of theirs with you? How did it make you feel? When have you shared something of yours or given someone a gift that they really liked? How did that make you feel? Have you ever been afraid you wouldn t receive any presents for your birthday or Christmas? Why or Why not? Read Matthew 6:25-34 A few verses before this passage, Jesus taught his disciples to pray Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. How does knowing God as our Heavenly Father and asking Him to provide the things we need help us not be anxious or afraid? What are some things you worry about? [Parents, share some things you worry about, but be age-appropriate in your sharing. Your 10-year old doesn t need to start worrying about the mortgage or paying for college,] Do you think God knows or cares that we worry about those things? [Parents, great to communicate that as much as you love your kids and care about those things, God loves them even more and cares.] How can we each talk to God about what we worry about and trust Him to take care of us? What are some ways God takes care of us that we should thank Him for? Heavenly Father, thank you for the ways you take care of our family and provide everything we need. Thank you for. Help us to recognize the ways you take care of birds, and other animals, and us. Help us to trust you with the things that we worry about and to continue to take care of us in the future. Matthew 6:19-21 Matthew 7:7-11 2

4 Unit 2 - God s Good Gifts and Ours Key Theme: A generous heart comes from recognizing how God has been generous to us. What does it mean to be blessed? Can you think of some ways God has blessed you and your family? How have God s blessings affected your relationship with him? Read John 12:1-8 What was Mary s attitude toward her possessions? How did it differ from Judas s attitude? What does this tell us about each of them? How was Mary s act of giving extravagant? Can you think of how God is extravagant in his generosity toward us? When we first trust Jesus, we are adopted as sons and daughters into his family. How does this affect the way we think about all the things God has given us? What giving experiences have brought you the most joy? (Think: time, talent, or treasure.) Has one of these brought you more joy than the others? Why is that? If anything, what does this say about the way God has made you? Heavenly Father, all that we have comes from you and belongs to you. We thank you that you have brought us into your family and have provided us with everything we need. Help us to understand that everything we need we actually already possess in our relationship with Jesus. Therefore, help us to give with open hands, because you have opened your hands and have given us your one and only Son, Jesus. 1 John 4:9-12 Romans 8:

5 Unit 3 - Growing in Dependence on Jesus Key Theme: There are things that stand in the way of our generosity. If you could only keep one of your possessions, what would it be and why? How hard would it be to give up that one possession? Explain. Read Luke 18:18-30 How did this ruler feel about his money? How do you know that? How do you feel about the rich ruler? How do you think Jesus felt toward him? What does Jesus mean when he says, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God? What makes it so difficult for wealthy people to trust Jesus? Are there things in our lives that we need to let go of in order to create space for other people? For God? Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are always showing us mercy. Even though we fail each day in our thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes thank you for the forgiveness you offer us through your Son, Jesus. As we think about your grace, please help us to find ways that we can also show mercy, forgiveness, and kindness to our family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, and co-workers. Mark 4: Timothy 6:6-10 4

6 Unit 4 - What God is Doing at Our Church Key Theme: There are many ways God has used Hope to proclaim the gospel to people in and beyond our city. What do you like about Hope Community Church? Talk about how your family decided to begin worshiping at Hope. How did you decide to make it your church home? Describe any specific ways that God has used the people at Hope to bless or provide for you and your family. Read Matthew 25:14-29 Describe the relationship the first two servants have with their master? How is it different from the third servant s relationship with the master? If fear motivated the third servant, what motivated the first two servants? What are some of the things God has asked the church to care for? What have you been learning about money and generosity? What are some ways that you, as a family, can help one another: keep Jesus involved more meaningfully and regularly with your money? trust Jesus more fully with your gifts and possessions? grow in your generosity? Heavenly Father, we thank you for the work you are doing through our church. We ask that you would continue to teach us what it means to be generous with our time, our talents and gifts, and our money. May our hearts reflect the attitude of your Son, Jesus, who prayed: Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 19:28-30 Luke 16:8-9 5