Matthew 6:2-4, 19-24 | How to Give with All Your Heart | Sermon on the Mount

W26_W9_MAR 15

Life Group Guide QUESTIONS

SERMON OUTLINE

THE PLAIN MAIN THING (REVISITED) 

•       Jesus succeeded where Adam failed. Therefore, we are __________ from performing righteousness and invited to live our lives before an audience of __________ .

•       Jesus assumes His disciples will be __________ , __________ , and __________

THE GOSPEL REALITY

•       You do not need to __________ to experience the __________ of heaven.

LIFE GROUP QUESTIONS

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

1.         As this is the last week of this season of Life Groups, take some time with your group to recount and remember some of the highlights of your last nine weeks of gathering!

2.         Look back through this journey into the Gospel of Matthew – what have you discovered about God? About your faith?

QUICK REVIEW

1.        Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

2.        Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  What do your calendar and priorities reveal about what you treasure most?

READ SCRIPTURE

Matthew 6:2-4, 19-24

1.        How does this passage highlight God’s presence in our world?

2.        What does this passage say about our broken human condition?

3.        How does this passage call me to make change in my life?

DIGGING DEEPER

1.        READ Matthew 6:2-4. In verse 2, the reward is transactional (human recognition), while in verse 4, the reward is relational (Father’s response).  When we give, how might we lean towards a transactional approach more than a relational one?

•       READ 2 Corinthians 9:7-8. How do Paul’s words clarify how we are to give?

2.        READ Matthew 6:19-21, Psalm 62:10-12. While our calendars and priorities reveal a lot about our treasures, what could the difference be, between possessing something, and making something a treasure?

•       READ Acts 20:33-35, James 2:14-17.  Christ’s command for us to “store up treasures in heaven” challenges us to consider the ministry and wellbeing of others.  How do these two texts influence our thinking and practices of giving?

3.        READ Matthew 6:22-23. What might Jesus mean when He connects a “healthy” eye with light and an “unhealthy” eye with darkness? How could that relate our attitude toward generosity?

•       READ 1 Timothy 6:17–19. How does practicing generosity help us grow in trusting God with the things we own?

TAKING IT HOME

READ Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Matthew 6:24. The Israelites were told to pay attention to the needs of others, and Jesus reminds us that we cannot be divided between our money and our faith.  In what ways might God be inviting you not just to give more, but to belong more fully to Him with an undivided heart?

PERSONAL REFLECTION

READ Psalm 146. The Psalmist recognizes God is praiseworthy, and that He is in the Creator of all things – and then, the Psalmist proclaims that this Praiseworthy and Creator God, cares deeply for those whom He created.  Given that Christians often see themselves as the “hands and feet of Jesus,” how is it that you are His hands and feet for those in need? What might you need to start? What might you need to do more of?