The Gospel Project for Adults Leader Guidecsb,Session 3

The Gospel Project® for Adults Leader GuideCSB,Session 3

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The Spirit of TruthandGenerosity

Summary and Goal

Generosity should be a defining characteristic of the church because God is generous. The Father gave His Son. The Son gave His life. The Father and the Son gave the Spirit. And the Spirit gives the followers of Christ hearts of generosity. The Spirit works through these hearts to bring unity to the body of Christ through their loving support for one another. Greed is contrary to who God is and invites His judgment. The Holy Spirit of God helps us distinguish between generous and greedygiving.

Main Passage

Acts4:32–5:11

Session Outline

1. The Spirit strengthens the church in unity and generosity (Acts4:32-35).

2. The Spirit distinguishes between generous and greedy giving (Acts4:36–5:2).

3. The Spirit judges and purifies the church (Acts5:3-11).

Theological Theme

Sin in the church must not stand in the way of the gospel’s expansion.

Christ Connection

In obedience to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, the early Christians shared their resources and gave generously to those in need, just as Jesus gave up heavenly riches to share His inheritance with all who trust in Him. But Ananias and Sapphira’s deceptive action was a sin against the church and against the Spirit. The Spirit distinguishes between giving that is from a heart of generosity and giving that is greedy and deceitful.

Missional Application

God calls us show our unity with other believers, always being generous and honest as a reflection of Christ’s truth and love.

Session Plan

Introduction

Contrast Ulukaya and Shkreli and what their actions have said about their respective worldviews (leaderp.34; personal study guide[PSG]p.28).

How might you expect these two business leaders to view the world differently and live differently from each other?

Clarify that the Bible teaches the world is a place of abundance; then summarize this session on Christian generosity (leaderpp.34-35; PSGp.29).

Pack Item 3: Spirit-Led Giving

Throughout this session, refer to the points on this chart that relate to Barnabas’ Spirit-led giving and Ananias andSapphira’s greedy form of giving that grieved the Holy Spirit.

1. The Spirit strengthens the church in unity and generosity (Acts4:32-35).

Ask a volunteer to read Acts4:32-35. Recall Jesus’ teaching about relationships between believers from Mark3:31-35. Explain why Jesus’ teaching was scandalous for His day, and shocking for ours (leaderpp.35-36; PSGpp.29-30).

How have you experienced the blessing of the family ofGod?

State that in Acts4, these new Christians now found themselves part of a new family with brothers and sisters in Christ. Thus, if someone had a need, they responded with radical generosity. Emphasize that love for the family of God is the centerpiece of the passage. We need to ask ourselves how we’ve made space for that kind of generosity with our own resources for the sake of other Christians (leaderpp.36-37; PSGpp.30-31).

Why might biblical stories and examples of radical generosity make us nervous?

What would a life of radical generosity in the church look like today?

Point 1 Option

Prior to the group meeting, enlist a volunteer from your church or community who is involved with social causes or mercy ministries (e.g., crisis pregnancy centers, homeless shelters,etc.).

During the group meeting, read the “Essential Christian Doctrine” Social Concern (leaderp.36; PSGp.30). Then ask your volunteer to share about his or her Christian motivation to serve in this capacity and to address the following questions during thepresentation (a printable copy of these questions is available on the DVD in TheGospel Project for Adults: LeaderPack):

• Why should Christians, more than anyone else, care about human society and your area of work inparticular?

• How much does your work depend on generosity?

2. The Spirit distinguishes between generous and greedy giving (Acts4:36–5:2).

Read Acts4:36–5:2. Talk about the issues of the heart raised by the examples of Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira (leaderpp.37-38; PSGpp.31-32).

What are some ways dishonesty might creep into ourgiving?

How can we guard ourselves against dishonesty in giving?

Connect the hypothetical scenario of a husband giving his wife a new Lexus for Christmas with the motivations of Ananias and Sapphira (leaderp.38). Encourage your group members to examine their own motives for giving (leaderp.39; PSGp.32). (Highlight some of the characteristics of Spirit-led giving on Pack Item 3: Spirit-Led Giving to help your group evaluate their hearts.)

How can reflecting on the gospel of Jesus lead us to joy in generous giving for the benefit of others in need?

3. The Spirit judges and purifies the church (Acts5:3-11).

Read Acts5:3-11. Acknowledge the shocking nature of the couple’s death and why this punishment was necessary since the unity of the family of God was at stake (leaderpp.39-40; PSGp.33). (Consider comparing this New Testament judgment scenario with the Old Testament narrative of Achan’s disobedience and judgment using Pack Item 2: Hearing the Old Testament in the New.)

How might this biblical narrative feed into some misconceptions people have about the God of the Bible?

What truths of the Bible would help us respond to thosemisconceptions?

Speak to how the Spirit’s judgment was necessary in the life of the church. Add that the discipline we experience may not be as severe as Ananias and Sapphira’s, but sin always has consequences. Note the Spirit-guided process taught in the New Testament that is meant to preserve the purity and unity of the church (leaderpp.40-41; PSGp.34).

What do the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira say about the purity of the church?

For Further Discussion

Why do we often fail to see hidden or ongoing unrepentant sin as a matter of life and death?

Why should we see disassociation from the church in discipline as more serious than receiving the death sentence from a secular court of law?

Conclusion

Express that Jesus serves as our model for radical giving and the Holy Spirit enables us to follow in His steps (leaderp.41; PSGp.35). Apply the truths of this session with “His Mission, Your Mission” (PSGp.36).

Christ Connection: In obedience to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, the early Christians shared their resources and gave generously to those in need, just as Jesus gave up heavenly riches to share His inheritance with all who trust in Him. But Ananias and Sapphira’s deceptive action was a sin against the church and against the Spirit. The Spirit distinguishes between giving that is from a heart of generosity and giving that is greedy and deceitful.

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Missional Application: God calls us show our unity with other believers, always being generous and honest as a reflection of Christ’s truth and love.

Expanded Session Content

Introduction

In early 2016, Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of the Chobani Yogurt company, made front page news with a business decision. The company had recently experienced raging success, riding the wave of protein-rich fad diets that made Greek yogurt more popular than its ordinary siblings.

To celebrate the success, Ulukaya called together his company’s employees and announced that he was giving 10percent of the company’s stock to be distributed amongst them. If the company ever goes public or sells to someone else, the stock will be incredibly valuable. If the employees retire or leave, they can sell their stock back on their way out. The result is that some of these employees—working a blue-collar manufacturing job at a dairy company—will be millionaires.

Contrast this with the story of Martin Shkreli, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, who raised the price of a medication from $13.50/pill to $750/pill. Shkreli was universally loathed for this decision. And yet, it was perfectly legal and permissible.

These stories awaken our own inner compass for what is right and what is wrong. But to be more specific, what separates Ulukaya and Shkreli isn’t just their character on display in their business decisions; it’s their sense of the kind of world we live in. What should we expect from the world? And how should we act as we go about our business in it?

How might you expect these two business leaders to view the world differently and live differently from each other?

For Ulukaya, the world would seem to be an abundant place, and the proper response to success, wealth, and thriving would be extending it to others, especially to those who made the success possible. For Shkreli, the world would seem to have a scarcity of resources, so the more one can acquire the better, no matter the cost. In other words, it might destroy your reputation to raise the price of a drug 5,000percent, but if it makes you rich, then it is worth it.

The Bible is clear that the world is a place of abundance, and it calls us to a life of joyful generosity in response, whether that is with our money, our possessions, our time, or our very lives.

Session Summary

Voices from Church History

“The Christian ought to regard all the things that are given him for his use, not as his to hold as his own or to lay up. Moreover, giving careful heed to all things as the Lord’s, he should not overlook any of the things that are being thrown aside and disregarded, should this be the case. No Christian should think of himself as his own master, but each should rather so think and act as though given by God to be slave to his fellow brothers and sisters.” 1
–Basil the Great (circa 329-379)

1. The Spirit strengthens the church in unity and generosity (Acts4:32-35).

The Holy Spirit inspired radical generosity in the early church, which inspired them to share all they had and to care for one another’s needs:

32Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. 33With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. 34For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, 35and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need.

To understand what’s happening here, we need to see it in the light of Jesus’ statements about relationships between believers. In Mark3, Jesus redefines the way believers should prioritize their relationships. At the time, He was traveling around teaching and eating with tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners, and His own blood-relatives were unsure of what He was doing. So they sent for Him with the intention of settling Him down or perhaps even bringing Him home:

His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him and told him, “Look, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied to them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Looking about at those sitting in a circle around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35)

To our modern ears, this already sounds strong. But to a first-century Jew, this was a far more radical statement. As Joseph Hellerman writes in When the Church Was a Family, first-century people prioritized groups over individuals and brotherhood over all other bonds, including marriage: “The central value that characterized ancient family relations was the obligation to demonstrate undying loyalty toward one’s blood brothers andsisters.” 2

We live in an age when people are more tribal and individualistic, and the idea of denying one’s own family isn’t nearly as foreign, shocking, or offensive as it was in the first century. But in Jesus’ day, these comments were truly scandalous. He was disrupting the primary way people thought about loyalty, family, and community. To be sure, His comments weren’t an outright rejection of His family but rather a redefinition of family. “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother,” He said. Our primary bond should not be blood but faith in God.

In a way, this statement was actually an invitation to His family members. Rather than respond to their request that He leave the house where He was eating with “sinners,” He invited them to come inside. It’s a picture of how the gospel works. It’s not a matter of sinners and the lowly raising themselves up to a level of acceptability but of the so-called “righteous” humbling themselves and finding community with sinners in the presence of Jesus. We know from the rest of the Gospels that Jesus’ mother and brothers eventually did find themselves there (Acts1:14).

How have you experienced the blessing of the family ofGod?

In Acts4, this same dynamic is at work. These new Christians now found themselves part of this new family, and the bond that they once reserved for blood relatives and siblings was applied to their brothers and sisters in Christ. If someone had a need, they responded with radical generosity. Those who were wealthy and had more than they needed sold their resources and properties to provide for others in their newfamily.

It’s important not to misunderstand what was happening here. This isn’t a call to poverty, and it isn’t a demand for Christians to sell everything they have and give the proceeds to the poor. In fact, it isn’t a demand at all; it’s aninvitation.

Generosity is a fruit of God’s grace, something that an individual should feel compelled to do from their own hearts (2Cor.9:7). While in one way this understanding liberates us from any legalism around giving, it simultaneously heightens our expectations for giving. Because generosity flows from the heart, it is a tangible way of seeing the condition of the heart. This is why Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt.6:21).

We give to what we love. The picture in Acts4 is of a church united by the Spirit and motivated by love for one another to radical generosity. Not generosity in general, not motivated to poverty, not disgusted by money or wealth, but motivated by a love for their brothers and sisters in Christ to give sacrificially.

Love for the family of God is the centerpiece of the passage. We might be shocked and scandalized by the radical steps these believers took, but we should be more stunned by the love that motivated them. When we examine our own lives, we should ask how we’ve made space for that kind of generosity with other Christians. In the body of Christ, we are all now brothers and sisters, and when a family member has a need, it should inspire the family to respond with love, care, and radical generosity.

Why might biblical stories and examples of radical generosity make us nervous?

What would a life of radical generosity in the church look like today?

99 Essential ChristianDoctrines

90. Social Concern

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the Spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends, Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth (Mic.6:8; Eph.6:5-9; 1Thess.3:12).