introduction
God’s love for us led to Him giving to us the most precious gift He could - the life of His Son Jesus - to win us back to Him. As we respond to this act of giving and grow in our love for God, so we should increasingly be aiming at giving the best that we have back to Him. This study is aimed at helping us increase our love and giving to God.
welcome
If your room was on fire and you had to get out quick, taking only one thing with you, what would it be?
worship
read
Reflect in silence on this verse - God will speak! Ask people to say one thing that God has spoken to them about. Which aspects of God’s character or nature were highlighted for each person. What is God saying about sending Jesus to die for us?
word
God has been generous to us in giving us many things. Ask the group to shout out what things we can give back to God as part of our worship lifestyle.
These will come under a few broad headings.
[a] Our time
[b] Our choices
[c] Our possessions
[d] Our relationships
groupwork
Divide into 4 subgroups. The person leading this section will need to write down on 4 bits of paper the following scriptures and the discussion points. After 10 minutes regroup and get someone from each group to read the verse[s] out and give their conclusions about the major challenges facing students in each area.
read
Luke 10:38-42 - time
- Are you more like Martha or Mary?
- What are the major demands on our time?
- How do students spend most of their time [both Christians and non-Christians]?
- What does this show about priorities?
- Could the group offer helpful tips on how to put Jesus at the centre of our daily lives in the midst of these other demands?
read
Matthew 26:36-9 - choices
Jesus had to make a difficult choice. He submitted himself to his father for our sake.
- What are the areas of conflict for us as students?
- In what areas are you currently struggling to obey God?
- What tips can the group offer so that we can make the right choices?
read
Matthew 6:24, Matthew 19:21, Luke 12:15, Luke 16:9 - possessions
- Jesus made many radical statements about both money and possessions.
- Why do you think Jesus particularly warned against acquiring money and possessions?
- How can we guard ourselves against the pressures of society to accumulate money and possessions?
- What are some key insights into how we can live a life of worship with our possessions?
read
John 13:35, Luke 5:27-29 - relationships
- What are the challenges facing us in our relationships with our fellow believers and with others in society?
- What are the majority of students looking for in relationships and what are relationships characterized by?
- What suggestions can you make to the group about how we can live a more worshipful life in the area of relationships?
application
To conclude the section, give the group 5 minutes. Ask them to reflect on the above areas and which they have the most difficulty with giving to God. When people have had sufficient time to think, get the group to share with a view to praying for one another.
Pray for one another in these areas in pairs or threes. Make a commitment to review this in the coming weeks.
witness
Ask everyone to say what they feel is holding their friends back from hearing about God’s love for them. When everyone has contributed, pray for each unsaved person named. Be specific about the issues. Declare that God wants them to be saved and pray that every blockage is removed. This will help the whole group to own other people’s friends.
