THE WESLEYAN WAY | Connection Group Discussion Guide | Week Eight 1 “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” John Wesley
Connect (5 to 10 minutes)
Come together to build relationships through fellowship and sharing about this week’s worship. •
Take a few minutes to share your thoughts about worship this week. – What aspects of worship did or did not connect with you? – What story or illustration made an impact on you?
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Share an important lesson about money that you were taught growing up. How does it affect you today?
Context (30 to 40 minutes)
Dig deeper into the videos and scripture for this week through questions and discussion. •
Before watching the DVD, go around the room and have everyone share their answer to the following questions: – Where did you eat dinner yesterday, and with whom did you eat? – What did you enjoy about the meal? – How much did you spend at the restaurant or on groceries?
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Which question(s) made you most uncomfortable? Why?
Watch the video for this session on your DVD or online. •
Do you agree that how we spend our money is one of the best ways to measure our spiritual health? Why or why not?
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How do you respond to the idea that giving is an investment in the work of God? – Is this typically how you think of tithing? If not, how would it change the way you give?
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Share about a time in your life when you have fallen for the lie that money equates happiness. – How did you struggle through this temptation? – How did your faith help transform your understanding of money?
Some questions and content are from Scripture and the Wesleyan Way: A Bible Study on Real Christianity, Scott J. Jones and Arthur D. Jones (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2018). 1
If a volunteer has read John Wesley’s sermon for this week, ask them to give a report on the sermon for the group. – What was Wesley’s central point? – What were the highlights of the sermon for you? Divide into three groups and pass out the selected readings from Scripture and the Wesleyan Way, giving each group a different reading. •
Ask each group, depending on the assigned reading, to consider the following questions:
Gain All You Can Group · What does Wesley mean by “gain all you can”? · What does Wesley say about how we should make money? · What does this rule say about a Christian view of money?
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Save All You Can Group · What does Wesley mean by “save all you can”? · How is Wesley’s understanding different from other thoughts of saving money? · What does this rule say about a Christian view of money?
Give All You Can Group · What does Wesley mean by “give all you can”? · How does this rule relate to the idea of stewardship? · What does this rule say about a Christian view of money?
After all groups have read through their passages, come back together and discuss the answers you have discovered through your reading.
Ask three group members to read the following passages to the group. – Genesis 1:28-31 (stewardship in creation) – Jeremiah 17:11 (the impact of wealth) – Malachi 3:10 (bring resources to the storehouse)
Money and resources are two of the most common topics of scripture both in the Old and New Testaments. Jesus talks about money more than any other topic during his ministry.
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What do these scriptures tell us about the connection between our resources and our hearts? – Share when money has impacted your relationships with others.
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What do these scriptures tell us about responsibilities we have been given by God? – Share about a time when you chose to use resources responsibly and how this impacted your life.
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What do these scriptures tell us about how our use of resources impacts our relationship with God? – How do you struggle in your relationship with God and money? – When do you struggle most with being open to conversations about money?
Call (10 minutes)
We believe that God not only shows us who God is but invites us to participate in God’s ministry by answering unique calls in our own lives. Join together in discovering how we can actively respond to scripture and God’s presence. •
Which of the three rules (gain | save | give all you can) do you feel God is calling you to grow in? – How can this group help hold you accountable?
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What has been the biggest lesson or faith experience you have gained through this series?
Closing (5 minutes)
God calls us into community by sharing our joys and concerns together in prayer and supporting one another in our walks with Christ. As we share testimony and stories of our lives, let us listen to where God is working within our community and how we can build each other up in Christian love. • •
Share joys and concerns with one another. Close in prayer, either by inviting a group member to pray or by using the prayer provided.
Closing Prayer God, we confess that so often we choose to avoid the topic of money out of discomfort or annoyance, and we choose instead to believe what the world tells us about money. We are sorry we ignore the teachings of scripture that tell us how we are called to use our resources. Help us to feel excited as we invest in Your work in this world. Challenge us to see that every part of our lives, including our budgets and spending habits, should reflect our dedication to You. We need Your grace to transform us into people who choose Your will above all. Help us, O God. Amen.