Without Group Curriculum – Faith for Finance
MAIN POINT:
Having the right perspective can change everything. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and be thankful for everything God has already provided.
ICEBREAKER:
How has God begun to stretch your faith during the Without series?
INTRODUCTION:
John D. Rockefeller was at one time the richest person in the world. By most accounts, he is still considered the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was once asked, “How much money is enough money?” His response? “Just a little bit more.” For most of us, this attitude permeates our lives. “If I just had the new iPhone.” “If I can just hold on until our trip to the beach.” We always want what we don’t have. Until we change our perspective, what we have will never be enough.
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ENCOUNTERING GOD THROUGH BIBLE STUDY:
- Why do you think people tend to focus on what they don’t have, rather than what they do have?
- How does focusing on what we don’t have affect our lives? How does it influence our behavior?
How can we infuse faith into our finances?
Remember what God _________________
- What had God done for the Israelites before they wandered in the wilderness?
- Why do you think it was so easy for the Israelites to forget what God had done?
- What are some of the major things God has done in your life?
- How can you use the things God has done to build your faith?
Remember what God has provided and __________________
Read Numbers 11:5-6 and Philippians 4:11-13
- Why do you think the Israelites weren’t content with what God had provided?
- How often do you allow your circumstances to dictate your attitude?
- What is the secret to being content that Paul discovered? How can you make that a reality in your life?
Remember what God ___________ and focus on that
Read Numbers 11:23
- Do you really believe we serve a God whose power is unlimited? Does that belief effect your actions?
- Pastor Chris said “Wherever God guides He provides.” Where do you believe God is guiding you in 2016?
- Take a few minutes share all the ways God has provided for you. How can you begin to focus more on what you do have than on what you don’t have?
- In what areas of your life do you need provision from God in 2016?
Close out your time together by asking the God of unlimited power and grace to provide for each person in your group.
LEADER NOTES
2. When we focus on what we don’t have, we always want more. This desire for more keeps us from ever being content with what we do have. This causes us to neglect the things what matters most: relationships. Instead of investing in relationships with God and others, we spend our time investing in the things of this world.
3. For 400 years Israel begged God to deliver them from Egypt. God set them free from captivity, provided them the Promised Land, and met every need they had in the wilderness. This journey included tons of miracles and happened in a relatively short amount of time. Still, the Israelites were quick to forget.
6.God doesn’t call us to a “blind” faith. God asks us to remember what God has done and believe, without seeing, what God is going to do. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the evidence of things not seen.” That evidence comes from remember who God is and what He has done in our lives. In the midst of difficult circumstances remembering how God has come through in the past bolsters our faith, allowing us to believe He will come through again.
7. The Israelites had done what we often do, remembering the good parts of the past while forgetting the bad. They remembered the food they had to eat in Egypt, while forgetting the brutal conditions in which they lived and worked. Ultimately, their discontentment came down to a lack of faith. They didn’t believe God was the best person to provide for their needs. Whether it meant going back to Egypt or heading to a new land, they believed their plan was better than God’s.
9. What is the secret to being content no matter your circumstances? Trusting God so much that you can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Typically we use this verse to proclaim that we are going to do something incredible, like play in the NBA. However the context of Philippians 4 is clear, Paul is saying no matter the circumstances I face I trust God will bring me through them. That means if God blessed Paul with millions of dollars, he believed Jesus would sustain him, not his money. On the other side, if God put Paul in a circumstance where he had no money, Paul believed Jesus would sustain him. It is this supreme confidence in God’s provision that allowed Paul to say no matter my circumstances I will be content.
