Sermon Discussion Questions Ambassadors for Christ: Week 8 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Here are some questions to discuss as you think about the message from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15. Also consider 2 Corinthians 9, Philippians 2:5-11, and Revelation 3:14-22. 1. Why does Paul praise the Macedonian churches? What role do they play in his appeal to the church at Corinth? 2. What role does the gospel play in Paul’s encouragement to the church at Corinth to be generous with their financial giving? Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and Philippians 2:5-11 for a clearer understanding of Jesus’ example of generosity. 3. Read 2 Corinthians 9:7-8. What does it mean to “decide in your heart to give?” What does it look like to give “reluctantly” or “under compulsion”? How do you know the difference? What does it look like for you personally to be a “cheerful” giver? 4. Read Revelation 3:14-22, the letter to church at Laodicea. What attitude does God reject? What is their obstacle to generosity? 5. Think about your own financial generosity. Why does what you do with your money seem to matter so much to God? How would you describe your own attitude towards your money? How would you respond personally to each of the following statements? • I’ve earned it. • I would like to give more, but I never seem to have enough. • Everybody seems to want something from me. • As long as I give God 10%, I can do what I want with the rest. • Generosity is more about giving my time and my talents then my treasure. 6. How have you been personally comforted, convicted, or challenged? Think about the message, your own reflections on God’s Word, the work of the Holy Spirit, other people, and your experiences. What do you need from your small group or a trusted friend to help you process how God might be working in and through you? Prayer Father, thank you for loving me so much that you gave your Son. Thank you that you have adopted me as your child through my belief in Him. Thank you that I am a new creation with a new love, with a new attachment to you. Please forgive me for allowing other attachments to pull me away from you. Holy Spirit, draw me closer to you so that my attachments to the things of this world grow weaker. May my love for you overflow with a love for your church—here in Greenwood and around the world. May my love for you change my thinking, change my feelings, and change my actions—so that I may bring glory to you and build your Kingdom. .