Grow Guide | July 9, 2023
Stories of Faith
2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Connecting Questions
What’s the best thing you have spent money on?
What’s the worst thing you have spent money on?
Prayer for Illumination
Let us pray, Loving God, we pause today grateful for this next breath. We are grateful for the chance to connect with others today for we all carry such hurts and hope. Open your Word to us. Open our hearts to let your word speak to us and change our lives. We pray in the name of the Jesus, Amen.
Context
This Sunday, we continue our worship series, Stories of Faith. These stories focus on Biblical characters who exemplify the Easter values of worship, care, learn, give, and connect and encourage us to share our own stories. In 2 Corinthians Paul speaks to the church in Corinth to encourage them by talking about the church in Macedonia. It reveals a strained relationship between Paul and those to whom he writes. The tone of the letter changes dramatically between the first six chapters, in which Paul pleads with the Corinthians to be reconciled to God and to him, and the later chapters, in which Paul defends himself and attacks his opponents. In between, he appeals to the Corinthians to continue collecting funds for the Jerusalem church.
Don’t miss Pastor Megan’s sermon to begin the Stories of Faith series. Sermons can be found at Easter.org/worship.
From Pastor Mary Hinkle-Shore at EntertheBible.org:
Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian congregation has deteriorated. In 2 Corinthians, the apostle seeks to rebuild his relationship with the Corinthians, to defend his own integrity as a trustworthy and competent servant of Christ, and to refute what he perceives as the claims by other evangelists of background and gifts that are superior to his own. Paul encourages the Corinthians to continue collecting funds for the Jerusalem churches. To do these things, Paul makes extensive use of autobiography, writing both about hardships and mystical experience. His tone changes dramatically throughout this letter, shifting from well-reasoned argument, to appeals for affection, to attacks on opponents. Because of the changes in tone as well as puzzling jumps between topics, many interpreters believe that what we call 2 Corinthians is actually a combination of multiple letters from Paul to the Corinthian church.
Look at the Book
Open 2 Corinthians 8. Chapters 8-9 make up an appeal to support the church in Jerusalem. But remember, the Corinthians do not trust Paul.
Paul uses the picture of the church in Macedonia as an example of generosity. But they gave not when all was good. Verse 2 tells us what was going on?
In English, two things were happening at once for the Macedonias. Underline them. Out of that flowed generosity for others. How do you think this happens?
How did they give according to verse 3? Was this an individual?
In verse 4, the beneficiaries are the saints—the people of the Jerusalem church. Giving, according to this verse, is a privilege. What do you think? What does it enable us to do?
Verse 5 tells us something interesting about what happened. What did the Macedonians do first? And then what? What do you think this means?
Verse 7 returns to speaking to the Corinthians. What is the written encouragement—as a community?
Giving at church can get a bad rap. “They only want my money,” but if the church says nothing about money, does that mean we have nothing to say? The life lessons we experienced growing up deeply shapes our sense of money. How do you see this reality in your own life?
This story is not about individual giving but what a community centered on Jesus can do through giving—together. How is this value being lived out at Easter? What’s an area where we share our giving that has blessed you and our neighbors?
“Everything belongs to God.” What is a practice you want to grow in to live out that truth more fully in your life?
What is something you want to make sure we talk about today?
Taking it Home
Think of all the places you express generosity in your life. Your time, your skills, your energy, and your money all matter. Consider this: “What if we only have tomorrow, what have we thanked God for today.”
Consider an on-purpose gift to a partner ministry here at Easter. Learn about why they exist and why Easter partners with them!
