ICEBREAKERS
Make sure to start off with prayer. Then choose one or more questions to open up with.
- What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
- When do you normally start decorating for Christmas?
- Do you have a favorite Holiday movie?
Message Review
Main points and scriptures from this week's message.
This week, we enter the holidays, and we are just around the corner from a new year. One of the things that we do as a church is to end the year in a position of strength, with gratitude, and honor to God. We can position ourselves now for a new year of blessings so that our church can continue to reach people, and be the body of Christ in a world that needs it!
Genesis 26:1–6 (NIV)
Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants, I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees, and my instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Notice in the first verse that there was a famine in the land. And many of you are concerned about conditions in society with the hate, the terror, the bias, the injustice, and the economy.
Notice in the second verse, despite the conditions of the land, God tells Isaac to live where I tell you to live, stay until I tell you to go, and as a result, I will be with you and I will bless you!
It is not always easy to do what God wants you to do, but that's exactly how we demonstrate our trust in God.
POINT 1: TRUST IS NOT KNOWN UNTIL IT’S SHOWN.
Isaac’s trust is on trial. He’s about to find out that trust is more than words you say. Trust is a commitment that you make. Many of us have made a trust commitment to tithe. A tithe is the Biblical principle of giving our first 10% of all of our increase to God. We show our trust in God when we tithe.
There was a time when God's people turned away from God and they were not bringing their tithe. Society was struggling as a result, and this was God's response to His people:
Malachi 3:10 (NIV)
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
POINT 2: TRUST GOD TODAY AND LIVE BLESSED TOMORROW.
Genesis 26:3–6 (NIV)
Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants, I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
Genesis 26:12 (NIV)
Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him
TALK-IT-OUT
The following questions will help guide your discussions and give your group some opportunities to open up and share.
- Have you ever faced a situation where you felt like quitting or leaving, but God was calling you to finish and stay?
- Has your trust in God ever been on trial, like it was in Genesis for Isaac?
- How would the world be a better place if all Christians brought their tithe?
- Why do you think it is that not all Christians tithe?
- What areas of your life do you find it easy to trust God? What areas of your life are more difficult for you to trust God?
- Trust is not known until it is shown. How does God know that you trust Him? Be specific.
WRITE-It-Out
Encourage your group to starting writing things down. In a journal or on paper, write down the following:
- Write down the following sentence: "I trust God with __________." Now finish the sentence by listing out all the areas that you trust God in. Remember that Trust is not known until it is shown.
- Write down the following sentence: "I want to be better in trusting God with __________." Now finish the sentence by listing out all the areas that you want to grow in your trust in God.
Live-It-Out
Encourage your group to start doing. Commit to a step, and live it out this week.
- This is a continuation from last week. Every day pray for our nation, our leaders, and the Church.
- Complete the Growth Track. This occurs every Sunday at 11:30, and you can jump in any time. This Sunday is session four, and is the last one for the year, but Growth Track will resume in January.
- Serve together as a group. To view serving opportunities with Champions Foundation, click HERE.
Closing Thoughts
- Finish group with prayer requests and praise reports.
- More resources always available here: Group Resources