Widow’s Mite | What's Her Name? | Digging Deeper | Week of November 6th

Widow’s Mite | What's Her Name? | Week 3
Pastor Dave Pretlove, Lead Pastor
Mark 12:38-44

1. Is my kingdom investment (time, talent, treasure) so I will get noticed now?
Mark 12:38-40; Matthew 6:1-5
Those looking for the most recognition now, will get the least later.

2. Is my kingdom investment (time, talent, treasure) significant enough to affect how my life feels?
Mark 12:41-44
Generosity is less about how much I have, and more about how much I have left.

3. Is my kingdom investment (time, talent, treasure) reflecting the generosity of Jesus?
Mark 12:44; 2 Corinthians 8:9
Jesus seems to see a picture of himself in the widow’s generosity.

“He continued teaching. ‘Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.’ Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, ‘The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.’
Mark 12:38-44 MSG

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:1-5 NIV

"The Worst (and Best) Passage for Generosity Sermons" by Ted Olsen

1. What was your biggest takeaway from Pastor Dave’s message on Sunday?

2. Read Mark 12:38-44. Jesus talks about watching out for religious scholars and goes on to describe what they do. What warning do you think this gives us today?

3. Why do you think generosity reveals so much about a person’s heart?

4. Read Matthew 6:1-5. If we evaluate our motives and there is a piece of them that we recognize as self-serving, we can give that piece to God and ask him to change our hearts. Have you ever seen this change happen in a person? Have you seen this happen personally?

5. There is this tension in me when I think about how desperately the world needs to see the church's generosity and how it seems like Jesus asks the church to keep our good deeds between us and God. For sure it comes down to our hearts. But I think about these things because our generosity and how we care for the poor and marginalized is the one thing that will speak so clearly to our communities. Discuss this with your group. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. 

6. Read Something to Thing About and discuss.

We are human, and we will be battling with our flesh until we get to heaven. The truth and beauty is that this battle was also fought for us at the cross. Because of Jesus, we don’t have to live in bondage to our flesh. These scriptures in Mark and Matthew get to the heart. I know when I read these scriptures this week and examined my heart I for sure saw things that I wish were dead by now. The wonderful thing is, when these things come up in us and we see them, we can go right to the Father and ask His Spirit to come in and prune and cleanse. That is my prayer for you all this week. That you will invite the Lord into these spaces in your hearts this week. Pastor Dave’s message and the heart of these scriptures may have brought up many different emotions. Maybe you realized you need to live a life of greater generosity. Maybe you recognized your motivations for giving have more to do with yourself than with God. Maybe you realized you do not fully trust God to provide for you like this precious widow did. I hope you bring all this to the Lord and invite Him into this space in your lives. I love you guys. I am cheering for you all.
Blessings,
Christie Braun