Generosity: The Freedom of an Open Hand

Total Time: ~3 hours
Focus: To reframe our relationship with money and possessions, moving away from a works-based model of dutiful “stewardship” or legalistic tithing, and toward a joyful, grace-motivated generosity that flows from our identity as secure children of a King who owns everything.

🧱 Session 1 — The Foundation: The Principle of Ownership (60 mins)

Theme: True freedom in generosity begins with the foundational truth that we are not anxious owners, but restful caretakers, because God Himself owns everything in existence.

📖 Reading

Psalm 24
1 Chronicles 29:10–16
Haggai 2:8

📖 Key Passages

• Psalm 24:1:
  “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”

• 1 Chronicles 29:14:
  “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”

• Haggai 2:8:
  “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.”

📚 Theological Framework: Caretakers, Not Owners

The Bible’s starting point for our relationship with “stuff” is that none of it is actually ours. When we truly believe that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the silver in every mine, and the breath in our lungs, it radically frees us from the anxiety of ownership. We are not owners trying to protect our hoard; we are sons and daughters living in our Father’s house, freely using the resources He has graciously provided.

🗣️ Discussion Questions

1. How does the truth that “the earth is the LORD’s” change your perspective on your own possessions, savings, or debt?
2. David prays, “of thine own have we given thee.” How does this mindset transform the act of giving from a loss into a simple act of returning?
3. If we are caretakers instead of owners, what does it mean to be a “faithful” caretaker? What are we trying to accomplish with the resources we manage?

🧱 Session 2 — The Allegiance of the Heart (60–75 mins)

Theme: Jesus teaches that money is not a neutral tool, but a spiritual power that competes for the allegiance of our hearts. True freedom is found not in accumulating wealth, but in trusting God as our sole provider.

📖 Reading

Matthew 6:19–21, 24–34
1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19

📖 Key Passages

• Matthew 6:21:
  “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

• Matthew 6:24:
  “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

• 1 Timothy 6:10:
  “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

• 1 Timothy 6:17–18:
  “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;”

📚 Theological Framework: A Matter of Lordship

This is where the true meaning of “Lordship” comes into play. The question is not “Do you give enough to be saved?” but “Who do you trust?” Jesus frames it as a choice between two masters: God or Mammon (a personification of wealth). You can only have one. Trusting in wealth for your security, identity, or happiness is spiritual idolatry. The call of grace is to find our security entirely in our relationship with the Father, who knows our needs and provides for us.

🗣️ Discussion Questions

1. Jesus says your heart follows your treasure. How have you seen this to be true in your own life or the lives of others?
2. Paul does not say money is evil, but that the love of money is the root of all evil. What is the difference?
3. Paul’s instruction to the rich is not “give all your money away,” but “do not trust in your money” and “be ready to distribute.” How is this a heart-level instruction rather than a works-based rule?

🧱 Session 3 — The Overflow of a Grateful Heart (60 mins)

Theme: Christian giving is not based on the Old Testament law of the tithe, but on the New Testament principle of joyful, generous, and sacrificial response to the grace we have received in Jesus Christ.

📖 Reading

2 Corinthians Chapters 8 & 9

📖 Key Passages

• 2 Corinthians 8:9:
  “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

• 2 Corinthians 9:6–7:
  “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

🔍 Key Concepts

• The Grace Giving Principle: Paul’s model for giving is not based on a legalistic requirement (like the 10% tithe of the Old Testament law), but on a joyful response to grace. The Macedonians, in their deep poverty, gave sacrificially because they were so overwhelmed by the grace God had shown them. Their giving was an act of worship and partnership.

• Cheerful and Purposeful: The standard is not a percentage, but the posture of the heart. Each person should decide for themselves (“as he purposeth in his heart”) and should give cheerfully, not out of compulsion or necessity (“I have to do this”). This is the opposite of a works-based system.

🧠 Reflection & Application

• The ultimate motivation for our generosity, according to Paul, is the grace of Jesus (8:9). How does meditating on Christ’s sacrifice change our perspective on our own giving?
• How does the principle of being a “cheerful giver” protect us from the “works backloading” of giving out of guilt or a sense of duty?
• Paul calls the gift a “fellowship” or “partnership” (koinonia). How does this frame our giving not as charity to the poor, but as partnership with other believers in the work of the Gospel?

✝️ Final Encouragement: Sons of the King

The world’s approach to money is driven by fear—fear of not having enough, fear of losing what we have. A works-based religion often adds to this by turning giving into a dreaded tax to appease a demanding God. The Gospel of Grace obliterates both. As sons and daughters of the King who owns everything, we are set free from fear. We are secure. Our needs are met by a Father who loves us. From this place of perfect security and overwhelming gratitude, generosity is no longer a duty; it becomes a joyful, natural expression of our new identity. We give freely because we have been freely given everything.