Giving is the Good Life
Speaker: Pastor Pierre du Plessis
Read: Psalms 84:11; Proverbs 11:24; Matthew 5:3-10, 11:11, 20:16, 20:26; Acts 20:35; Romans 12:2, 12:20; Colossians 1:16; Philippians 4:19; James 1:17, 2:17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it?
2. How would you define a good life?
3. Read ( in the NIV or NLT, if available): Psalm 84:11, Philippians 4:19, Colossians 1:16 and James 1:17. What do these Scriptures tell us about God’s nature and His goodness towards us?
4. Other than social media, what are other tools our culture uses to define a good life?
5. Read James 2:14-17. What does this passage say about beliefs (faith) and actions (works)?
6. A paradox is defined as a statement or proposition that seems self-contradicting or logically unacceptable. Read and discuss the paradox in each of the following passages: Proverbs 11:24, Matthew 20:16, 20:26, and Acts 20:35.
7. Share a time that someone said something to you or you said something to someone else, but the actions that followed were not congruent with the words.
8. If we truly believe God and His ways, why do we sometimes instead pursue the ways of the world?
SERMON RECAP
Acknowledging that we only have one life to live, if we were asked, we would all likely say that we desire to live a “good life.” If that is our pursuit, then the logical question becomes, what is a good life, and how does one go about obtaining it? For many, our perspective is shaped by the pervasive and dynamic influence of our Western culture and its definition of a good life, and the standards of what it should look like. One way our culture presents a picture of a good life is through social media. These pictures get imprinted into our minds and form a belief system of the good life, and we naturally, though sometimes unconsciously, begin to compare our current status with that which is presented. This can inevitably create dissonance in our soul and can lead to envy and/or an internal drive to pursue money or the things that we believe will grant us the good life we have seen or believe that others have. For the most part, our culture defines a good life as one that focuses on gathering things that make us happy through financial and material accumulation, and as such produces satisfaction, purpose and balance.
Yet, despite the fact that many chase this picture, internally we know that money and possessions will not guarantee happiness and contentment. To fully understand what a good life is, we must go to the One who gave us life. We must go to God, who is the Master Architect and the One who defines what a good life truly encompasses. His standards seem illogical and are very different from those of the world. In fact, God’s standards are so diametrically opposed to those of the world that they are considered to reflect an upside-down kingdom. As Christians, we say we believe God and His Word, but often our actions chase after the standards of the world. It is good that we believe God, but our beliefs need to be reflected in what we say and do. If we believe in God’s standard for a good life, then our actions need to be congruent with that belief. For our works, actions and tangible behavior is the true indicator of our actual beliefs.
