Datchet Baptist Church- Money Study 4: Giving

Adapted from ‘For Love or Money’ Dudley R & Graysone P Christian Aid, 2000

For a quick study, follow the items with headings in bold type

Aim

To consider if our giving really is good news.

You will need...

A Bible, paper & pen.

Starter

Recall a few gifts you have made or received.

• What motivates people to make gifts? Make a note of what you think are ‘good’ and ‘suspect’

reasons for giving.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, as we consider giving, help us to acknowledge the gifts we need to

receive from you, and the gifts you call us to make.

Pause for thought

At the time Paul wrote the passage we are looking at in 2 Corinthians, Jerusalem and the region

were recovering from failed harvests and famine. Jewish converts to Christianity suffered more

than others because they were often left without money or food after leaving homes, families and

jobs to escape persecution. This was not the first time that Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth to

remind them that Christians in Jerusalem needed help, and to tell of the desperate needs of the

Macedonian Christians who were also badly affected by famine and civil war.

Before reading the passage think through what Paul might have said about giving, and make a

note of things you might have said.

Read 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

• Did Paul say anything about giving that you could add to your notes above?

• In a radical statement that may have become over-familiar to us, Paul says that those who

give generously receive more than they give – in what ways is that true? You might like to

look at 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 for more of Paul’s thoughts on giving.

• If we took action based on Paul’s instructions in this passage, would it require dramatic

changes in our lifestyles? What might stop us making those changes?

During the week

In the light of this study, prayerfully consider the following:

Repair church windows or help Tearfund’s HIV campaign? The practical business of Christian

giving raises difficult issues. How should we decide how much to give and to whom?