We all have lots of stuff going on during these next few weeks. I thought I would provide an overview calendar of our church schedule for you.
We always give all our volunteers the last Sunday of the year off. It is our little way of saying “thank you” for all the constant effort they put in!
I hope you will join us for our annual Christmas Eve service! Be sure to invite your coworkers and neighbors as well!
Giving As An Act of Worship
How does your bank account and your schedule reveal your priorities?
Should our financial and scheduling priorities reflect the priorities in God’s Kingdom? How?
Worship is our response to what we value most. The way we use our time, money, and talents reveals what we really value. When we steward our resources in worldly ways, we dishonor Jesus. He calls us to focus on Him, and not on the things of this world.
Luke 10:38–42 (NLT)
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
How was Martha focused on the worldly, while Mary was focused on Jesus?
Does this make caring for guests in your home wrong in some way?
What can we learn from the next instance, where Jesus is annointed at Bethany?
John 12:1–3 (NLT)
Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.
How did Mary give her best to Jesus?
What message does Mary’s example of extravagant love and unwavering devotion for Jesus hold for us today?
If you were to give your very best to God, what would that include?
What would you find the most difficult to freely hand to God without further claim to it?
Why do you think people often have difficulty giving God the glory He is due?
How valuable is Jesus based on your generosity?
Mary’s act of extravagant love was focused on Jesus. Believers, whether in the 1st century or the 21st century, keep their focus on Jesus by giving Him the best of who they are and what they have rather than holding back for themselves. By doing so, we show our reverence to Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. Giving our very best to Jesus serves as a testament to the importance of His kingdom and values, not those of this world, our temporary home.
John 12:4–8 (NLT)
But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
How did Judas respond to the situation? Doesn’t Jesus care about the poor and want us to do the same? Explain.
What was Jesus’ response to Mary’s anointing Him with costly perfume? Why did Jesus respond in that way? What does this event teach us about approval?
When have you faced criticism for seeking the approval of Jesus over the approval of people?
What does a believer’s life look like when he or she is seeking Jesus’ approval?
What problems do believers often face when they choose to seek Jesus’ approval rather than that of others?
Concern for the poor was not the real motive behind Judas’s outburst; greed was. Mary’s generosity was less about cost and more about the cross. Jesus’ words about the poor did not mean His disciples should think of poverty as inevitable and therefore do nothing. Rather, Jesus meant that believers will always have opportunities to help poor people, but this was Mary’s last opportunity to minister to Him before His death. Likely Mary did not realize that Jesus’ death was near any more than the disciples did. Jesus, however, viewed Mary’s actions as a kind of pre-anointing for His death on the cross, His sacrifice that gave humanity a gift unsurpassed by all others.
Why do you think an upright heart pleases God?
Who is watching you and following your example of generosity? How does this affect your giving? What do others see from your example?
How does our attitude in generosity reveal our relationship with God to others? How might we misrepresent God if we’re not joyful givers like Mary?
How might our attitude in giving serve as a witness to those who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ?