The Generosity Practice
Are we really happier when we give generously?
We’re made in the image of a happy, generous God. When we practice generosity, we live according to our design and tap into God’s joy.
What to expect
Each Practice comes with four session videos, weekly exercises and readings, and additional resources to help your group create life-changing daily rhythms as you apprentice under Jesus together. The sessions are about 30 minutes long and include time for group discussion at the beginning.
Our Practices are perfect to use with small groups or to run course-style with a larger group, but they can also be modified for a churchwide Sunday teaching series, small cohorts, and many other contexts.
Preview Session 01Week by Week
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Jesus regularly made bold claims that turn our vision of the good life on its head. One of the most counter-intuitive is his statement that there is more joy in giving than in receiving, and that freedom is found as we embody God’s generous heart.
Practice: Try a spontaneous act of generosity
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The majority of Jesus’ teachings on money are warnings. He understood that greed poisons us, making us anxious, distracted, discontent, and lonely. But by simplifying our lives, we open ourselves to the freedom of contentment.
Practice: Identify something you own that you do not need, and either give it away, or sell it and give the money to someone in need.
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Stewardship is a rich theme throughout the library of scripture and in Jesus’ instruction to his disciples. Biblical stewardship means that God owns everything, that we are entrusted with his resources to do good, and that he blesses us in order to give more.
Practice: Begin listening to God about money and generosity to identify his invitations into stewardship.
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Concern for the poor holds a prominent place in God’s heart, and this priority is reflected in Jesus’ teaching and in the practices of his earliest followers. For apprentices of Jesus, the goal isn’t just to share resources with those in need, but to create a new kind of family.
Practice: Share your resources with someone in need. Give to an organization doing good work serving the poor, either globally or locally.
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A generous life will require a plan. This optional bonus episode explores five best practices to live out Jesus’ vision of the generous life.
Practice: Make a plan for regular giving
Recommended Resources
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The Companion Guide
Each session will use the Generosity Companion Guide. We created this guide to help you and your group build new daily rhythms into your lives.
The Guide includes weekly Reach Exercises, assigned readings and podcast episodes, and reflection questions. A digital printable version is available for free after signup, thanks to our givers. A beautifully printed version is also available for purchase here.
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Recommended Reading
For the Generosity Practice, we’re reading Giving is the Good Life by Randy Alcorn. Each week, you’ll be assigned readings in the Generosity Companion Guide.
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Rule of Life Podcast
The Generosity season of the Rule of Life podcast includes deeper conversations around each session with John Mark Comer and Christian Dawson, moving testimonials from people who’ve experienced the joy of generosity, and roundtable discussions with luminaries like Reward Sibanda (World Vision), Jimmy Mellado (Compassion International), Sara Miller (Praxis Labs), and many others. Watch or listen today.