A Sunday School Lesson On Giving

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on the subject of giving.

Secret Giving

Matthew 6:2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

If someone requires a plaque by donating millions of dollars to a library addition, then as far as God is concerned, they have their reward but for those who donate anonymously, they’re reward is yet to come. That’s why Jesus said that is we give, don’t sound a trumpet, because then that’s all the reward you’ll get. Don’t you want something more substantial than three minutes of fame? What is that worth in eternity? What is done secretly is remembered by God but what’s done publically is forgotten by God. Deferring gratification until the kingdom is better than a come-and-go slice of time that’s gone forever.

Is it hard to do things for others and not tell anyone?

Have you ever done something good for someone and told another person(s)?

Why did Jesus call these Jews who give to the needy hypocrites?

Open Rewards

Luke 6:38 “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

What you sow comes back at harvest but no one has an immediate harvest. We must trust God because Jesus says, “to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matt 13:12) since “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (Prov 19:17). Jesus uses an analogy that all of the Jews would have been familiar with. They come to the marketplace with an empty bad and grain is given to them in good measure but to the one who gives, it will be pressed down, so that more can be poured in and it will be shaken together so that even more can be added. Next, put the very full bag on your lap and now it’s “running over,” much like the psalmist’s cup (Psalm 23:5) but “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2nd Cor 9:6).

Why does Jesus say that whoever has, more will be given?

Why then do those who have not, have even what they have taken away?

What does that mean?

Asking, Seeking, and Knocking

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

If you put all of the key verbs together you get the acronym “ASK” as in ask, seek, and knock. They may come in that order because we must; ask God in prayer, seek to find His will, and knock to see which doors might open, however there is a risk of praying with a wrong motivation as James writes “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). I wonder if our passions and God’s will for our lives is the same thing. Probably not, so to ask, is to ask for something from God in prayer and then seek God’s will and align our prayers with that, and finally, knock, because a door that’s not been knocked on may never open until someone’s knocked on it. How would you ever know for sure if you passed a door that you never knocked on and whether it would have ever opened or not?

Have you ever passed up an opportunity you later regretted?

Have you ever knocked on a door that opened an opportunity for you?

Have you ever tried to “break and enter” rather than let God open the door for you?

Small Deeds, Big Rewards

Matthew 10:42 “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Jesus is saying that nothing goes unnoticed by God, even a cup of cold water to one of His own. Giving someone such a small gift won’t make the papers, but “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb 6:10). You’re doing this for God and in secret so He can reward you openly someday in an infinitely greater way. No reward will be lost; big or small, unless you lose it by telling everyone about it.

Who are the “little ones” Jesus is speaking about?

Why is even a cup of cold water important to God?

Does God base rewards on size?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of these lessons but the ultimate lesson in giving was that the Son of God died so that we might live (John 3:16) so Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28) for “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matt 13:11). Who gave more than God? What more could God do for us? He died for us who were wicked sinners and enemies of God at one time, so “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom 12:20) and remember that we too were once an enemy of God (Rom 5:10) “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8) because “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Do you remember that you used to be an enemy of God?

What are “the secrets of the kingdom of heaven?”

What have you learned about giving?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.