Built to Last - Week 6 - Love Builds (2 of 3)
ICEBREAKER: “Bag or Barn?”
If someone handed you $100 and said you had to give it away this week — who or what would you bless, and why?
BIG IDEA:
“Many of us don’t have a money problem — we have a mindset problem.”
We either live with a Bag Mindset (we don’t have enough) or a Barn Mindset (God has given us more than enough).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. The Macedonian Example
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1–2 “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”
What stands out to you about the Macedonian churches’ generosity?
How could they be “very poor, yet irrationally generous”?
2. The Bag Mindset
Read Haggai 1:6. …You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.
What does the “bag with holes” represent in modern life?
How can this “consume → lack → fear” cycle show up in your finances or habits?
What might help you begin breaking that cycle this week?
3. The Barn Mindset
Proverbs 3:9–10. “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing.”
What is the difference between the “bag” and “barn” mindset?
What does it mean to “bring your first and best”?
How does trusting God with the first 10% (tithe) change your perspective on money?
Have you ever experienced God’s blessing after putting Him first?
4. Breaking the Cycle
Look at the two cycles below and discuss:
Bag (Scarcity)
God supplies
We consume
We lack
We fear
Barn (Abundance)
God supplies
We give
God multiplies
Faith builds
Which cycle are you more familiar with — and what would it take to move to the other side?
What is one small step of generosity that would stretch your faith?
CLOSING PRAYER:
“God, thank You that You are love — and that love gives.
Help us move from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset.
Teach us to give our first and best and trust You to bless the rest.
Make us irrationally generous like the Macedonians — and use our giving to build Your kingdom.
Amen.”