Does your relationship to money come to mind when you think about the topic of wellness? It should! Jesus talked about money more than any other topic! How we earn, save, and generously give money to others is a key component of God’s intended life of wellness. This week in our BE WELL series, we’ll explore ‘Financial Wellness’ by looking through the eyes of a woman who gave all she had to Jesus.

Groups Discussion Guide

To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.

To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Last week we talked about how Jesus cares for our minds and our bodies. As we seek to follow Jesus, we should be taking care of our mental, physical, and emotional wellness; this helps us glorify God by reflecting his image to the world around us.  

Take a few minutes to ask how everyone is doing and what steps they have made to seek wellness in their mental, physical, and emotional health over the past week. 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Key Verse for the Week  

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

1 Chronicles 16:34 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Connect   

• How much value do you put into finances? What, in your opinion, is the most important reason for money in your life?  
• How often do you consider others with how you use your finances? 
• What do you think should be the priority for how to use money in your life? How does this affect the way you spend your time and energy? 

Opening Thought  

Many times, we can think about our financial situation in terms of what we want to save or what we want to spend. We might want to earn as much as we can so we don’t have to worry about being able to pay for our needs in life or we might want to earn just so we can spend money on the things we want. Jesus invites us to look at our finances from a different lens than ourselves so we can trust him, be grateful to God for his gift of the finances we have, and be generous to others because God is generous to us.  

This leads us to our big idea for this week:  

Big idea for the week  
We should make Jesus the priority in our financial life.  

Unpack 

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions. 

Read  

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

Hebrews 13:5-6 

1 Timothy 6:6-10 

Unpack

• Why do you think that pursuing money can become a trap for people?  
  • Is this always true? What do you think is important for a follower of Jesus to remember and implement in their lives when it comes to money? 
• Why do you think the biblical authors of the verses we just read called their audience to be content with what they have? 
  • Why is it important to remember that what you have is a gift? Why is it important to be grateful for what God has given you? 
• The verses in 1 Thessalonians we read encourage the audience to “always be joyful” and “be thankful in all circumstances”.  
  • What place do joy and thankfulness have in your life when you think about your financial wellness? 

Read  

Proverbs 3:9-10 

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 

Acts 20:28 

Unpack 

• How can being faithful in giving to the church help us be faithful in our relationship to God?  
  • How can you expand your generosity to more than just your immediate church community? How can this doing this broaden our view of God’s plan for his people? 
• What role should your community have in the way you use your finances? How can this help us view our finances as not our own? 

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• How will you re-center your value of money around God? 
• How do you plan to intentionally prioritize Jesus in your finances? 
• How will your group start thinking about ways to be more financially well together? 

Closing 

Read the first section with your group, then move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

When we prioritize ourselves our finances with Jesus at the center, it helps us to remember that God is the reason we have what we have. This week, take time to be with God and thank him for his gift of finances. As we are grateful, it causes us to be generous. All these things are ways to grow closer to Jesus as we become healthier financially.  

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Daily Devotional Verses  

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: Proverbs 23:4-5 

Day 2: John 21:15-17 

Day 3: Acts 2:41-47 

Day 4: Psalm 136:1 

Day 5: Proverbs 19:17 

Day 6: Psalm 37:5-7 

Key Verse for the Week  

1 Chronicles 16:34 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”