Excelling In Grace

_Warm-up_

• Have you ever gotten really good at something? If so, how did you become good at it? What was involved in your excelling?

_Word_

//BIG IDEA

• Grace is something God does in us. But we often don’t think of it as something we can excel ​in.

• Grace gives power to our obedience in a way we didn’t have before we were reborn.

• This means that we experience MORE of God’s grace when we put forth effort toward obedience, and this is why Paul tells the Corinthians to “excel in this act of grace also.”

• We experience more of God’s grace when we put forth more of our effort in obedience.

//READ

2 Corinthians 8:7, 9:13-15

But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also…

By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

//WATCH / LISTEN

//DISCUSS

_Old Self_

• Paul describes the Corinthian gift as actually being a “confession of the gospel of Christ.” How do you typically experience the act of giving? Is it connected to the gospel? If not, what is it connected to?

_New Self_

• In what ways does God’s “inexpressible gift” change how we view gifts that we give today?

_World_

• To excel in something takes practice and repetition (like golf or basketball). To grow in generosity takes practice, doing it over and over. This week notice the things in your life that you do repeatedly. What would it look like for you and your family if acts of generosity became a regular event? How would that change the culture of your family, neighborhood, and workplace?