Small Group Questions | The Giving Life | Malachi 3:6-12

As we move into February we typically think of this month as a month of Love. It's a month we think of hearts, Valentine's Day, and expressing our love. In the New Testament Jesus asked His listeners to think about where they placed their affection. It is easy for us to place our affection in the wrong place; we have misplaced affection for money. Of His thirty-eight parables, about half of them deal with money and possessions. In the Gospels, one in every ten verses deal with money. Why so much talk about money? Because our attitude to money reveals a lot about us. Each week, we’ve created small group questions designed to help people reflect deeply, apply personally, and grow spiritually. I’m sharing those questions here so others can benefit; whether you’re leading a small group, studying on your own, or learning to pray these questions are for you. 

Small Group Questions | The Giving Life | Malachi 3:6-12

The good life is not something we stumble into by accident, it is formed as we learn to grow into the disciples Jesus has invited us to be. In the Old Testament God’s people had robbed Him of the tithes and offerings. The Temple was rebuilt in Israel but it paled in comparison to its former glory. The priesthood was corrupt, tithing was neglected, and widespread social injustice plagued Israel. Malachi speaks on behalf of God, inviting God’s people to worship Him again. Malachi invited God’s people to think about God’s faithfulness in their lives. This same invitation is extended to us today as we study these questions and remember God’s faithfulness in our lives even when we fail God. 

1) Every one of us has bills to pay and financial obligations to meet. Paying bills might be one of the most stressful things some people have to do. What emotions come up for you when you think about spending or giving money?  

2) Read Malachi 3:6–7. God reminds the Nation of Israel of His unchanging character. Why is God’s unchanging character important when we talk about generosity? (see Lamentations 3:22–23, Hebrews 13:8, and James 1:17). 

3) God invites His people to return to Him and in return He will return to them. There are many circumstances why someone would walk away from the Lord, what are the main reasons we see people come back to the Lord? 

4) Read Malachi 3:8-9. Malachi says that God’s people were robbing God. Read Haggai 1:4–9, Matthew 23:23, and Luke 21:1-4. What do you think God was really confronting in the hearts of His people and in our hearts as well? 

5) In the sermon we learned that the practice of tithing has four benefits to our walk with the Lord: Tithing forms me into a disciple who trusts and obeys Jesus, Tithing protects my heart from turning money into an idol, Tithing strengthens my relationship with God as Provider, Tithing partners us with God’s mission through the local church. What one was most impactful to you and why? 

6) Read Malachi 3:10-12. God told His people to test Him with their tithes & offerings. What does that reveal about His heart? (Read Psalm 34:8, Isaiah 55:8–9, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. 

7) Neal shared how tithing changed his family. They stopped seeing money as security and saw the Lord as their provider. How has tithing changed you? 

Close your time in prayer asking God to help you honor Him with your finances. 

Lean in to Generosity- Small Group Questions

Coastline Bible Church is doing a five-week sermon series called: "Lean In" as we move into the New Year. There are so many parts of our lives that we don’t engage. We lean away from confrontation, difficult subjects, broken relationships, and things that require change. But what would happen if we began to lean in? What would change if we choose to lean in to God this year and see what He has for our lives? For five weeks we are going to lean in to different aspects of the Christian faith. For this series I volunteered to write the small group questions that go along with each sermon. It seemed like a waste to leave them in a file on my computer and not share them with everyone.

Small Group Questions ::: Lean in to Generosity ::: 2 Corinthians 9

To lean in is the opposite of running away. In this sermon sermon series we are leaning in to how God wants to shape and form our lives. Almost 2000 years ago the Apostle Paul started a church in a city he never visited; he choose to lean in to loving people. After leaving that church he wrote them about living a generous life. Paul instructed them on what do with their financial means. Giving isn’t reserved only for the rich but giving is act of faith. Giving is one way to say: “God I trust you with everything I have.” We want to lean in to all that God has for us. Today we’re going to focus on leaning in to generosity. We want to lean in to what the Bible teaches us about what to do with our financial resources and we want to be obedient to follow God’s word. 

1) Neal opened the sermon by talking about the RAS (reticular activating system) that helps our brain choose what to process. Share about something that your RAS has highlighted at one time or another in your life. 

2)Paul writes to the church in Corinth about being generous with their financial resources (read 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). In general, what are your thoughts about giving to God? How did you originally format this thought process?  

3) Paul instructs the church in Corinth to be cheerful and decisive in their giving. Read Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus was decisive in his giving and gave half his possessions to the poor. What does it look like to be deceive and cheerful in your giving?  

4) Read 2 Corinthians 9:8-9. God promises to give us what we need but not what culture says we must have. Share about how you have fallen into thinking that wants are needs and been mislead on financial purchases. 

5) Giving reflects a deep trust in Jesus. Read Luke 21:1-4. This woman was acting in obedience to God and her experience with God (see Malachi 3:10). What sticks out to you most about this woman and her trust in the Lord?

6) In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke these words (Matthew 6:19-24). What makes it easier for a person to store up treasures on earth than in heaven? What do you think about Jesus’ words in verse 24, can a person serve two masters?  

7) When we trust our financial situation to God, He will provide all we need (read 2 Corinthians 9:10-11). Share about how you’ve seen God provide for your needs because you’ve made a commitment to trusting Him with your finances. 

Close your time in prayer. Talk about who you will invite to Coastline Online? 

Job 38- Small Group Questions

Our church is doing a four-week sermon series called: "Questions from God." We are looking at times in the Old Testament where God asked questions from His people. The questions pertain to different subjects and situations (kind of like our lives). They take place in different time periods showing that questions from God are always relevant. In this series we are learning how to hear God's voice and follow His leading. For this sermon we had Joey Ross as a guest speaker. A big "thanks" to Joey for writing these questions. It seemed like a waste to leave them in a file on my computer and not share them with everyone.

Small Group Questions ::: Questions from the Storm ::: Job 38

The book of Job is written like a play, There is action in two stages.  There is what happens on earth and what happens in heaven.  While the reader/audience knows what’s happening in both settings, the characters on earth do not.  Job cannot see, he cannot hear, and in the end he never finds out even why its all happening.  But far more important than knowing the whole story, Job discovers who God is and


1) What did you find most memorable about this weekends message regarding Job struggles?

2) Share one things you're learning about God through this pandemic/ or something you learned about God during another storm in your life?

3) Read Job 1:1-5 and 1:20-22
What kind of person was Job and how was he perceived by the people of Uz?
What is Job reaction when calamity strikes?

4) Read Job 2:4-5; 10
What is the main question Satan is challenging to God?
What happened to Job and how is his reaction different this time?

5) Read Job 38:2-7 and 42:12-15
How does God respond to Job question of why is he suffering?
What does God’s answer communicate to Job (and to us)?
How does Job respond?

6) During the early part of Job’s story, the amount of blessing that Job experiences is mistakenly seen as being proportional to the amount of ;obedience he offers to God.  How does this belief influence the way that you approach your own life?

7) Job has an experience of Orientation-Disorientation-Reorientation with God.  Have you had similar experiences where you believed something about God or Christianity and then your life experience / new learning of God force you to reevaluate?

Close in a time of prayer

You can watch the entire worship gathering and find the sermon here

Something you want, something you need. Something to wear, something to read.

With the countdown to Christmas at t-minus 17 days my guess is many people have their shopping done. Its weird to think this way but with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon you can really get your Christmas shopping done quite early now. The days of rushing to the mall and standing in lines are (almost) over. The days of sitting on the couch and buying presents are in!

As we talk about Christmas at the Benson home, Charity said something that has really stuck out in my mind. It was this: “something you want, something you need. Something to wear, something to read.”

Now I thought about this statement for probably over a month before telling my wife she was a genius for thinking this up to which she replied, “I saw it on Pinterest.” Even though she didn’t make it up it sounded like such a good idea I wanted to share it with others. If you search this: want, need, wear, read on Pinterest they will give you tons of ideas!

This year our girls will be receiving gifts based on this idea.

Disclaimer: I feel the need to make the disclaimer that I tried to use Pinterest one night, while sitting next to my wife, but have since stopped. Pinterest has great ideas though as you can see!

Good People Still Exist

If you've been discouraged with the world lately at all (maybe you've seen: the government shut down, school shootings, war, disease, or death) then you need to read this because it helped me!

Earlier this month our family went on a vacation to Disneyland (the happiest place on earth).  After spending approximately 10+ hours in California Adventure our Sophie asked for a toy.  Now we're not the parents who buy our kids everything at Disneyland.  In fact, we may be the opposite.  We bring in our snacks, drinks and lunch.  We want to buy them a treat while we're there and even will splurge on a stuffed animal.

Sophie had been doing an amazing job.  Leah wasn't feeling well so I had been carrying her most of the day.  As we approached the world of color Sophie had seen someone carrying a Bullseye toy (think Toy Story).  We headed over to the boardwalk to find one.  As we entered the first store, bullseye, there she was!  Unfortunately it wasn't the one Sophie wanted.  We were told we could win one just down the way, so off we went.

We found the game where you can win bullseye.  Unfortunately we were too late, they were closing the carnival style games.  This is about when Sophie lost it and began crying (remember, its past her bedtime).  As we approached the world of color we saw a man carrying the Bullseye horse she had been looking for, it was hanging out of his backpack.

I approached the unknown man and asked him where he got it.  He told me he won it over on the boardwalk.  I shared how it was closing and this was the only thing Sophie wanted.  As he looked at the 5 year old on my shoulders he took his backpack off, removed the fluffy horse and it handed it to the beautiful blonde on my shoulders.

I pulled out my wallet and tried to give him money to which he refused, so I tried again and he refused again.  He was so generous and even excited to give the horse to my daughter.  He even told us he was giving us his 13 year old daughters toy he had won for us!  WHAT!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?  A stranger just gave me a toy he won for his daughter and wouldn't take my money.

That night I learned another lesson from God.  The lesson of: you have not because you ask not.  Sophie learned a lesson too: there are still good people in the world.  She doesn't know about all the crap happening in our world but she knows a complete stranger gave her something she longed for.  The question I ask myself now is: "How do I give to others to make sure good people always exist in this world?"