The Stories We Carry

Summary

This week’s message explored how we pick up stories about money very early in life, and how those stories shape our spending, saving, and giving, often driven by a deep need for control and security. Looking at tithing in Malachi 3, the widow’s offering in Mark 12, and Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians 9, the message showed that generosity isn’t about the amount but about faith: who takes care of us, and whose hands we are in. The challenge was to deconstruct the stories of our heart, see ourselves as temporary stewards of everything we’ve been given, and never measure God’s unlimited potential by our limited perspective.

Take it deeper

1. The message said we pick up stories about money very young: growing up with plenty, growing up without enough, watching money cause conflict, or tying financial success to personal worth. What’s one message about money you picked up growing up that still shapes how you spend, save, or give today?
2. The message named control and security as the two deep insecurities behind our relationship with money, and noted that financial resources give us more options but never ultimate control. Which of those two do you feel more, and where does it show up in your everyday life?
3. Read Mark 12:41-44. Jesus pointed out the widow who gave two small coins, “all she had to live on,” and said she gave more than everyone else. The message said giving in faith isn’t really about the amount, but about what happens in the heart. What stands out to you about why Jesus called attention to her?
4. The message asked two questions: “Who takes care of you?” and “Whose hands are you in?” And then: “What would God have to do for you to fully trust him with your security and your future?” What’s your honest answer?
5. Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-8. Paul says to give what we’ve decided in our hearts, “not reluctantly or under compulsion,” and that God is able to provide so that we “abound in every good work.” The message said, “You will never experience the potential of a seed you’re unwilling to release.” What do you think it looks like to release a seed in faith, and what makes that hard?
6. The message said we are temporary stewards of everything we’ve been given, and that what we own is our response to those resources. It ended with, “I will never measure God’s unlimited potential by my limited perspective.” Where might you be measuring what God can do by what you can see, and what’s one small step you could take this week to trust him with it?

Watch the message and find more at nuvochurch.org/groups/questions/the-stories-we-carry/