God will use our enthusiastic and generous giving to stimulate others to give.
Click here and watch this video together and laugh—it is contagious!
- How did you feel when you first started watching?
- At what point did the laughter make you start laughing?
- Did some people laugh sooner or later than you? Why?
- How does this contagious laughter relate to contagious giving?
Main Lesson from Activity:
Just like laughter, generosity is contagious! When we give generously to others, they want to give back. And when we see others giving, we are encouraged to give as well.
1 Chronicles 29:2-9 Gifts for Building the Temple
[Then King David said to the whole assembly]: “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple … Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the LORD today?”
Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. They gave toward the work on the temple of God … The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
Exodus 36:1-7 The people gave so much to the temple that the builders came to Moses and said, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.” So Moses had to restrain the people from bringing more!
Responding to God’s Word (Discovery Bible Study) – Read the scripture passage for today out loud three or four times, with someone different reading it each time. Then ask these questions, allowing time for everyone to respond:
- What does this tell me about God?
- What does this tell me about myself (and people in general)?
- How does God want me to respond to this? Does He want me to change something, to repent of something, to take action (obey)?
- What will I do to obey God this week?
Pray to end your Devotional time – Use this time in prayer as another opportunity for your family to learn to communicate with each other and the Lord. Consider these formats for your prayer time:
- After listing prayer requests, ask one person to open and another to close, and tell everyone they are welcome to pray for one of the needs on the list in-between those prayers
- Divide up into pairs and have people pray for each other (pair older siblings or a parent with younger children)
- Use the acronym ACTS to pray—Adoration (praising God for who He is); Confession (admitting anything you’ve done wrong and asking forgiveness); Thanksgiving (thanking God for your life and God’s blessings); Supplication (praying for the needs of others).