Weekly Study Guide
Kingdom Generosity: A Generous Giver | 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 | Afshin Ziafat | September 7, 2025
How To Use This Guide
This guide is designed to take you deeper into the points of the Sunday morning message and the passage we’re studying each week. The guide is divided into two parts.
- Read, Reflect, and Respond guides you through your own personal study of the message text, preferably before you arrive for the service on Sunday morning. This section uses the HEAR journaling method, which is an acronym for highlight, explain, apply, and respond.
- Discuss With Others is designed to help you take the things you’ve learned in your personal study and the message and discuss them within the context of your small group.
The Passage – 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 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.
Read, Reflect, and Respond Using the HEAR Method
Highlight: Begin your Bible reading time with prayer then highlight verses that stand out to you as you read the passage. Note any words or ideas you want to dive deeper into and pay attention to repeated or emphasized words and phrases. This is the “observation” process – looking at the who, what, when, where of the passage.
Explain: What is the context of the passage and the author’s intended meaning within that context? This is where you can consult a Study Bible or commentary. What did the passage mean to the original listeners? Was there something in their context that was being addressed? This step is to understand what the meaning of the passage was then before you seek to understand what the applied principle is today.
Apply: What is the principle to live by today? This is when you turn the focus to your own life, setting, and culture. What is the principle that applies to your own context?
Respond: How will you respond to the application in your relationships and/or situations this week? This recognizes that the Bible is not just a set of truths to know, but is actually a guide to live by.
Discuss With Others
Use your community group time to have some conversation around the message. Start your discussion by inviting someone to read the passage aloud in its entirety.
- How does the Macedonians’ giving reflect a heart transformed by God’s grace, rather than just giving out of an abundance of resources?
- How does their sacrificial giving challenge the common assumption that giving is just for the wealthy?
- How does the Macedonians’ “overflowing joy” and “extreme poverty” create a powerful example of true generosity?
- What does it mean that they gave “out of their abundance” and even “beyond their ability”?
- How does this passage challenge you?
- How can you cultivate a life of joyful generosity, following the example of the Macedonian churches? How does reflecting deeply on God’s grace toward you in Christ enable you to give generously to the church?