This 4-session study will help you and your group consider what a life of simplicity looks like and why God calls us to simple lives. Learn the way to the simple life—and recognize that the organizational advice given by popular magazines and websites just won't cut it.
Session One
Are We Happy Yet?
True happiness comes from contentment.
Psalm 90:14-17; 103; Proverbs 15:16-17; 16:8; Ecclesiastes 4:6; Isaiah 55:1-2, 6; Matthew 6:25-34; Romans 8:5-6; Philippians 4:10-13; 1 Timothy 6:6-11; Hebrews 13:5-6; James 5:1-8
As Christians, we know better: true happiness will never consist of things. Contentment will never be found through satisfying the desires of this life. But a culture that begs us to buy, buy, buy in an effort to make ourselves "better" does not leave us better off in any real sense—or ultimately satisfied. This study will discuss what's wrong with this picture.
Session Two
Too Much Stuff
Give it away before it controls you.
Proverbs 11:4, 28; 23:4-5; Deuteronomy 15:7-15
In a classic from Today's Christian Woman, Mayo Mathers confesses that greed is her ongoing temptation, and that it takes on some unexpected forms. This temptation strikes everyone—from the stay-at-home mom to the wealthy Christian CEOs we learn about in Christianity Today's article. What does it look like to handle our resources in a definitively Christian way?
Session Three
A Truly Simple Life
Though the world tells us we must be, do, and have more, God calls us to be content.
Psalm 46:10; 63:2-5; Mark 1:35; Luke 12:13-21, 22-34; 1 Timothy 6:6-10
Magazines, commercials, books, and Pinterest boards have tons of advice for leading a simple life. Magazine headlines scream at us: "Tips for Doing It All!" "10 Organizing Secrets!" "3 Must-Have Cleaners!" "5 Easy Weeknight Meals!" They promise the secrets to a simple, organized, contented life. But it doesn't take long to realize that all their tips and tricks just leave us with more to do, buy, and long for. It does anything but make us content. But maybe the simple life doesn't have anything to do with stuff. Perhaps God's Word holds the only secret to the simple life that we need.
Session Four
Simple Living
Are we consumed by consumption?
Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Ecclesiastes 5:10-6:9; Matthew 6:25-33; Acts 2:44-47; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9; Hebrews 12:1; Revelation 3:17-20
Those of us who have many possessions or few can all be possessed by what we have—or don't have. While Christians should live simply, the focus should not be on getting rid of what we have, but rather upon cultivating the disposition of "a life of joyful unconcern for possessions" (Richard J. Foster). Such a disposition will lead to actions and behaviors of simple living. This study focuses on what it means to live simply, and how we can cultivate an attitude of contentment.
Total number of pages - 41 pages
