Sermon Based Small Group Lessons

Sermon Based Small Group Lessons: Road To Financial Freedom

Act Your Own Wage! (The Problem with Debt)

2008 January 20

Preparation

1. Print off copies of the daily homework for each group member.

2. Read through the questions.

3. Don’t force the group to reveal anything they’d be uncomfortable sharing.

4. Pray that God will use this lesson.

Meeting Schedule

1. Fellowship & eat

2. Share prayer requests

3. Pray (taking turns with short sentence prayers is good).

4. Begin the lesson.

a. Share the title (above)

b. Begin with reading the focus scripture, then follow the guide!

Focus Scripture

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Tim. 6:6-8

Just the Brutal Facts About Debt (Read this as an introduction)

§ The savings rate in the United States is now at negative two percent, meaning

that Americans on average are spending two percent more than we

make.

§ Financial stress is cited as the number one factor given in divorce. A Gallup Poll found 56%

of all divorces are a result of financial tension in the home. This makes for a need to

change marriage vows to say “till debt do us part.”

§ Personal bankruptcies were up 40% in 2007, exceeding 800,000 in the US, compared to

573,203 in 2006 according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. (CNNMoney.com

1/3/08) .

§ The average consumer has more than five credit cards.

§ The total debt in the US is increasing at the rate of $2,000 per second.

§ One in five dollars of spendable income goes to debt other than a home mortgage.

Interest Questions

1. Why do you think so many people in this country are in debt?

2. What do you see as problems with debt?

3. Are there times you have purchased items you really didn’t have the money for?

Study Questions

1. Romans 13:7-8 says, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…” What does this tell us about God’s perspective on debt?

2. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” How is the lender a servant?

3. There is a balance between presumption and fear. What does the following passage tell us about presumption?

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15

4. Look at the focus passage again.

What does this passage say that we can be content with? Why is that more difficult in our society than in the first

century?

5. Question: How do we distinguish between needs and desires?

Our problem is not debt, but desire. If we tame desire, debt will be cured!

6. Many young people get used to a certain standard and do not realize that their parents worked many years to reach their standard of living. Have we seen evidence of this?

7. What does the following passage say about the future of things we buy?

For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:16-17

Where does it say that our desires come from?

8. What does the following passage say about paying our debts?

The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. Psalm 37:21

(The homework section contains principles to help you get out of debt. Please print this off and give it to group members.)

9. Where did we learn how to manage money? What incorrect things did we “learn” from those sources?

Closing Story

Financial author Ron Blue tells of a young man who wanted to go to seminary to become a missionary. The young man had no money and thought the only way he could afford seminary was to secure a student loan. However, this would have encumbered him with thousands of dollars of debt by the time he graduated. This would have been an impossible situation. He could not pay back his loan on a missionary’s salary.

After a great deal of prayer, he decided to enroll without the help of a student loan and to trust the Lord to meet his needs. He graduated without borrowing anything and grew in his appreciation for how the sovereign, living God could creatively provide for his needs. This was the most valuable lesson learned in seminary. It prepared him for the mission field where he repeatedly depended on the Lord to meet his needs. Borrowing may deny God an opportunity to demonstrate His reality and provision. (Your Money Counts, Howard Dayton, 38)

Are we giving God a chance to show Himself as our Provider?

Closing Questions

1. What are the benefits of living debt-free? (Don’t say “We can buy more!”)

2. What is your greatest hindrance to a debt-free lifestyle?

3. What does God want you to change as a result of today’s lesson?

To learn more about getting out of debt, check out the book, Free and Clear: God’s Road Map for Debt-Free Living by Howard Dayton. Also, there are some helpful tools in this week’s homework section.

Les’ Outline

1. Debt is not a money issue, it’s a desire issue.

Ps. 37:61, 1 Tim 6:6-8, 1 Jn. 2:17

2. A disciple is to keep his or her word.

To borrow and not pay back is stealing

3. All debt must be paid in a timely manner.

Tips: pay up front, stop borrowing, debt snowball