DR. GORDON HUGENBERGER
STUDY QUESTIONS FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2003
1 Corinthians 16:1-4
Resurrection Generosity

This is the concluding Sunday of our 10-day Annual Missions Conference (the 64th for our church). Please join us in praying for the Lord's blessing on the result, including the following items, if they are His will:

1. that God would encourage perhaps a hundred of our members to consider being sent out in the coming year as short-term missionaries (10-days to 3 years).
2. that a handful of others would begin the process of weighing the possibility of being sent out as full-support career missionaries or partial-support tent-making missionaries (also called "Kingdom Professionals"). "Tent-makers" are people who have taken their profession skills as engineers, scientists, agricultural specialists, doctors, businessmen and women, etc., into parts of the world where missionaries are often unwelcome, but where the Gospel needs to be heard through their lives and witness.
3. that scores of people would sign up to pray for and take an active interest in the work of our missionaries, joining their Barnabas groups.
4. that hundreds would sign up to volunteer their time for various local ministries of outreach, including CityWorks (tutoring, etc.) and FOCUS (opening their homes to reach out in friendship to our many international students and scholars; teaching in our many ESL classes).
5. that every one of our members and friends would pledge his or her financial support in such a generous way that our missions program will not only meet its proposed $1.4 million budget, but it will be able to expand its current commitments.

Blessings,

Gordon

MAIN POINT OF THE SERMON:
It has been said that "stewardship" is what we do after we say "I believe." The Bible has a great deal to say about what we do with the material resources with which God has blessed us. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 touches on only one aspect of that responsibility to use everything we have and are in the service of Christ. Paul does not mention "tithing" here because this special offering is not the sum total of charitable giving that is expected of the Christians at Corinth. This gift may have been just a small portion of their tithe or something that was intended to be over and above their tithe. Nevertheless, there are many important lessons that come from Paul's admonition to the Corinthians. First, God expects His people to give generously even though it is to help those who live thousands of miles away and whom they may never meet in this life. Second, God expects that every one of His people will give, not just those who are well off, and that these gifts will be planned, rather than impulsive, regular, and proportionate to their means. Finally, God encourages His people to give in the context of worship. In the early church the "first day of every week" was, in effect, a weekly celebration of Easter, because Jesus arose and met with his disciples on the first day of the week. It is in the context of the worship our resurrected Lord, when we are most aware of the astonishing ways God has blessed us and most secure in His arms of love, that our generosity will be most loving, most lavish, and most joyous. "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

STUDY QUESTIONS:

1. What are one or two questions that were triggered by the various reports from missionaries you may have heard over the past ten days? What are one or two lessons or insights that have most impressed you? What do you feel would be anappropriate response on your part to the challenges and information you have heard?
   
2. In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Paul does not directly address either the subject of missions, nor the funding of missionaries, nor how to fund the expenses of a local church (despite the frequent quotation of these verses on offering envelopes). What exactly is the collection about which Paul is writing? Who is it for and what is the nature of their need? [Hint: this collection is also mentioned in 2 Corinthians 8-9, Romans 15:25-32, and Acts 24:17. See also Galatians 2:10. It is likely that it is a continuation of the need that is mentioned in Acts 11:27-30.]
   
   
3. Even though this collection is not intended for the support of career missionaries, how does this passage support the most basic principles which underlie the missionary outreach of the Church?
   
   
4. When a member of a family, such as a daughter, has a financial need, why do you think God usually meets that need through another member of the family, such as a mother or father, rather than through a direct provision? How does this apply to the Church?
   
   
5. Because of their desire to help the needy, Christians are sometimes viewed as starry-eyed idealists, rather than hard-nosed realists. In 1 Corinthians 16:3-4 Paul goes out of his way to suggest a special arrangement for conveying their monetary gift to Jerusalem that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for Paul to take anything for himself. Why does Paul do this? When did one of the apostles fail with respect to this standard of financial integrity? What principle does this illustrate and how should it be applied to modern fund-raising?
   
   
6. In this passage God requires every one in the church of Corinth to contribute something to this worthwhile cause, not just those who are well off. If Paul had imposed a specific amount, such as ten shekels, for these gifts it would have been unfair to those who were less wealthy. What principle does Paul affirm that guarantees fairness?
   
   
7. Paul does not mention tithing in these verses since this gift is intended for a special purpose, which hardly exhausts all the needs which were intended to be met through tithes (in the Old Testament roughly 2/3 of the tithe went to support the priests and Levites, and 1/3 went to the poor. Buildings, like the temple, were funded by freewill offerings which were over and above the tithe). Since the Bible nowhere requires that one's entire tithe (10% of net income) go to support a local church, presumably the Christians at Corinth were free to designate whatever part of their tithe seemed appropriate to address this special need. Why is it important for donors to have the freedom to decide how to apportion their gifts?
   
   
8. Since it will be some time before Paul arrives in Corinth and makes final arrangements for the transport of their total gift, why does Paul bother to insist that each believer set aside his or her contribution on a weekly basis? Isn't this just inefficient?
   
   
9. Why does Paul stipulate that these contributions be set aside specifically on the first day of the week? What is the significance of the first day of the week? [Hint: note that there is not a single reference to the second day of the week in the New Testament, nor to the third day, nor to the fourth day, etc. The "first day of the week," however, is mentioned in Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7. See also Revelation 1:10].
   
   
10. What was the effect of worshipping Christ on the generosity of Mary, in John 12, when she washed Jesus' feet? When you worship God and consider especially the benefits of Christ's death and resurrection, what are some of the ways God has blessed you which mean the most to you? How does your gratitude for these blessings affect your desire to give for the work of the Lord and especially for missions?

May the Lord use this meditation on His Holy Word to increase our love for Him and for each another, as we put it into practice with the Spirit's help.

Gordon