Sacrifice Rewards

Start Up

This week, Jeff talked about sacrifice and how it is never easy. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be called a sacrifice. But there is a positive shadow side to sacrifice—there is a reward waiting for us on the other side.

• Sacrifice can be a loaded word. It can make you think of time given up for a cause, a lost opportunity for someone close to you, or even a sac-fly in baseball. When you hear the word sacrifice, what comes to mind?

• This week, we watched a fun video about delayed gratification. Can you name a time when you delayed gratification and it paid off? Or a time you didn’t and you wished you had?

• Jeff shared that 4,305 Christians were killed and 1,847 churches were attacked last year. Was that surprising to you? Why or why not?

Discuss Together

Read Matthew 6:1-6.

• What did you find surprising or interesting from this passage?

• Have you ever thought of prayer as a sacrifice? Why or why not?

• How are fasting and prayer similar in this passage?

• Jeff asked the question, “Is it wrong to be public about our giving to the poor, our praying, or our fasting?” What do you think?

Read Matthew 5:16.

• How can we be faithful to let our lights shine while also not publicly showing off our faith? How do you manage this in your life? On social media?

• What kind of sacrificing is Jesus asking us to consider?

• The last part of verse 21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” How have you seen that play out in your life?

• Jeff talked about the shadow side of sacrifice, which is that we will be rewarded for our sacrifice. How does this change your perspective when it comes to sacrificing for the good of others?

• Randy Alcorn describes two ways to live: for the dot or for the line. In what ways are you living for the dot? In what ways are you living for the line? Share with the group. (The dot represents the present-day, and the line represents eternity.)