More Than Enough

Connect Groups

More Than Enough

Matthew 6:25-34

This week 2 themes emerge from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  One of those themes is not worrying about material possessions.  The second comes from Matthew 6:34, the last verse of our Scripture lesson for Sunday: “Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” 

The following resources might be helpful, depending on your group.  One is a song that I was reminded of by the band Big Tent Revival from 1996 about money not buying happiness.  The second is an article from The Atlantic about the constant anxiety people feel in our current world.  Feel free to share one, both, or none of these things with your group before you meet, depending on the makeup of your group:

Big Tent Revival: Two Sets of Jones’  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQE5PNRLZ40

Article: “Constant Anxiety Won’t Save the World” https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/08/constant-anxiety-wont-save-the-world/537132/

Hang Out and Connect (10-20 min)

As your group connects with one another, ask this question once everyone is settled in:

Do you find that your anxiety or worry is higher now than it has been at other times in your life?

What is causing that worry?

            -Remind one another that this is a safe space.  Also, try to help de-escalate concerns

            from simply being political ones if that comes up.

If it helps, share this quotation from the article “Constant Anxiety Won’t Save the World”:

“Part of the problem is that people feel that they should be worried—that worrying is a   good and productive thing to do. And then they log in to Twitter or Facebook, and see      their friends and others they admire reinforcing that message: Yes, you should be      worried. And if you’re not, what’s wrong with you?”

Prayer and Accountability (20-30 min)

Share with one another and pray together.  Hopefully your group is continuing to get more comfortable with one another and is sharing honestly together. 

Passion: Where did I see God today?

Accepting: How am I building diverse relationships?

Invitational: Who am I connecting with God’s family?

Trusting: Where does God rank?

Active: How am I engaged with God’s work?

Bible Study and Discussion (20-30 min)

Discuss this question: When has it been difficult to not live into the “Keeping up with the Jones’” in your life and experience?

Read Matthew 6:25-34 as a group and share your connections and reactions to Jesus’ words. 

Reflecting on this passage, you may want to read this quote from “Constant Anxiety Won’t Save the World”:

For people looking to protect their own mental health and not get so overwhelmed that they disengage from the issues they care about, Woodruff advises “differentiating worry and anxiety from positive action, and separating productive worry from unproductive worry.”

Ultimately, your personal anxiety has no effect on the world around you. Worry is not action, and knowledge, while important, is not action either. Randall cautions against getting caught up in following every minute detail of an issue.

“Whatever the issue is, once you’ve found out about it, stop,” she says. “That’s enough. You know about it. Then you need to decide what you’re going to do.” As an activist she interviewed once told her, she said, “‘Action is the antidote to despair.’”

            -Share reactions to that quote and people’s experiences. 

As you close together, consider ways that you as individuals or as a group can help one another worry less and trust God more.