Over The Top Week 1- Time
Notes
Transcript
WHAT? What are we talking about today?
Welcome to Over the Top, a series about the big and small ways we can be over the top with our generosity. Usually, we think generosity is about giving money away, but it is so much more than that.
VIDEO | A Clip of Mr. Beast (Would YOU Rather Have a Lamborghini or This House?)
If giving stuff away was a competitive sport to see who could be the most generous, YouTuber Mr. Beast would be at the top of the game. To see Mr. Beast in action, check out this video:
INSTRUCTIONS: Mr Beast Video
I don't know about you, but I'm inspired by watching videos like this! Sure, I'd love to get a free house. But watching someone be so "over the top" with their generosity inspires me to want to do something great for others too.
QUESTION | "How would you define generosity?"
Videos like this give us an extreme view of how much people could give away. And even though I am inspired, these giveaways are so huge that it is hard for me to think about what it means for regular people to be generous. So, let me ask a few questions to help us think about that.
INSTRUCTIONS: Ask the following question and allow a few students to respond. Make sure to affirm standard definitions for "generosity," including finances, not being selfish, giving out of abundance, etc. But then also try to highlight some of the ones that start alluding to generosity being more than finances.
How would you define generosity? If we don't have the resources to get someone a new house, what other ways can we be generous? We believe the Mr Beast way isn't the only way to be generous, and with God's help, we can find more ways to be generous.
SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?
VIDEO | A Clip from What if He Falls? The Terrifying Reality Behind Filming "Free Solo"
To start thinking about generosity differently, we need to move from the world of YouTube stars to rock climbing. In June of 2017, a rock climber named Alex Honnold, once considered the best climber in the world, attempted to climb "El Capitan," a 3200-foot rock face in Yosemite National Park, California — without ropes. They captured this climb in a documentary called "Free Solo." In the rock climbing world, "Free Solo" is what climbers call scaling a rock face without the support of equipment. That means he climbed 3,200 feet (2/3 a mile) straight up without a rope! And even though Alex climbs "El Capitan" on his own, it was not a solo effort. Watch this video of him talking about how he prepared for his climb.
INSTRUCTIONS: As a teaching tool, play a short clip (3:01 – 4:05) from "What if He Falls? The Terrifying Reality Behind Filming' Free Solo'", where some of the film crew of the film "Free Solo" talk about what it was like to film their friend climbing one of the largest rock walls in the world without a rope.
Alex's friends had to figure out how they would film him doing this challenging and dangerous climb in a way that ensured he was both comfortable and told his story. A team of people was committed to Alex and his goal of doing the climb, and they were willing to give their time to make this happen. Alex tells a story about preparing for the climb, where a friend spent multiple weekends helping Alex take loose rocks that could get in his way on the climb by putting them in a backpack and carrying them down the rock face. This friend helped pave the way for one of history's wildest, over-the-top extreme stunts, and it required no money. He simply gave his time and expertise. Think about the amount of time, energy, and, not to mention, safety all of these people gave to help Alex. But also think of his friends' assurance by simply being there with him as he climbed. Were these friends acting generously? If I were Alex Honnold, I would say they were.
VIDEO | An Extreme Reading of 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8
Note: have a volunteer or student read the passage of Scripture every week in full extreme sports safety gear for whatever sport we are highlighting that week. We suggest giving them a fun name like "Extreme Eric/Erica: Safety Expert" and having them re-occur weekly. Since we are looking at rock climbing this week, they should look like this. Use this video in place of the Scripture reading instructions below.
SCRIPTURE | 1 Thessalonians 2:1–6
God has a more extensive definition of generosity than finances, and a letter in the New Testament written by one of the founders of the early church can help us begin to see what this looks like. Paul wrote to a community in the ancient city of Thessalonica, which was located in what is now the northeastern side of Greece. The Roman Empire ruled this city, and its Christians faced immense social and cultural pressure from the Romans. The pressure was mounting from city officials who wanted them to stop inviting others to be part of a community centered on Jesus. Even though the Christians had resisted up to this point, they were getting tempted to abandon their faith and stop living generously as Jesus showed them. So listen to what Paul writes to encourage this community: INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1–6
You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
We face immense social and cultural pressure to be influential in real life and online. Usually, I look at how people being generous with giveaways on social media get noticed, but Paul helps me see that our generosity has one audience — God. He believed that God wanted to build a community that would exemplify generosity, love, and compassion. It can be easy for us to forget how we can give of ourselves to the people right in front of us. In the Early Church, "over the top" generosity wasn't about giving away free cars for more views. It was about sharing their lives in small, meaningful ways. Over time, all those small moments added up to an extreme impact.
SCRIPTURE | 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8
Creating a community like this takes time. In the face of massive amounts of adversity, overcoming it would require generous contributions from everyone involved. As much as Paul and Silas would have loved for it to be a quick, smooth process, it wasn't. They faced huge social and cultural pressures. It wasn't easy back then, and it's not easy today. It would have been like climbing a 3000-foot rock face without any climbing gear. But, it is possible when we listen and allow God to direct our generosity. That is why Paul wanted them to know how they could do this. And it didn't involve the giving away of Lambo's or houses.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 Thessalonians 2:7–8
Instead, we were like young children among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
*Title Slide*
If Paul defined generosity only regarding finances, this would be an incredible place to encourage the Thessalonians to give more money or gifts to the cause. And we know from other passages of Scripture that both Paul and Silas gave every material resource to their mission. They could have highlighted that to help the Thessalonians overcome this resistance, but they didn't. They pointed to something else. As he was helping this community understand how to overcome adversity and continue following Jesus, Paul says that he gave this community his time. This allows us to see that the good hard work of following Jesus is giving our time to others so they, too, can experience who Jesus is.
Paul and Silas shared their life. They shared their "own selves" and their presence with their community of friends. It didn't matter if those friends followed Jesus or not. The sharing of their time together would help usher them in that direction.
OBJECT LESSON | The Gift Of Time
Paul is giving us insight into how God works in the world. It’s important to be generous with our finances, but there are many other ways to be generous.
INSTRUCTIONS: For this object lesson, you will need a wall clock like this one, and as you teach, draw attention to the clock.
Generosity is so much bigger than finances! We can be generous with our time. We have 24 hours in a day. We can show generosity to others by giving some of our time to them. In this passage, Paul uses a specific analogy to help the Thessalonians remember how much he cared for them and helped them experience Jesus.
He compares it to how nurses would take care of their kids. A nurse wouldn't just sprinkle a little generosity on their child. They would show up big by being present and giving their child all the time they needed to ensure they knew they were loved and cared for.
SCRIPTURE | Ephesians 2:4–10
Paul and Silas didn't come up with the idea of generously giving their time, energy, love, and care to their community. They experienced it first from Jesus. Paul reflects on where he learned this from when he wrote another letter to the Early Church.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read Ephesians 2:4–10
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God shows "immeasurable riches" of love not in material possessions or financial resources, but in the person of Jesus. A person who we can have a friendship with because of God's grace. This is the way Jesus encountered Paul. God generously gave Paul the gift of time and friendship as he prayed and grew in his faith journey. And now, Paul is offering his friendship to this community, trying to follow Jesus. Despite the difficulty, God invites us to be generous with our friends, families, and each other by giving our presence and time. Jesus was generous with his time. Paul was generous with his time. This shows us that as we grow in our relationship with God, we can develop the habit of generosity in our everyday interactions. Scripture shows us that you can:
be generous with your time.
be generous with your time.
NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?
STORY | The Gift Of Time
INSTRUCTIONS: Tell about a time when you spent time caring for someone or someone who cared for you. Since Paul draws from a parenting metaphor, stories about being a parent or caregiver or receiving care from a parent or caregiver would work well. Be sure to highlight the TIME aspect of this relationship. You could also have a student or volunteer share.
About 15 years ago I tore everything up in my right knee playing basketball.
I had my acl replaced, both meniscus repaired, and the doc drilled tiny holes in my leg so that that my leg lining could grow back (microfracture).
The tiny holes meant that I couldn’t put weight on my leg for SIX weeks.
I had my own house at the time, but I moved back into my parent’s bonus room during my recovery.
Which meant pizza rolls and Playstation all day long.
I remember Mom taking care of me so well.
She was the best at that.
And Kayla ( my fiance at the time) would come from an hour away to help take care of me on the weekends as well ( she stayed on the other side of the house.)
I’ll never forget my first Wednesday back preaching at youth group.
Our youth room was upstairs like this one, and I went up those steps in my crutches and didn’t think much about it.
When Kayla found out she was like “Nope, those kids can meet with you downstairs on Wednesdays.”
So that’s what we did until I was off the crutches...
My mom and Kayla took time out of their busy schedules to take care of me.
Because they loved me, and that’s what people do when they love you.
Neither one of them had a lot of money to give, but they gave their time, which honestly means more to me.
We can see how impactful it is when someone gives us their time, and we can all do this for each other. Here's how:
BE HONEST:
To be generous with our time, we must understand where our time goes. Being honest with how we spend our time and taking stock of where we spend it allows us to see where we may have time to give.
BE SACRIFICIAL:
Many of us feel our schedules are full, and there is little time to focus on others. That's why being generous with our time is such a big deal. When we show up for those around us, we give up doing other things. Being generous with our time means giving something to someone we will never get back. This is why it can feel challenging, but also why it's so impactful.
BE INTENTIONAL:
It would be easy to use your time in the ways you're used to. If you want to change, you will need to make a plan to do something differently, intentionally. Maybe you plan to pray for someone, make them a meal, or go to their play. Whatever it is, look at your schedule, pick a time and place, and do it!
*Title Slide*
REFLECTION | Where Does My Time Go?
It takes intentionality to get beyond the idea of generosity having to do with money and to start giving other things away, like our time. So, we want to spend some time planning to be generous.
INSTRUCTIONS: Print the handout included in this week's materials and pens for this reflection. There are two clocks on the sheet, give space students space to respond to both.
Have them write their name above the first clock.
Encourage students to mark out the times on the clock and label them with what their typical day looks like. Guide the students through the three questions that will help them see where they spend most of their time and find spaces where they could give it to others.
Under the second heading, "How I can be Generous With My Time." Have students think about how they can be generous with their time, and have them write these things inside the second circle when they want to do them.
RESPONSE | Over The Top Challenge
INSTRUCTIONS: If you haven’t already, this is a great time to start talking about the Over the Top Challenge, the fall discipleship event. The instructions and files can be found in the Fall Discipleship section of your curriculum dashboard. It's important to be generous in all areas of our lives. That is why we want to help you start thinking about ways to be generous in places outside of the church. This week, start figuring out how to...
be generous with your time
be generous with your time
...in every place God leads you.