Generosity
Who gives the greatest gifts at Christmas?
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Who gives the greatest gifts at Christmas?
Discovering God is a new resource offering practical ideas for informal services and events where the focus is on creating community and a sense of belonging, demonstrating that the church is available to all.
Underpinning the materials is an intention to gather together and with God, sharing experiences and stories, and learning together. Find out more.
Here’s a way to introduce the theme in the context of our everyday lives.
Before you end, come together to revisit the theme of giving and to pray. You will need: copies of the box template, printed on card; scissors, pens, glue.
We may not feel like we have the greatest gift,
we may not feel like we receive the greatest gifts.
Help us to remember God’s gifts:
in Jesus and in ourselves. Amen
You could keep the theme and exploration of generosity going, by sending out a follow-up activity each week:
Find a way to be generous with your time, e.g. support a friend who is going through a tough time, help with chores around the house, do somebody’s shopping.
Watch ‘Kindness Boomerang’ and think about how an act of generosity could spark further acts of generosity which ‘pass on’ to others.
Thinking about the shepherds in the Christmas story, is there someone you know who needs to be included but often gets left out? How could you involve them or invite them to be part of something?
The shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep. Suddenly an angel appears. The angel tells the shepherds not to be afraid, there is good news for everybody; the Saviour of the world has been born. Before the shepherds can process this astonishing news, more angels appear and start singing and praising God. The shepherds aren’t told to go to Bethlehem, but as soon as the angels leave, they rush to greet Jesus in the stable.
You will need a large sheet of paper with a series of emoji faces on it: astonished, screaming in fear, happy, sad, laughing, thinking.
Shepherds were not important in Jesus’ day. The sheep that they were protecting were more important than they were! Yet this bunch of nobodies in a field were the first to hear about God’s greatest gift to the world. This act of generosity from God demonstrates that all are included and offered God’s gifts.
God’s generosity in sending his Son at Christmas is explored in another part of the Bible; John 3.16, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him will receive eternal life.’ This verse has two great ideas for us to think about when we consider generosity:
Finally, if we are trying to be generous in the way that God is, we might consider what we can give to others, with our time, talents and resources, but not just to ‘others’ that we like; the challenge is to be generous to all.
God’s greatest gift was revealed to everyday people as a light in the darkness. How might you be able to bring light to someone this Christmas, perhaps someone who feels unworthy or left out?
Choose from these activities to help people explore the theme. We don’t include timings or age-differentiation, this is designed for all ages engaging together. Use the spiritual styles indicated by the coloured letters to help you plan, and cater for the different ways in which people connect with God. Spiritual styles (as defined by Dave Csinos) key: Word, Emotion, Symbol, Action. Find out more in Worship and learning support.
Watch the animation, Mr Indifferent. Discuss ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Plan a campaign based on the video, to encourage everyone to reach out to their neighbours.
Make a plan for something you could do for someone or a group of people: How could you be generous? For example, there might be someone on your street who you could buy a treat for; a local charity might be doing collections for children’s toys and clothes to be sent as presents; the staff at a local care home could do with a treat; or plan a Christmas event for local NHS staff or teachers at a school, It doesn’t need to be a big thing, just something that tells those you are giving to that they are appreciated!
Encourage everyone to imagine the scene in Bethlehem: Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the stable. Ask each person to draw a simple sketch of those characters and the crib. Now consider the shepherds together: they were outsiders in society, but God invited them to be part of the Christmas story. Ask: Who in our community might be on the outside, forgotten, left out, not thought well of? Invite everyone to draw or write their ideas into the picture and think about how you could include those people in your own plans for Christmas – as a group or as individuals.
Make the space you are in as dark as possible, i.e. turn lights off, close curtains. Now, strike a match or light a candle; even just a small tealight enables you to see. Discuss how we might think our acts of generosity are not much, but a small kind thing can light up the lives of those around us. Take a moment to remember that; also, take a moment to be thankful for those who have lit up your world with their generosity and kindness. Invite people to share their thoughts and prayers if they wish.
Do we think before we speak? Are we always generous with the words we say? Encourage everyone to write down the word ‘Think’ with space to write words alongside each letter, then to write next to the letters: T – true; h – helpful; i – inspiring; n – necessary; k – kind. If we approached what we say in this way, how would that change the way we speak with others? This might be a simple way of offering a generous gift, particularly at a busy time during preparations for Christmas when tensions can often be high.