Week 1
Stewardship versus Ownership - 2 September 2012
Let’s start with
the foundational principle: ownership.
The truth of
God’s ownership is so simple, yet so profound!
Read I Chronicles
29:11-13.
“Yours,
Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.
14 “But
who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously
as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from
your hand.”
Read Psalm 24:1.
“The earth is the LORD'S,
and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
Discuss: What
is ownership?
Some answers: It
is the right of control; it is the right to use……………………………..
Discuss: What
does it mean when you claim Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?
There are
hundreds of references to Jesus Christ as Lord!
Read 1
Corinthians1:9.
“God is faithful, by whom
ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Lord refers to
the one to whom a person or thing belongs; a lord has power of decision; He is
master.
Read Acts 4:24.
The Greek word
“Lord” in Acts 4:24 is despotes, a
term likened to “despot.” He is one who is in total control! When you say
“Lord” you are saying he is the one who has total control!
What is the
hardest area for us to let God have complete control?
Discuss: What
right does God have to claim ownership?
Some answers
might include: By right of creation, God has created you; by right of
redemption, God has redeemed you. He bought back a second time! Satan stole
mankind away. He held them in bondage. What did God do? He sent his Son to pay
the payment—the death penalty. Read I Corinthians 6:19,20 and Romans 10:13.
Why does God
expect us to make Him Lord?
Discuss: What
should be your response to God’s ownership?
Some answers
might include: Trust, eg Proverbs 3:5,6; Obedience; Stewardship
Concluding
discussion
What is
ownership?
What does “Lord”
mean?
What is the
hardest area in which to allow God complete control?
What does
stewardship mean?
What is the
relationship between ownership and stewardship?
