Leader Guide

Objective
Students will be encouraged to be content with what they have and recognize how blessed they are regardless the circumstances.

Warm Up
That Enough? – For this game, you will need to make a “Wheel of Fortune” style wheel (it can be mini or digital.) Have a few volunteers come up and spin the wheel. Tell them that they can spin as many times as they want and keep their total score if they choose to stop accumulating points, but that if they land on a “Bankrupt” they lose everything and cannot spin again. Every now and then after a spin, ask, “Is that enough?” Have as many students spin that time allows. The student with the highest total is the winner.

Transition
Ask the students what kept them either spinning for more or what kept them from spinning the wheel again. Did outside pressure from the group influence their decisions? Say something like, “We like stuff. Think about that. We enjoy having stuff, and the more stuff we have, the happier we think we’ll be. Being content with what we have and recognizing just how blessed we are can be hard. You hear, “I’m so blessed”, “#Blessed”, etc. – but what does that really mean?

Have students fill out their “List ’Em” section on their Student Guide and discuss their answers.

The Video
Lecrae has teamed up with Ty Dolla $ign to deliver a video about being content with what you have and recognizing just how blessed you really are. Play the video.

Bible Study
Read the following verses, and go over the questions and answers in the students’ “Blessings” section of their guide.

Philippians 4:11-12; 1 Timothy 6:6-10

• In Philippians 4, Paul describes being content even when things may not seem great. Why is it hard for us to be content in hard times?
• According to 1 Timothy 6:6-10, what argument is made to be content?

Say something like, “There’s an old saying that goes, ‘more money, more problems.’ 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds me of that. I remember watching a TV special about how many lottery winners either go into debt, or are extremely depressed after the money runs out. Why do you think that is? When we fill our lives with stuff, we wrap our happiness in things rather than being content in Christ. Paul talks about being content no matter what the circumstance is.
In some translations, the phrase used in Philippians 4:11 is ‘abase and abound.’ The term ‘abased’ means to humble oneself. Lecrae talks about being humble in what he has when he states he bought a brand-new car with cash and how he’s not bragging, but that he knows it’s a blessing that he’s able to do that. Ty talks about buying a diamond necklace. These things are nice, and there’s nothing wrong with having them, but the focus is on understanding that the blessing is from God. In fact, the song goes from physical items as a blessing to even embracing the hard times as a blessing. The hook states, ‘every loss is a lesson.’ What a great perspective to have! The mentality of just waking up being a blessing, working hard to provide, and viewing all that you have being all you need is part of Paul’s description of being content.”

Hebrews 13:5; Luke 12:15; Luke 3:11

• Do you think people “Love” money in our society? Why or why not?
• Why do you think there is so much emphasis on being careful not to fall into greed?
• According to Luke 3:11, should blessings be shared?

Wrap Up
Say something like, “Look at the list you filled out earlier. What things did you list? Are they possessions? Are they people? Are they basic needs? Blessings can be anything; we just need to realize WHO has really provided them for us and be content with what we have. Having nice things isn’t bad, but we can’t equate happiness with the amount of possessions we own. No matter the situation, really think about just how blessed you really are, then see if you can share a blessing with others.” Have students fill out the “Content” section of their student handout, and then you conclude your time together in prayer.