Groups Discussion Guide

Read Scripture. Go Deeper. Ask Questions. Take Action.

Pastor Justin Jenkins

The Problem with a Promise

Scripture

3 John 2 (NIV)

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

Main Idea

Prosperity is a Bible word, named nearly ninety times and always tied to the blessing of God, yet it has been distorted until many of us flinch at it. God's heart is not just more money but a whole life that flourishes, starting in the soul and touching every part of us. Understanding what God actually promises means seeing three things clearly:

  • The Problem: prosperity has been distorted, materialized into nothing but money or spiritualized into nothing practical, when Scripture keeps it holistic.
  • The Promise: from Deuteronomy to the New Testament, God consistently promises to bless and prosper those who obey His Word.
  • The Purpose: God enriches us not so we can have more but so we can give more and be a blessing to others.

You can have a lot and not be fulfilled, and you can have a little and still live a rich life.

Discussion Questions

  1. Reading 3 John 2, be honest like the opening poll asked: does the idea of prosperity encourage you or make you uncomfortable, and why do you think that is?
  2. Scripture warns against two ditches, making prosperity all about money or making it purely spiritual with no practical expression. Which ditch are you more likely to fall into, and what would a holistic view change?
  3. Pastor Justin said biblical prosperity was never meant to terminate on you but to go through you. Where is God inviting you to be a blessing to someone else right now?
  4. Deuteronomy 28 and Joshua 1 tie God's blessing to obedience and meditating on His Word. What practice could you begin this week to pay closer attention to what God says?

Summary

Prosperity has become a word many believers avoid, not because the word itself is wrong but because of everything culture has attached to it. The word is biblical, appearing nearly ninety times, and every time it is connected to the blessing of God. The trouble comes when prosperity is perverted in one of two directions: materialized until it means nothing but money, or spiritualized until it means nothing practical at all. Scripture refuses both ditches and keeps it holistic, because real prosperity starts in the soul and then touches our minds, relationships, health, and work. From Deuteronomy 28 to Joshua 1 to 2 Corinthians 9, God consistently promises to bless His people, often on the condition that they obey and meditate on His Word.

The purpose of that blessing is the part most of us miss. God enriches us in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion, which means prosperity was never meant to terminate on us but to flow through us to others. A generous church that gave seven thousand dollars when its monthly budget was two thousand, and nearly two hundred thousand dollars beyond its walls last year, shows what that purpose looks like in practice. Poverty is not God's heart for anyone, and the lie that we should avoid His promise hands the enemy a win. The invitation this week is to let your soul prosper first, to obey what God says, and to keep moving toward the fuller life He has for you.

Take Action

  • Each morning this week, meditate slowly on Joshua 1:8, asking God which single command He is pointing you to obey that day.
  • Pick one person you know who is struggling, and give generously or quietly meet a need they have this week, expecting nothing back.
  • Write out one honest paragraph naming where greed, fear, or never-enough thinking lives in your heart, then hand each line to God in prayer.

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