Lesson#11-Honesty

In Acts - in the early church what did the rich people do with those who owned houses and fields.

• Bought bigger houses

• Gave it to the church

What did Ananias do with the money he got from selling his fields?

• Told the church he gave all the money - but actually kept some aside for the family.

• Told the church he gave only some of the proceeds from selling his feilds.

• Didn't give any money to church - he decided to buy a bigger house

When questioned by Peter - did Sapphira tell the truth or stick to the "agreed upon lie" that Ananias and Sapphira had concocted.

• Told the truth

• Told a lie

What happened to Ananias and Sapphira when they lied about the amount of money that was given to the Church.

• They lost all their money

• In disgrace they left the church

• They died

Dishonesty can destroy marriages, families, churches, relationships and our witness to others as Christians.

If the above statement is true - who gets hurt by being dishonest?

• It hurts us

• It hurts others

• It hurts God

Ananias and Sapphira’s gave money to the church. The problem here is not that they didn't give the full amount; the problem is they decided to lie.

What should we be careful not to ...

• Justify our own actions

• Use giving as a mechanism of elevating yourself

• Allow ourselves to be greedy for money

What do learn about God in this story about Ananias and Sapphira?

• God sees everything, even what we keep in secret

• God needed the money for the church

• God wanted Ananias/Sapphira to die

In the story we see Sapphira keeping to original "agreed upon lie" - resulting in her death along side Ananias.

We learn from this ...

• When are lies start to unravel - we should cling to the truth and not the lies we have would.

• We have choice to either turn away from God or turn to God in repentance

• Ananias/ Sapphira should never have given money to the church.

The death of Ananias and Sapphira seems like very severe punishment.

Why did God allow this death to happen?

• Put guardrails on the believers in the church regarding what their faith meant - it wasn't just a Sunday activity.

• Because God is cruel

• It’s a lesson for us - it’s time for us to take notice

• Because God needed the money