The Good Samaritan

• Most Christians know the story of the Good Samaritan. He shared his resources with a man who had been attacked by robbers and left for dead. The Samaritan had no reason to believe that the injured man would have the resources to repay his money, but he shared anyway.
  
  Bible study students explore how to share their resources without concern that they would be returned. Discuss how that might apply to someone very different from you, such as a person of a different race, religion or socioeconomic status. Encourage the group to choose a charity or organization and make a donation to it.
  
  

Room for the Prophet

• A wealthy woman shares her resources with Elisha in 2 Kings 4:8-37. She and her husband prepare a room for Elisha so he will have a place to sleep and eat when he visits Shunem. The couple willingly share what they have, seeking no return for their care of the prophet. Elisha repays their generosity by asking God to provide them with a son, whom he later restores to life after the boy dies.
  
  Bible study members discuss how God blesses those who freely share with those in ministry. The group could adopt a missionary or evangelist to support to put the lesson into action.
  
  

Early Church Communities

• Acts 4:32-37 tells how members of the early church held all things in common so that each person had enough. The church members brought all they had to the apostles, and they sold property so that no one in the community lacked for anything.
  
  Bible study members explore how the church might change if they adopted a similar policy. Members could start a clothes closet or a food pantry to help church members in need. The group can investigate how other resources could be shared.
  
  

Shared Harvest

• When Moses shares the law with the Hebrews, he tells them not to reap the harvest all the way to the edges of the field, so that the destitute and the stranger might find food. The law allowed the owner of the field to benefit from his labors and still provide for others he might not even meet.
  
  Bible study members might start a community garden that shares the labor required to produce food, and then share the resources with group members and the community.