Leader Guide 6-1-08 / Luke 16:1-13

Small Group Leaders Guide
June 1, 2008

I Just Can’t Get Enough
Luke 16:1-13

Getting Started:
1. What comes to mind when you think of the word, shrewd?


Going Deeper:
2. In Luke 16:1, the manager is accused of wasting the master’s possessions. What form do you think this “wasting” took? Do you think there is any similarity to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30? Define the verb, waste.

3. In verse 8, the manager is called dishonest. In what way was he dishonest? In wasting his master’s possessions? In the application of his shrewdness? In some other way?

4. The manager was commended by the master in verse 8. What was he commended for? Why is this a commendable act?

5. What do you think Jesus means when He says, “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves?” Could you give an example of something you could do to put that statement into practice?

6. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to know in what ways is it okay to spend money on fun stuff and at what point it might be considered wasting money?

7. There are several comparisons in this passage:

Trusted with little & Trusted with much (v 10)
Dishonest with little & Dishonest with much (v 10)
Worldly wealth & True Riches (v 11)
Someone else’s property & Property of your own (v12)
Welcomed into houses & Welcomed into eternal dwellings (vv 4&9)
Hate the one & Love the other (v 13)
Be devoted to the one & Despise the other (v 13)

What stands out to you most from these comparisons?


8. In Luke 16:13 there is a warning about serving two masters. You can’t serve both God and money. All of us work for money, but how can a person tell when they are beginning to “serve” money?

9. In Luke 16:13, the language is very extreme; love one, hate the other, be devoted to the one, despise the other. Why do you think Jesus is taking such an all or nothing approach to God and money?


Putting it into practice:
10. In what way do you struggle with the right use of money and possessions? Pray about this in your groups.


Quote Of The Week
Covetousness is simply craving more of what you have enough of already.
--Haddon Robinson

Leader Guide 5-25-08 / Luke 21:1-4

Small Group Leaders Guide
May 25, 2008

When It Comes To Giving….
Luke 21:1-4
Mark 12:41-44

Getting Started:
1. What do you consider before making a financial gift? Do you have a goal for you giving?


Going Deeper:
2. Read 2Corinthians 8:1-5. Why do you think Paul uses the word, “grace” in verse 1? What is grace?

• Grace is often defined as “unmerited favor.”
• It is something you can't earn and don’t deserve.

3. What does it mean in verse 5 that the people “gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will?”

4. Read Mark 12:41-44. What is the difference between giving “out of their wealth” and “out of her poverty?”

5. How does the widow demonstrate the principle of sacrificial giving? What did that mean for her? What would sacrificial giving mean for you?

6. Often, the term, “tithes and offerings” is used to define giving categories. What is the meaning of the word, “tithe?” What is the difference between tithes and offerings? Do you separate your giving into these two categories?

7. Imagine Jesus handing you the offering bag at the end of a Sunday morning church service. Would you do anything different regarding your giving at that moment? Read Matthew 25:31-40. How does this passage change your perspective about your giving?

8. Often when people hear the word “giving,” they think of money. Why do you think that is? What is harder to give, money or time? Which represents more of a sacrifice for you personally?

9. What would you say to someone who says they have the desire in their heart to give but have nothing to offer?

10. How do you define generosity? If two people gave amounts of 50.00 and 500.00 respectively, which gift would you say is more generous? Why?


Putting it into practice:
11. What is it that you want your giving to accomplish in God’s kingdom? In you? Pray about that in your groups


Quote Of The Week:
If your offering means nothing to you, why would you expect it to mean anything to God?
--Unknown

Leader Guide 5-18-08 / Luke 18:18-24

Small Group Leaders Guide
May 18, 2008

I Just Can’t Give It Up

Luke 18:18-24

Getting Started:
1. If you saw Jesus walking around teaching the crowds, would you approach Him? What questions would you ask Him?

Going Deeper:
2. This story begins with a man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Since it is clear later on that he believes he has kept God’s commandments, why do you think he asked this question?

• Maybe, by calling the teacher good, and thinking that he himself is also good, this was a way to identify with the teacher and become a comrade of sorts. You could imagine his despair in finding out how much he wasn’t like his teacher.
• Maybe, while he realized that he had kept the commandments, he still had the sense that he was missing or lacking something but just couldn’t put his finger on it.

3. Read verse 22- The man’s original question is “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” If most of us were asked that question our answer would be something about repenting of sins and believing in Christ. Not “sell all you have…” Why does Jesus give this answer in this instance?

4. In Luke 18:23, why is the man sad?

• It appears that when he found out what it would cost to inherit eternal life, he realized that he wasn’t willing to pay the price.
• He discovered that his wealth was his god.

5. In Luke 18:22, Jesus said to the man, “You still lack one thing.” What do you think the one thing was? What makes you think so?

• A relationship with Christ? (“come follow me”)
• Spiritual treasure? (“give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven”)
• A commitment to the first commandment? (The man had kept commandments 5 through 9 since he was a boy and when asked to sell everything, he went away sad.)
• A correct understanding about what it takes to get to heaven?
• A correct understanding about what might keep him out of heaven?
• All of the above?

6. In Luke 18:19, Jesus asked the man, “Why do you call me good?” Why do you think Jesus asks this question?

7. In Luke 18:20, Jesus tells the man, “you know the commandments.” Why does Jesus point the man to the commandments as a response to the question posed?

8. Read verse 24. Why is it “hard” for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Can you think of verses that talk about reasons wealth presents unusual spiritual challenges? If it’s hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Is the opposite true, is it “easy” for poor people to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

9. Does this story mean that everyone who comes to Christ has to give up everything they have? If you say “no” how do you reconcile a “no” with Luke 14:33 and even the disciples own response in verse 28?

10. Read verse 29-30, and then compare it to Mark 10:30 Both verses promise a reward in this age and also the age to come. What does it mean to receive “many times” as much in this age? In Mark 10:30, it’s even more specific, it says “a hundred times”. What is Jesus promising? What do we get on this side of eternity?


Putting it into practice:
11. Is there something you need to give up in order to go up in your relationship with Christ? Pray about that in your groups.


Quote Of The Week:
Wealth takes away the sharp edges of our moral sensitivities and allows a comfortable confusion about sin and virtue.
--Henri Nouwen

Leader Guide week of 5-11-08

Small Group Leaders Guide
May 11, 2008

I Just Can’t Get Enough
Philippians 4:11-13
1Timothy 6:6-10

Getting Started:
1. If your income increased by 25%, what about your life would change?


Going Deeper:
2. In 1Timothy 6:10, we’re warned about the love of money. How can a person know when his/her desire for more money has crossed the line to become the love of money?

3. In the same verse, the word, “wandered” is used. Describe what it means to “wander” from the faith. Do you think it is a gradual process? How can you guard against a potentially imperceptible departure from the faith?

4. Read Philippians 4:12. In your life, have you found times of being in need pushing you closer to God or further from God? In what way?

5. Read Philippians 4:11. As you look at your life right now, would you say that you are content in your circumstances? If not, what are you doing about it? If so, what practical suggestions would you give to others seeking that same contentment?

6. In “The Lord’s Prayer,” is a prayer for “our daily bread.” What does that mean? Is God already giving you more than your “daily bread?” If so, what do you do with the overage?

7. If you represented all of your income and expenditures (even the little ones) in a pie chart, do you think you would be surprised at the relative sizes of some of the slices? If so, which ones? Which slice would be the biggest? The second biggest? The third?

8. Read 1Timothy 6:9. Has a desire for more money ever caused you to experience that verse first-hand? What foolish or harmful desire would you want to warn someone of if you had the chance?

Putting it into practice:
9. If anything was able to tempt you to begin making money an inappropriate priority, what would that be? Pray about that in your groups.


Quote Of The Week:
Jesus talked much about money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2000 verses on money and possessions.
--Howard L. Dayton, Jr.

Leader Guide 5-4-08 / Luke 15:11-24

Small Group Leaders Guide
May 4, 2008

How To Save A Life
Luke 15:11-24

Getting Started:
1. Have you ever saved a life? In what way? Do you think you may have, but are not sure? Describe that time.

• About 8 years ago, I was at Promenade Park for a New Life event. I was sitting in my car while my son, Andrew, was playing flag football with some of the youth. I saw a little girl that was probably about two years old, walk across the street and begin walking down the sidewalk. I thought it was weird that she was alone. I went to her and carried her back to the park where I ran into her dad. He had been searching for her but couldn’t find her. I don’t know if I saved her life, but I might have…

2. When was the last time you ran to your son (or daughter, dad, mom, small group leader) and threw your arms around him and kissed him?


Going Deeper:
3. In Luke 15:11-13, we can see that this person took what the father had given him but didn’t use it well. How is this descriptive of the way a person may be living before coming to Christ?

4. In verse 17, what does it mean that the man “came to his senses?” Why would anyone think he had ever “lost his senses?”

• Wanting to eat pig food may be the first sign that you have lost your senses.
• I find it interesting that during a famine, instead of eating pigs, they were feeding pigs. No one would give him anything, but there he was giving pods to pigs!
• It seems he realized the position he is in. If the famine (v. 14) continues and no one will give him anything (v. 16), he’s going to die.

5. In verse 17, we read that the father’s men “have food to spare,” but the son is “starving to death.” Why is this an important realization for the son?

• At a minimum, he recognizes that he is not one of the “father’s hired men.”
• He has now noticed that he is in need and that his father can satisfy that need.

6. Coming back to God after feeling like you have really let Him down can be difficult. What do you see happening to the son in the first nine verses of this parable that illustrate what it can be like for you or someone you know to come back to God?

7. Read Luke 15:20. Is it an important point that the father saw the son and ran to him, even while he was a long way off? Why do you think so?

• Check out the following passages.
• Romans 5:6-8
• Romans 4:9-10
• 1Peter 3:18

8. Read Luke 15:18-20. In verse 20, we see the word, “but.” Why is that word important?

• Scroll down to see the blog post on this question.

9. In this parable, the son sums up his own actions by saying that he has sinned against heaven and against his father. Doesn’t it seem more appropriate to punish the son for the bad things that he’s done rather than celebrate? Is that what happens? In what way is punishment involved when a person comes to Christ now?

• Scroll down to see the blog post on this question.

Putting it into practice:
10. How can you use this parable to help someone you know, meet Christ?
11. Pray in your groups for your friends and family that need the forgiveness that is only available through Jesus Christ.

Thoughts on Question 9 / Luke 15

When God forgives our sins, what happens to them? (the sins that is)
Are they forgotten? Is it like they never happened?

Yes and no.
It’s easy to think that when we get forgiven, our sins go unpunished.
But this just isn’t true.
For God to be just, He must punish sin.
In fact, it would be hard to define a word like “justice” if sin could simply be forgiven and forgotten.

Since sin must be punished, you’re in a pretty tough predicament. You’re only hope is a divine pardon and a substitute who doesn’t have his own punishment to undergo, to take your punishment upon himself.
That’s where Jesus comes in. That’s what the cross is all about. Jesus paid the price for your sins. He was punished for your transgressions. God’s perfect justice is accomplished.
So, in one sense, the answer is yes, when God forgives your sins, it is like you never committed them. It’s as if, for you, they never happened.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2Corinthians 5:21

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Hebrews 9:22

Question 8 / Luke 15:20

Bible “buts” are big, and when doing Bible study, you must watch for them.

Here’s why:
In the Bible, the word, “but” introduces the idea of contrast. When you see a “but,” you should stop and take notice of it. Look closely at what comes before and after it. You will almost always find two contrasting ideas, word pictures, points, statements, etc.

Q: What’s the difference between contrasting and comparing?
A: When you compare two things, you look for similarities. When you contrast two things, you look for differences.

Take a look at Luke 15:20.
What difference are you being alerted to in this passage by the word, but?
Before the but, the son sets out to go to his father. After the but, the father runs to the son while still a long way off. See the difference?
The son was going back to his father, but he never made it. His father beat him to it. When it comes to salvation, there is nothing we can do to get close to God unless He takes the initiative and meets us where we are. If God doesn’t meet us where we are, we will never meet.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8