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