Luke 12 | Small Group Questions

For the month of November we’re going to talk about Absurd Generosity from the gospel of Luke. This isn’t the only place Jesus talked about money in the Bible. Jesus talked about money a lot in the Gospels. Of His thirty-eight parables, about half of them deal with money and possessions. Jesus frequently used money as a way to grab people’s attention for a deeper issue. In the Gospels, one in every ten verses deal with money. Why so much talk about money? Because our attitude to money reveals a lot about us. For this series I will write some of the small group questions that go along with each sermon. It seemed like a waste to leave them in a file on my computer and not share them with everyone.

Small Group Questions | The Game of Monopoly | Luke 12

The month of November tends to spark a heart of generosity in people. November is a month to be thankful for all we have. We begin to think about Thanksgiving, inviting family and friends to the house, and later in the month we will start thinking about Christmas plans. For the month of November we’re going to talk about Absurd Generosity from the gospel of Luke. Our passage in Luke 12 is not a parable about Monopoly; it's a parable about greed. In this parable Jesus exposes the tendency we all have to fall into greed and away from generous living. Jesus makes a compelling case for how destructive the love of money can be in our lives. He exposes the pull that greed has on our lives and teaches us how to live in the exact opposite of greed.

1) The point of the game of Monopoly is to buy property, improve that property, gain wealth, and have the money financial resources at the end of the game. How many of you love the game of Monopoly but have treated life with the same rules? 

2) We talked about four areas Christians are confused on money: Money is evil, I have to tithe, More Money = God’s Blessing, and It’s mine. What one of these four areas do you struggle with the most and why? 

3) Read Luke 12:13-15. In this interaction we see the heart of a greedy man exposed before Jesus. Read Deuteronomy 21:15–17, Numbers 27:1–11, and Psalm 133:1. Does it seem like this bother cared more about wealth or relationship? 

4) Read Luke 12:16-21. This man had a huge bumper crop and his first inclination was to build a bigger barn. Read Matthew 6:19-21, 2 Corinthians 9:7 & 1 Timothy 6:10. How does Scripture teach us to handle the financial resources we have? 

5) Jesus used a parable to expose the greed of this brother. Read Luke 21:1-4. This woman put in all she had to live on (it equates to about $2 in our economy). What would it take for you to leave a life of greed and move to generosity? 

6) Jesus has a private teaching moment with the disciples to help them understand their relationship to money (Read Luke 12:22-34). Jesus is teaching them to trust God in with their money (Proverbs 3:5-6). What would it take for you to fully trust God with your finances? 

7) Jesus chose to trust God with every area of His life (read Luke 23:44-49). Jesus trusted His life to God for our salvation. How does that impact your life? 

Close your time in prayer.