Sermon Discussion Questions
READ Luke 16:1-13
1. This is one of a series of parables recorded in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus gave about wealthy people.
a. What do you think Jews in the First Century thought about God’s view of rich people? (Hint: it was the opposite of the way we tend to view the moral virtue of wealthy people today.)
b. If you were rich (maybe you consider yourself already rich, what do you think your chief interest in life would be?)
2. This is a famously difficult parable to interpret. REMEMBER as you read it: i) it is about how the world deals with money, not how the Church should; ii) the boss in the parable is NOT God or Jesus.
3. One person in the group SUMMARIZE the basic situation in the parable from verse 1. The rest of the group EXPLAIN from verse 2 why the steward (the under-manager) is being fired from his job.
4. What is the steward’s brilliant plan to give himself a future job and housing prospects despite having lost his job (vv. 3-7)?
5.How is his plan good for him, good for his former clients and good for his former boss? What do they all stand to gain from it?
6. The master (and presumably the former clients) applaud the plan but Jesus does not: the steward may be astute (as the world sees it) but he is also fundamentally dishonest (8). So, if Jesus cannot recommend the moral reasoning of the steward, what does He recommend instead?
7. How should we use worldly wealth to win friends? And what are we winning them to on behalf of our Lord?
8. (READ verse 13 again.) In closing, answer the following questions if you can: a. Is money inherently evil?; b. if it is not inherently evil, how should we use it so as not to be caught in the trap of verse 13?
9. PRAY for our church during Transform 2. Pray for your own heart: that you may be found to be trustworthy servants with the resources God has entrusted you with.