Ready for Impact (10 minutes)
Catch up on how things have been since the last time your Impact Group met. Allow anyone new to introduce themselves. Then ask group members to:
- Share a story of a time where they have been distracted from an important task.
Ask for a volunteer to read Luke 12:13-21 to the group, praying a short prayer that – however much they’ve come to know Jesus, they’d get to know him better as a result of your time together.
Watch
If you’re not gathered in person, the leader should project the video for the group through sharing their screen. If you’re using Zoom, make sure you have optimized your screen share for video.
Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)
Suggested questions to help your discussion:
- What is the root problem Jesus’ parable addresses (verse 15)?
- Count the times the man in the parable says ‘I’ or ‘my’. What does this reveal about him?
- What does the rich fool presume (verse 19)? Can you think of times you or others have made this error?
- Why do you think pursuing riches so often causes people to lose sight of life’s fuller purpose?
- Why do you think the man’s attitude was so displeasing to God?
- Why do you think God calls the man a fool?
- What do you think Jesus means by being “rich toward God”?
If your group comprises only Christians, you might like to ask this optional question:
- Read the following verses: Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:32-34, 1 Timothy 6:17-19. What does it look like using our money and possessions when we are “rich toward God?”
When God labels the man in the parable a ‘fool’, he is not saying that he is lacking in intellectual ability – in fact, to have been as successful as he was, the man would probably have been very intelligent. The word ‘fool’ refers to the man’s senselessness. As Proverbs 1:7 says, only a fool would willfully ignore the Creator and live in opposition to him and his ways.
- There’s more on the biblical notion of foolishness at Got Questions.
Jesus teaches about the need to be ‘rich toward God’ at the end of a parable designed to rebuke a man who wanted Jesus to command his brother to share the inheritance from their father. Jesus’ parable warns of the spiritual hazards that go with a greedy mindset built around acquiring wealth.
So being rich toward God means having a mindset unlike the man in the parable:
- remembering that God is the ultimate source of our money, time and talents;
- showing thankfulness to God for all we have received;
- using these things not merely for our own comfort, but for the benefit of others – including those less materially blessed, and those who are not yet followers of Jesus.
Jesus teaches along a similar line Matthew 6:19-21 in the Sermon on the Mount.
Impacting the University (15 minutes)
Read the next section of Jesus’ teaching in Luke’s Gospel – Luke 12:22-34.
When it comes to money and possessions, worry acts as an overwhelming fear that there won’t be enough for the future. Meanwhile greed causes an insatiable hunger for more.
- How can what Jesus teaches us here free us from hoarding our money and possessions?
Jesus’ parable has taught us that material resources can’t ultimately bring life. Now he explains how we can be freed to be generous: in God, we have everything we need.
- You might not feel rich – but how could you adjust your spending habits to have more to give away? (You might like to add up how much you’re currently spending on coffee, clothes or Netflix!)
- What could it look like for you to be generous around friends this week? You might like to adopt a shared challenge from the list below.
- Discuss how you might explain to a friend how Jesus’ teaching is shaping your attitude towards money and possessions.
Ideas for being generous in the week ahead:
- Buy some ingredients and cook a meal for your flatmates
- Every time you buy a coffee, buy one for someone else too
- Encourage a friend by surprising them with a treat
Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)
Reflect personally on the parable. You might like to use these questions:
- In the future, how do you think you will remember this parable?
- If what Jesus is saying is true, what might God be seeking to teach you?
Ask a few group members to pray in the light of your discussions. You could also share other prayer needs.
Wrap-up
You may have people in your Impact Group who are less familiar with Jesus and his teaching. They may have been struck by elements of Jesus’ parable.
- Let them know how much you’ve enjoyed having them, and encourage them to keep coming to your Impact Group!
- Invite them to explore Uncover, a set of sessions in John’s Gospel, allowing them to investigate Jesus for themselves. Make it easy for those who’d like to do so to let you know and to opt in. (You can find hints on using Uncover online here).
- Next week we will be looking at Jesus’ curious story of two identical houses. Who could you invite to join you? These friends don’t need to be followers of Jesus and may really appreciate being invited.
- Find out who’s in your university city this week. Who’d be up for going for a walk together?
Confirm the time that you’ll meet next week, and ask someone to close your time together in prayer.
Taking it further – links you might like to share with your Impact Group
Matt Maher’s song Lord, I Need You is a wonderful reaffirmation of looking to Jesus for what he alone can provide.
Paul Tripp teaches on The Principle of Eternity (3 minutes) – and draws out the implications for the choices we make today, particularly in the area of relationships.
The third session of John Mark Comer’s How to Unhurry (10 minutes) is a practical guide to living simply. You can also hear Comer teach on the parable of the rich fool.
Judith Holmes from Tearfund’s Not Another Black Friday gives help on not getting caught up in the waves of consumerism around us.