JESUS STORIES: THE RICH FOOL LUKE 12:13-21
Icebreaker: What do you like to collect and how does it make you happy?
Parable: Luke 12:13-21
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
- What did the man in the crowd want Jesus to do? (12:13)
2. What opportunity did Jesus seize when the man threw out a self-centered question? (12:14)
3. What did Jesus address when he gave the warning? (12:15)
4. How do you feel about what Jesus said, “…life does not consist in an abundance of things”?
5. When does abundance become greed?
6. What was the man’s good fortune? (12:16)
7. What were the man’s dilemma and solution? (12:17-18)
8. How do you handle abundance?
9. What did the rich man have his eye on? (12:19)
10. How are we very much like this man?
11. What is God’s verdict on the rich man’s decisions? (12:20)
12. What do you think would be God’s perspective on our decisions? (12:20)
13. What is the relationship between the warning in 12:15 and God’s reprimand in 12:21?
14. What does God demand of us?
15. Consider Pastor Dave’s point in the sermon, “Your life is on loan from God, just like your stuff.” What should be our life priority?
16. What is it that you would specifically change in your priorities to keep God first?