Life Groups // Winter 2025 // Week 1

Posted January 10, 2025 — Lincoln Berean

ReThink: Stewardship // Luke 12:13-34

Introduction

Welcome to the first week of our Winter 2025 Life Groups session! This session we will spend several weeks ReThinking stewardship in our lives before diving into the book of 1st Timothy.  

 

In these first few weeks on stewardship, it might feel challenging or a but scary to open up your financial life to others. We strongly encourage you to lean into that challenge and be open. Without authenticity about where we find ourselves, it can be almost impossible to grow and move toward where God wants to take us. We would also encourage you to respond with grace to one another and keep pointing each other to Jesus and the way of his Kingdom! 

We invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group. Some people even use these questions to take notes during the sermon. The questions are meant to stir your thinking and prompt open discussion, and we do not expect you will cover every question each week.  

Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)

For Life Groups that are meeting for the first time: 

1) Go around the circle and ask everyone to answer these “F” questions.  

First Name – Introduce yourself.  

Family – Describe your family.  

Faith – What is your faith background?  

Fun – What do you like to do for fun?  

Food – What is a favorite food of yours?  

 

 

2) What is a word or phrase you’d like to focus on in 2025?

 

 

 

For Life Groups that are reconnecting:

If you have a couple of new members in your group you might want to have everyone answer the questions above before continuing with the questions below.   

1) What is something you’d like to leave behind in 2024? 

 

2) What is a word or phrase that you’d like to focus on in 2025? 

Getting Started

Transition into group discussion.  

1. Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items: 

a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth 

b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives 

c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you  

2. Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group.  

 

Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)

1) In your own words, what is the main theme of this passage or Ryan’s sermon over the weekend?  

 

 

 

2) Jesus teaches through the Parable of the Rich Fool (verses 16-21) that those who live as part of God’s kingdom should defy the temptation to put their trust in wealth and worldly possessions, choosing instead to live freely in their dependence on God. What was the rich man’s mistake in the parable? In other words, why does God call him a “fool”? 

 

 

 

What does it mean to store up treasures for oneself? And in contrast, what does it mean to be rich in relation to God? (verse 21) 

 

 

 

Imagine you were standing in the crowd as Jesus was speaking. How do you think you would have responded to the story that Jesus was telling? 

 

 

 

3) In verses 22-32, Jesus addresses the problem of those who are constantly occupied with issues of wealth. He specifically mentions the basic needs of food, drink, and clothing as common sources of worry. If Jesus was speaking directly to you when saying this, what might He call you out for worrying about? 

 

 

 

Do you find it difficult to admit your own wealth? Why or why not? 

 

 

 

Do you find it easier to be at peace when you have an excess of money? Why or why not? 

 

 

 

In verse 31, Jesus provides a specific method to combat the temptation to worry about finances and provision: seek God’s Kingdom and trust Him to provide. What might it look like for you to seek God’s Kingdom in your daily life?

 

 

 

4) Wealth/money is one of the most frequently addressed topics in the Bible, showing up often in the teaching of Jesus, including 11 parables. Why do you think God cares so deeply about our understanding of this topic? 

 

 

 

The Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines the word “stewardship” as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.” How does this word relate to our association with money?

 

 

 

Open your Bible to 1 Chronicles 29:10-16, where we read about how David praised God for His sovereignty over “everything that is in the heavens and on the earth” as he gathers funds for the building of God’s temple. How does it impact your outlook on your own money and generosity to know that your wealth already belongs to God? 

 

 

 

What is one way that you can begin a habit of surrendering your financial dependence to God this week? 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Spiritual Exercises

Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts.  

 Scripture Focus: Use the following verses from this week’s passage to consider the ways that God has provided for you in your life lately and include a rhythm of gratitude during your time with Him. 

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things are what the nations of the world eagerly seek; and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father has chosen to give you the kingdom.”-Luke 12:29-32 

Prayer Focus: This week’s passage should stir up a question in each of our hearts: Am I putting my trust in my money more than in God? This week, as you spend time with the Lord in prayer, ask Him to help you intentionally trust in Him, to show you how He wants you to steward the finances entrusted to you, and to unmask any hidden parts of your heart that seek to make worldly wealth an idol in your life.

Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)

A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together. 

 

Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?