Stewards, Not Masters | Luke 12:35-48
Sermon Discussion | Luke 12:35-48
Read Luke 12:35-48 aloud, together.
Live ready. Live in anticipation of the return of your master; stewarding well what he has given you.
1. Stay awake or stay active to the task: Starting with the great commandment in Matt 22, love God and love your neighbor and the great commission to go and make disciples. How much of the things (time/money/talents) that God has given you, do you commit to this work? Are you participating in the great commandment and the great commission? With these 2 ideas in mind (commandment/commission) take some time to describe what it is to be a faithful servant.
2. Paul made the comment that it is common to have a perspective on money which says, "It's mine, I have earned it, I can spend it however I see fit." Why or why not is this view of money (and we could add time/talent/ability etc) harmful or dangerous? Do you think Christians struggle with this perspective? What practices could you implement in your life to push against the heart that wants to "own" all these gifts? Are there actions you that would lead you to orient your life towards a belief, both in heart and practice, that says you believe "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it"? Consider the comment Paul made, that God considers us not using our resources to serve others as a lack of injustice.
3. Stay Expectant: Live with a confident expectation of the return of Jesus. God is on mission to restore his good creation, this is why the Bible starts with a garden and ends with a city - God has committed himself to his creation and the restoration of it. However, we live in a culture that has wooed us into believing that we *need* to buy___ or we *have* to do this or that, because we only live once. For the Christian, we will get to experience a renewed creation where sin is absent and we live in the presence of God. Discuss the difference of what a lived life looks like in these differing world views. What challenges you? What encourages you?
4. Stay Faithful: We have been given much, there is much required of us. It is so easy for us for us to forget we have been given everything for eternal investment. Jesus helps us to live in this out, verse 37 says, "It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them." (italics mine) It will be Jesus' joy to serve and reward your faithfulness. Stop and pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to you about this verse, then share what you heard. It is difficult to imagine being served? Why or why not?
*Weekly Practice*
This week take time to walk through all the rooms in your home and give thanks for everything he has given you. Pray prayers of gratitude for the tangible blessings you see as well as the intangible like infulence or faith.