Friday, September 19th

Opening Question: In your culture, how do people feel about paying a lot of taxes?

Read Luke 19:1-10 as a group, and again by yourselves.
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man named Zacchaeus lived there. He was a chief tax collector and was very rich. 3 Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. But he was a short man. He could not see Jesus because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree. He wanted to see Jesus, who was coming that way. 5 Jesus reached the spot where Zacchaeus was. He looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay at your house today." 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this. They began to whisper among themselves. They said, "Jesus has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " 8 But Zacchaeus stood up. He said, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own to those who are poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay it back. I will pay back four times the amount I took." 9 Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to your house. You are a member of Abraham's family line. 10 The Son of Man came to look for the lost and save them."

Word List:
Jericho – a city in modern day Jordan.
tax collector – someone who worked for the Roman government, which was hated by the Jews.
sinner – tax collectors were considered by the Jews to be sinners, because they collected more money than they were supposed to, and kept it for themselves.
salvation – being forgiven by God for our sins, and brought into a right relationship with Him.
the lost – people who don’t have a personal relationship with God through Jesus.
Abraham – the father of the Jewish people group.

Discussion Questions:
1. How would you re-tell this story in your own words?
2. Why do you think Zacchaeus wanted to meet Jesus so badly?
3. How did Jesus seem to know Zacchaeus so well?
4. Why did Zacchaeus want to give so much of his money away after meeting Jesus?
5. What does verse 10 mean to you?
6. Has salvation come to you yet? If so, share with the group how it came, and how it is helping you.

Friday, September 12th

Opening Question: If you had to give up one thing you really loved, what would it be?

Read Luke 18:18-30 out loud as a group, and again silently by yourselves, circling words you don’t know.

Word List:

camel – large animal that lives in the desert.
adultery – sex outside of marriage.
false witness – lying.
treasure – wealth, riches.
God’s kingdom – when heaven comes down to earth in the future, and Jesus rules as King of kings.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is eternal life? (See John 17:3 for a definition of eternal life, given by Jesus himself)
2. What did Jesus tell the ruler in verse 22, and why?
3. Can you think of anything that’s hard to “give up” for people these days?
4. Do you want to give up everything to follow Jesus? If so, please explain why.
5. What are the rewards of following Jesus?
6. How can we enter God’s kingdom and have eternal life?

Friday, September 5th

Opening Question: What do you usually pray about?

Read Luke 18:1-8
1 Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said, "In a certain town there was a judge. He didn't have any respect for God or care about people. 3 A widow lived in that town. She came to the judge again and again. She kept begging him, 'Make things right for me. Someone is doing me wrong.' 4 For some time the judge refused. But finally he said to himself, 'I don't have any respect for God. I don't care about people. 5 But this widow keeps bothering me. So I will see that things are made right for her. If I don't, she will wear me out by coming again and again!' "6 The Lord said, "Listen to what the unfair judge says. 7 God's chosen people cry out to him day and night. Won't he make things right for them? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, God will see that things are made right for them. He will make sure it happens quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find people on earth who have faith?"

Word List:
Widow – a woman whose husband has died.
Begging – asking with a lot of emotion.
Son of Man – the favorite title that Jesus gave himself.

Discussion Questions:
1. What’s going on in this story?
2. How would you describe the judge?
3. How does the judge compare with what you know about God?
4. Do you think God always answers prayer?
5. What will the Son of Man (Jesus) want from people on earth when He comes back?
6. Where does faith in God come from, and how can our faith in Him grow?