Coming out of Sunday March 21’s teaching “Letting Go of Greed“, spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions:
Read Matthew 6:19-24 before starting. Pray and ask God to speak.
- How did God speak to you on Sunday through the message, “Letting Go of Greed”?
- Jeff encouraged everyone to just assume that greed is a bigger problem for us as individuals than we might think that it is. Why is it important to assume that before God? What makes “greed” so difficult to see in ourselves (while so easy to see in others)? What might some examples of ‘less obvious greed’ be in our lives?
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said (in Matt 6:21), “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”? What is so significant about this teaching?
- In verses 19 and 20, Jesus instructed us to avoid living to accumulate earthly treasures but to store up heavenly treasures instead. What does this mean? What makes it so difficult to live for both at the same time? Why is it that we so often live for our earthly treasures instead of heavenly ones?
- In verses 22-23, Jesus used the example of a ‘healthy eye‘ (meaning ‘a generous person’) vs an ‘unhealthy eye‘ (meaning ‘someone who is greedy, stingy and is never content with what they have). With that in mind, what is so significant about these two verses? What is Jesus teaching us about the power of greed vs generosity here?
- In verse 24, Jesus said “You cannot serve both God and money.” What is so important for us as followers of Jesus to understand about this teaching? Why do you think Jesus would say this?
- In summary, Jeff said, “Jesus doesn’t want your money he wants your heart. BUT… He can’t have your heart if you don’t give him your money.” What do you think about this?
- Jeff wrapped up by sharing three reflection questions. Take some time to respond to each as a group:
- What story is your bank account telling (about what’s most important in your life)?
- Who is your master… really? (God or money?)
- What is one practical step you can take to “Let Go of Greed” and move towards generosity instead?
