Bible Study - AFTER LIFE - Out of the Grasp of Grasping
Sermon-Based Bible Study – May 30, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week? Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- Most people can see greed in others, but not in themselves. Which, if any, of these questions suggest that there is something you need to do in terms of guarding yourself from a spirit of greed?
- How often do you talk about or worry about money?
- How cheerful are you when you give something of value away?
- How reluctant are you to share?
- How prone are you to quibble over insignificant sums of money?
- How often do you talk as if you have just enough to get by?
- Do you have a culture of secrecy from your spouse or trusted friends when it comes to your money?
- Are you prone to remind others of what you’ve done for them?
- How content are you with what you have?
- Are you more likely to use people for the sake of money, or to use money for the sake of people?
- Read Luke 12:15-21. Jesus said “life does not consist in the abundance of things.” Which choices, attitudes or behaviors in your life seem to indicate you believe that? Which seem to indicate you have some doubts about what he said?
- Read Luke 12:22-34. The root of greed is often anxiety. When you worry about having the means to live the way you want, is it more born out of a faulty view of God’s goodness? Out of a fear that life in the Kingdom of God will be less fulfilling than life in the kingdom of “thing-dom?” Are you able to say “no” to the spirit of greed because you have a bigger “yes?”
- The spirit of greed is not combatted primarily through taking a vow of poverty but through taking a vow of generosity. The opposite of grasping for something is giving away something. Have you ever taken a vow of generosity? How did that work out for you?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?