Bible Study – Choosing Whom We Will Serve
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
We simply have to choose. Will we do as God desires us to do, or will we cheat God (and ourselves) by ignoring what God expects of us? Will we give to God what is rightly God’s? What are we doing to work toward serving God more fully?
Today's passage describes poor choices. To help decide what a bad choice looks like and what a good choice looks like, here are some examples.
- You go to a fast food place, order a sandwich and there is a little bin full of ketchup packets. How many is a good number to take? Two or three, because you really like ketchup, or a whole pocket full to take home and use at home? (Good choice or Bad choice? Why?)
- You are walking home, and there are some really pretty flowers by the sidewalk at someone's home. You pick a few to take home to your mother. (Good choice or Bad choice? Why?)
- You go to the library and there are little pencils and pieces of paper to take notes on where to find books. You stick a batch of the pencils in your pocket. (Good choice or Bad choice? Why?)
- Can you think of a choice like these?
Opening Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for helping us make good choices. Help us to keep in mind those things the good choices. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 16:1-13 and read or read the scriptures below.
Luke 16:1-13
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Questions: (Answers at the bottom of the page)
Luke 16: 1-4
- Describe the two people in this story.
- What is the manager worried about?
Luke 5-7
- What does the manager decide to do?
- How does he do that?
Luke 8-9
- What does the rich man say about his manager's plan?
- Why do you think the rich man thought this was a clever plan?
Luke 10-13
- What does Jesus say about a person who is "faithful in very little" and who is "dishonest in very little?"
- What does Jesus say, in verse 12, about taking care of stuff that does not belong to us?
- What do you think Jesus means that "no slave can serve two masters?"
- We are not slaves, so what does this story say to us?
- Do you think Jesus is saying that it is wrong to be wealthy? Why? Why not?
Bible Memory Verse: Luke 16:13 - No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Click here for the young learner’s lesson.
Videos (Click on url)
Luke 16: 1-12 – You Can Only Serve One Master: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf_88OwTW_s
Gospel of Luke Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 2) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26z_KhwNdD8
Song: This Little Light of Mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNvhZa2ysag&list=RDmNvhZa2ysag&start_radio=1
Activities:
Journal: In your journal write some choices you are making to serve God. You can also sketch in your journal. Rewrite the parable for today. Who would the people in the story be and what would the debts be? What kind of person is the rich man? What kind of person is the manager? Etc.
Making choices: put together the budget for the rich person. Write down the amount of money you think the person has and then keep track of each expense. How much of the money does he/she need to maintain the person's business, housing, food, transportation, etc. How much should be given to his/her church. What other things could the person pay for: fixing playgrounds at the school, helping someone get to college. What extravagant things could the person buy: a new car, fancy clothes, etc. What type of choices did you make?
Honesty Clock: Draw a large clock on white poster broad with 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the clock and write or draw a picture beside those 4 times of the day when you might be tempted or have the CHOICE to do the “right thing”. Examples: 12 noon – to share a part of your lunch or to thank the teacher for something; 3:00 – to be honest about homework or being kind to someone on the bus or cleaning your home when you get home, etc; 6:00 to help prepare dinner, set the table or clean up after dinner; 9:00 – read your Bible and go to bed with prayer, etc. Write Luke 16:10 in the middle of your clock.
Parable of the Dishonest Manager – Fill in the Blank – https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager
Parable of the https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-1- Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-1
Parable of the Dishonest Manager – Decoder: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-2
Parable of the Dishonest Manager - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-3
Parable of the Dishonest Manager – Word Shape: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/parable-of-the-dishonest-manager-4
Do you know a person who has lots of money and is generous with it? Are they doing things you think are what God wants. Think about ways in which you can be generous with whatever you have.
Prayer: Thank you for good choices people make; help us to make good choices, too. Amen.
Answers to the Questions:
Luke 16: 1-4
- Describe the two people in this story. (A rich man who had a manager he thought he could trust. The manager who has been doing such poor work that the man is going to fire him.)
- What is the manager worried about? (Finding a way to survive without this job.)
Luke 5-7
- What does the manager decide to do? (Get on the good side of all the people who owe his boss.)
- How does he do that? (He cuts each bill in half or a portion of the total so people will be grateful to him.)
Luke 8-9
- What does the rich man say about his manager's plan? (He notices that the manager is pretty clever.)
- Why do you think the rich man thought this was a clever plan? (That the manager was able to collect a portion of what was owed, which was more than what he had collected which was nothing.)
Luke 10-13
- What does Jesus say about a person who is "faithful in very little" and who is "dishonest in very little?" (What you do with "very little" will show how you will act with a lot.)
- What does Jesus say, in verse 12, about taking care of stuff that does not belong to us? (If we cannot take care of those things, how could we be trusted with something of our own?)
- What do you think Jesus means that "no slave can serve two masters?" (They will have to make a choice between two things.)
- We are not slaves, so what does this story say to us? (We, too, have to make choices. What influences our choices?)
- Do you think Jesus is saying that it is wrong to be wealthy? Why? Why not? (It is about making choices: which is more important: God — or making a ton of money?)
