You Can't Take It With You

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray walked the congregation through all of Luke 16, treating it as a single unit. The chapter holds two parables, a few hard sayings about money and the law, and a pointed word aimed at the Pharisees who were listening in and sneering. The thread running through all of it is the same: what you do with what God has given you while you have time to do something with it. The first parable is...

Read together

1. Revelation 4:11 quoted at the opening before singing: 'You are worthy, oh Lord, our God, to receive glory and honor and power for You created all things and they exist because You created what You please'
2. Acts 1:8 quoted by Kimberly during the missions committee moment as Jesus' last words before ascending: 'You shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth'
3. John 8:12 quoted after the song Chainbreaker: 'I am the light of the world. And if you follow me, you don't have to walk in darkness any longer because you'll have the light that leads to life'
4. Romans 8:28 quoted before the offering song Canvas and Clay: 'In all things, all things does mean all things, good and bad, both, that God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose'
5. Leviticus (unspecified verse) quoted to show usury is against Torah: 'If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you're not to act as creditor to him. You shall not charge him any interest'
6. Leviticus (unspecified second passage) quoted continuing the usury argument: 'In case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means among you falter, then you are to sustain him like a stranger or resident so that he may live with you. Do not take any kind of interest from him'
7. Luke 16 the primary text for the entire sermon, covering the parable of the shrewd manager, the saying about serving God and wealth, the Pharisees as lovers of money, law and prophets until John, the divorce example, and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray described the dishonest manager as someone who knew his time was limited and acted quickly to secure his future, then drew a parallel to how we use the resources God has entrusted to us. Where do you see yourself being faithful with those resources, and where do you find it hardest?
2. Pastor Ray said that character is character, that the person who cheats in small things will cheat in large ones. Can you think of a time when faithfulness in something small prepared you for something bigger, or when cutting corners in something small led somewhere you did not expect?
3. Pastor Ray pointed out that usury is condemned repeatedly in the Old Testament law, yet he noted it is one of those acceptable sins that hardly ever comes up. Why do you think some sins receive a lot of attention in the church while others like greed or charging unjust interest get a pass?
4. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers already have Moses and the prophets, and that even someone rising from the dead would not persuade them if they would not listen to Scripture. What does that say about how we treat the Bible compared to how we treat dramatic experiences or miracles as sources of conviction?
5. Pastor Ray landed on be generous to the poor as the main application of the whole chapter. What would it look like practically, in your own life this week, to hold money with an open hand the way he described?