Under New Management
Sermon Notes
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 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.’
- Luke 16:1-2
“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 — I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
- Luke 16:3-5
“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
- Luke 16:6-7
“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.
- Luke 16:8
I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
- Luke 16:9
Money is a TOOL.
“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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
- Luke 16:10-12
Money is a TEST.
“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.”
- Luke 16:13
Money is a TRADEMARK.
“Everywhere we turn we hear complaints: I can’t spend my money the way I want; I can’t spend my time the way I want; I can’t be myself; I’m under the control of others all the time. And everywhere we meet the addicts —addiction to alcohol and drugs, to compulsive work habits and to obsessive consumption. We trade masters; we stay enslaved. The Christian is a person who recognizes that our real problem is not in achieving freedom but in learning service under a better master. The Christian realizes that every relationship that excludes God becomes oppressive. Recognizing and realizing that, we urgently want to live under the mastery of God.”
- Eugene Peterson, A long Obedience In The Same Direction
Table Group Resources
Mixer
What is something new that you will bring into your Thanksgiving celebrations this year, or that you have brought in in recent years and it stuck?
Sermon Questions
Scriptures: Luke 16:1-13
1. We live in a world driven by personal accomplishments and ownership of material possessions. How did you get to a place of acknowledging that everything you have belongs to God? Is this a hard truth to accept and live out? Why or why not?
2. Pastor Jared stated that if we have a problem thinking about all money being God’s money, then we might have a problem with the foundations of Christianity. Why? How does this concept shape you and your relationship with God?
3. Read Luke 16:1-13. Why does God want us to be shrewd? Note: God wasn’t condoning the manager’s intentions, but merely endorsing the manager’s smart use of money as a tool. Knowing this, what actions in our lives might equate to the manager’s wasteful actions versus his shrewd actions at the end of the parable? In what ways can you use money as a tool for God?
4. Read Luke 16:10. What does this verse mean to you? How is money a test? What temptations lurk in your heart and mind that lure you into financial sin? How can you reframe tests involving money so that you’re obedient in the area of your finances?
5. Think about trademarks (e.g., Harley-Davidson, Apple, Tesla). How does the secular world use trademarks? What are the dangers of using your money as a trademark/master of your life?
Serve
Are you ready to step into an awesome Go First group of volunteers serving others within the walls of The Church at RB? YOU can make a HUGE difference to someone who walks through our doors on Sunday. Click here to connect with opportunities to serve your own CRB family.
Pray
As we start the preparations for Thanksgiving, let’s remember to pray for those families and individuals who have faced the loss of loved ones this year. Maybe even have suffered a loss that is a family fracture. Pray over the empty seats around tables in our neighborhood this season, that they may be filled by the presence of our God of grace and mercy, who has a good plan to move forward with hope.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:7-10
