Campaigners Bible Study Guide - Luke

  • Luke 5:1-11, Jesus Calls His First Disciples
  • Luke 5:12-16, Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy
  • Luke 5:17-26, Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
  • Luke 5:27-32, Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
  • Luke 6:43-49, Jesus Teaches His Disciples
  • Luke 7:1-10, The Faith of the Centurion
  • Luke 7:36-50, Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
  • Luke 8:1-15, The Parable of the Sower
  • Luke 8:22-25, Jesus Calms a Storm
  • Luke 8:26-39, Jesus Heals a Man With a Demon
  • Luke 8:40-56, Jesus Heals a Bleeding Woman and Jairus's Daughter
  • Luke 9:10-17, Jesus Feeds The 5,000
  • Luke 9:18-20; 23-27, The Key To Life: Give It Away

Luke 5:1-11

1 On one occasion, while great crowds were pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Galilee, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boars, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and took nothing! But at your word, I will let down the nets. 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishing for and catching people." 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Chosen Clip
Questions
  1. What is the most tired you've ever been in your life? when was the last time you stayed up all night?
  2. What do you do when you are tired or discouraged?
  3. There was a great catch - so much so that their nets were breaking. What would it have been like to have been there? To be Simon in that moment?
  4. Jesus called Simon to go deeper. After going, Simon experienced something truly life giving and exciting. What are the things/people that keep you from going 'deeper with Jesus?'
  5. Are you playing it safe with Jesus? What might he be inviting you into?
  6. What does it look like to "catch people"? To become fishers of men in your high school? What is the prerequisite? Who makes us fishers of men?

Luke 5:12-16

12 While he was in one of the cities, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean." 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Chosen Clip
Questions
  1. What do you know about leprosy? What was life like for someone with it?
  2. What is something in the world (or your life) that feels hopeless?
  3. Why is it hard to ask for help?
  4. What changed about his life after he approached Jesus with his situation?
  5. What's keeping you from asking Jesus for help? And notice that he technically didn't ask him to be healed - but simply brought his situation before God. Sometimes, prayer can look like that - simply sharing your life with Jesus. He wants you to come to him with the things in your life, to share in them - the good and the bad.
  6. How did Jesus respond to him when he came just the way he was, full of leprosy? He reached out and touched him - he entered into his mess. We don't change so that we can come to Jesus. He changes us.
  7. How does that truth change the way we live and walk with Jesus? How might other people's lives be different knowing that one fundamental truth about Jesus?

Luke 5:17-26

17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (it seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem). And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn't reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Young man, your sins are forgiven." 21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, "Who does he think he is? That's blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!" 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up and walk?' 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" 25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, "We have seen amazing things today!"

Chosen Clip
Questions
  1. How do you think they got on the roof?
  2. how do you respond when you are inturrupted?
  3. How does the way Jesus responds teach us about what Jesus was like?
  4. Has there ever been a time when you felt like Jesus was too busy to care about what was going on in your life? If so, when?
  5. Who are the characters in the story?
  6. Pick someone in the scene and imagine what you would be thinking: the paralytic, someone in the crowd, one of the friends who brought him, or one of the disciples?
  7. Has there ever been a time where you've had to help a friend through the roof?
  8. when have you needed someone to break the roof open for you?
  9. if you were the paralytic, who are 4 people in your life who would do this for you?
  10. When they saw their faith, he said to the paralytic... Who's faith? Who's life this year might change forever because of your faith?

Luke 5:27-32

27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi Got up, let everything, and followed him. 29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?" 31 Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent."

Chosen Clip
Questions
  1. What is the most important characteristic you look for in a friend?
  2. what do you know about tax collectors in this time?
  3. if you put yourself in Levi's shoes and you are into some of the bad things Levi is into and Jesus comes up and tells you to follow him, what would you be thinking/feeling?
  4. why do you think Levi followed Jesus?
  5. What do you think Jesus means in verse 31? *** Let kids answer for a bit but at the end you might need to help them see what Jesus is really saying here. He isn't praising the Pharisees and calling them healthy. What he is really saying is he is not here for people who THINK they are healthy but for those who KNOW they are sick. The Pharisees thought they were healthy and did not need Jesus. Levi knew he was sick and wanted to be with Jesus. THAT makes all the difference.***
  6. Define repentance
  7. how can we love other people better knowing what we now know?
  8. Levi went from tax collector, to throwing a party with and for all of his tax collector friends with Jesus at this center - where do you see this in your life? We were Levi, now coming to club and bringing our lost tax collector friends so they may come to know Jesus like we now know him. Club is a tool - it is a party thrown by Christian kids and leaders for their non Christian friends.

Luke 6:43-49

A Tree and it's fruit 43 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things form the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Building on a Solid Foundation 46 So why do you keep calling me 'Lord, Lord!' when you don't do what I say? 47 I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the flood waters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins."

Questions
  1. What sticks out to you in this passage? What is Jesus gravitating you towards?
  2. What kind of "fruit" do you think Jesus is referring to in a person's life? (Look at Galatians fruit of the Spirit)
  3. How do the hidden "roots" in our hearts eventually show themselves?
  4. Which words tend to spill out of your mouth when you feel squeezed or stressed? What do those reactions uncover about ourselves?
  5. What spiritual practices help you stay rooted in Christ?
  6. What would "good fruit" look like in your relationships this week?
  7. Describe a time when someone's positive "fruit" deeply impacted you.
  8. Jesus connects listening to His words with actually doing them. Why is that so challenging?
  9. What are some examples of "building a house on the rock" in everyday life?
  10. What are "shifting sands" that people often build their lives on today?
  11. Think about a recent storm in your life. How did your foundation hold up?

Luke 7:1-10

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. 2 At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. 4 So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. "If anyone deserves your help, he does," they said, 5 "for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us." 6 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, "Lord, don't trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. 7 I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, 'Go,' and they go, or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say to my slaves, 'Do this,' they do it." 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!" 10 And when the officers friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

Questions
  1. Jesus is a God of compassion (he SEES us and is WITH us). How has Jesus shown compassion towards you in your life? Where do you feel like his compassion is missing?
  2. The centurion was a person of great authority - he often was in charge. When he approaches Jesus, he acknowledges Jesus needs to be in charge of this particular situation. What are the places in your life that you think "you have it" and what are the things you give to God?
  3. What keeps you from giving everything to God?
  4. Jesus affirms the centurion's faith and tells him "your faith is enough." How can you put faith/trust in Jesus today? What would it look like to trust in Jesus the way the centurion did?
  5. What characteristics of the centurion do you see? How might we take on some of those qualities?

Luke 7:36-50

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." 41 "Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feed, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feed. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little." 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Questions
  1. What is your most valuable possession?
  2. Is it hard for you to forgive others? Is it hard for you to accept forgiveness?
  3. Which is harder for you: to let yourself be forgiven by others, Jesus, or yourself?
  4. This woman comes to Jesus with all that she has in a posture of humility, and Jesus forgives her sins and invites her into peace. What would it look like for you and I to approach Jesus in this same way?
  5. How would you rephrase what the Pharisee said about the woman in verse 39? How can we make sure we do not become like Pharisee kids in the way we view lost people?
  6. Are you reclining with sinners? We are to be in the world, but not of it and are called to fish for lost people. How do we recline with sinners in a way that points them to Jesus as opposed to steering them further away?
  7. Who are 1-2 of your friends that you really want to see meet Jesus? How can we point them to Jesus? How can I come alongside you in that?

Luke 8:1-15

1 After this, Jesus traveled about form one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. 4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.' 11 This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."

Questions
  1. What is a parable and why do you think Jesus uses them to teach?
  2. When Jesus tells the parable, what are the different places the seed lands? What happens to each one? Is there a soil that stands out to you?
  3. Who is the sower? What do you notice about the sower?
  4. What do you think about the seed?
  5. Have you ever felt like your "seed" was getting choked out by "worries, riches, and pleasures" (v14)? What does that look like in your world today? Is it comforting to know that other people experience these same things as followers of Christ?
  6. What helps your heart become like the "good soil"? What practices, people, or rhythms help God's Word actually take root in your life?

Luke 8:22-25

22 One day, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, "Who is this? That even the wind and the waves obey him?"

Questions
  1. Can you describe a time that you experienced a storm in your life? Have there been times in your life where it seemed like Jesus was just asleep?
  2. Who was the person that you wanted to be with you in that storm?
  3. Generally, in the midst of the storms, who is your go-to person(s)?
  4. Jesus is in the boat with the disciples when they experienced a storm. How do you feel about that? It would be nice to be with Jesus and never experience any storms...but that is not how life goes.
  5. Jesus tells his disciples where they are going - How can we have faith to believe that we will 'get to the other side' with Jesus when things seem to fall a part?
  6. What was their initial response to the storm? fear - at the situation
  7. What was their response to Jesus calming the storm? fear.. and amazement - at Jesus's power.
  8. How does it feel to know that Jesus can control storms?
  9. What can we do practically this week to be able to trust God more in the midst of the chaos of life?

Young Life In Sevier County

PO Box 4312, Sevierville, TN 37864