CONVERSATION STARTERS

1. Read Mark 10:17-22.

2. Jesus’ Love and Challenge - How does knowing Jesus gave this hard command to the rich young ruler out of truly seeing and loving (Mark 10:21) change how you feel about it? Imagine Jesus meeting you in the same way (Really, take a moment and imagine that). How does that change how you feel about hard challenges he gives you?

3. What Owns Your Heart? – The rich young ruler genuinely wanted to follow Jesus, but his wealth held him back (Mark 10:21-22). How do you know what the things are in your life— money, status, comfort, or control, etc.—that might compete with full surrender to Jesus? How can you practically reorient your heart toward God?

4. Dependence vs. Security – Jesus teaches that entering the kingdom means becoming like a child—completely dependent on God (Mark 10:15). How does dependence on God challenge the way our culture views security and success (e.g. finances, career, achievements)? Where do you struggle to trust God over trusting your resources?

5. Losing to Gain – Jesus says it’s hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom (Mark 10:23–25), not because wealth itself is wrong, but because dependence on it can hinder faith. What does it mean in practical terms to “lose” in order to “gain” in God’s kingdom (Mark 10:29–31)? How might generosity shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance?

Title: Jesus Rewards
Reference: Mark 10:17-22
Speaker: Paul Brandes, PaulB@cckc.church

1. Examine your heart.

Our biggest lie: I can achieve what I want on my own.

Our biggest liar: Few things tell better lies than money.

Lie #1: I must be good if I’m so “blessed.”

Lie #2: With enough money, I can be my own god.

More than anything, [Thiel] longs to live forever. [He] does not believe death is inevitable. Calling death a law of nature is, in his view, just an excuse for giving up. ‘It’s something we are told that demotivates us from trying harder,’ he said. He has spent enormous sums trying to evade his own end but feels that, if anything, he should devote even more time and money to solving the problem of human mortality. ~ Peter Thiel,

Lie #3: Who, me?

That Jesus did not command all his followers to sell all their possessions gives comfort only to the kind of people to whom he would issue that command. ~ R.T. France

Our greatest hope: Jesus loves us enough to expose our lies.

2. Give more than you can spare.

I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them. ~ C.S. Lewis

3. Follow the only One who can offer you eternal life.