Study Guide

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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High  Church,  Hilton  •  1-­‐3  Hilton  Drive  •  Aberdeen  •  AB24  4NQ  
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RICH
_______________________________________________

Welcome to the RICH course.

Over the next six weeks we aim to explore a number of key

questions which take us right to the heart of the Christian faith.
We hope our time together is a help to you whether you are
simply curious about what Christians believe, whether you are a
new Christian, or even if you have been in church for as long as
you can remember.

We will be using the book written by Peter Dickson and David

Gibson, RICH: The reality of encountering Jesus. Material from this
book will shape the content of our sessions but we will also
spend time in groups discussing parts of Luke’s Gospel.

The format for each evening will be:

Meal 7.00 – 7.45pm

Talk 7.45 – 8.00pm
Discussion 8.00 – 8.45pm
Open questions 8.45 – 9.00pm

Please don’t be afraid to ask questions, no matter how simple

or difficult you think they are. Please don’t worry about
returning to the course if you have to miss a week or two.
Please do use the opportunity to explore any issues which the
talks and discussion raise for you.
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1. What’s wrong with the world?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
G. K. Chesterton once wrote to The Times: “Dear Sir:
Regarding your article ‘What’s Wrong with the World?’ I am.
Yours truly”. Most people have an opinion about what would
need to change to make their life happier and the world a
better place. It is usually something ‘out there’: relationships,
salary, education, health-care, politics. The Bible’s answer puts
all these other issues in the shade and says that the heart of the
human problem is the human heart. We are in debt to God.

READ: Luke 4:14-30 and RICH Chapters 1 and 9

QUESTIONS

1. Up until now, what would you have said is the main thing
wrong with the world?

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2. Has this evening’s talk made you think any differently? Why
or why not?

3. In Luke 4:14-21 what does Jesus claim about who he is and

what he can do?

4. Why would Jesus speaking about good news, freedom and

sight (4:18-19) have the potential to make some people angry
(4:28)?

5. What does this tell us about the real problem which Jesus
came to deal with? (You may like to look at RICH Chapter 1,
pp. 19-22).

6. Why do we find it so hard to have someone, even if it is

Jesus, pointing out our faults?

4
2. Who does Jesus think he is?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
It is easy to have inherited conceptions of Jesus which are either
muddled or misleading. These ideas can go hand in hand with
the ideas that God, if he exists at all, is either too distant from
us or too demanding of us. When we see who Jesus is then we
see who God is and what he has done for us. Luke presents
Jesus to us as a deliverer, as a healer, as a teacher. In so doing
he shows us that, in Jesus, God has come close to us, and God
has come to serve us.

READ: Luke 1:26-35; 2:1-15; 4:31-44 and RICH Chapters 2 and 3

QUESTIONS

1. What has been your view of Jesus up until now?

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2. Is there anything you have heard this evening or read in RICH
which has changed your understanding?

3. Can you identify with the feeling that God is too distant, or
with the belief that he is too demanding?

4. In Luke 4 we see Jesus as a deliverer (vv.31-37); a healer

(vv.38-41); a teacher (vv.42-44). Look at these three passages
and discuss the ways in which they show God both coming near
to us in Jesus and coming to serve us in Jesus?

5. Having looked at Luke 4:31-44, what is most surprising about

Jesus’ stated priorities and agenda?

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3. Who does Jesus think I am?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
Whoever we are and whatever we hide from other people,
Jesus knows us. In Luke 7 there are two different types of
people on view: a self-righteous and moral man, and an immoral
and broken woman. As Jesus deals with them in this moving
incident, it is easy to see how both these characters provide
windows into our hearts. Luke wants us to see that Jesus
regards me as a bankrupt person. Whether we have a big debt,
or a little debt, makes no difference. We all need it written off.

READ: Luke 7:36-50 and RICH Chapter 4

QUESTIONS

1. What does it feel like to think of yourself as bankrupt?

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2. What does it feel like to think of Jesus knowing everything
about you?

3. What do you personally find most compelling about this

passage in Luke?

4. What do you think is the main challenge for people reading

this passage?

5. How should it make us reconsider our thoughts about others

and ourselves?

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4. What does Jesus want from me?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
In Luke 12 Jesus is sifting the casual follower from the real
disciple. This session aims to show that Jesus wants a lasting
commitment to follow him, whatever the cost. Jesus shows
what such a commitment looks like in three different areas: my
wealth, my needs, my future. A follower of Jesus is someone
whose life shows that God is real, who knows that God cares,
and who know that one day Jesus will return again.

READ: Luke 12:13-48 and RICH Chapter 5

QUESTIONS

1. What do most people assume God wants from them?

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2. What do most people assume they have already given to
God?

3. In Luke 12:13-21 it is easy to assume that Jesus is against

wealth. But what is the real point of the story?

4. What difference might it make to your life to know that God

cares for your needs?

5. What difference might it make to your life to know that Jesus

will one day return?

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5. What does Jesus offer me?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
In this session we see Jesus offer us three things. First,
a potential surprise, both for those who think they are safe in his
kingdom and for those who think they do not belong in
his kingdom. Those who receive his invitation spurn it, and
those would never expect receive it are welcomed to the
banquet. Second, he offers a lasting offence to those who assume
God is only interested in treating us as we think we deserve.
Third, Jesus offers a surprising forgiveness. We see the kind of
person who cannot even lift up their head in God’s presence
being forgiven, while the kind of person who thinks they have
God on their side is ignored.

READ: Luke 14:1-24; 15:1-32; 18:9-14; RICH Chapters 6 and 7

QUESTIONS

1. What do most people assume God offers them?

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2. Read Luke 14:24 again. What do you make of Jesus speaking
in this way?

3. Read 15:1-2 again. In telling the Pharisees these stories, what

is Jesus teaching us about grace? How does this clash with our
normal ways of thinking about what is fair?

4. Read Luke 18:9 again. What kind of things might make

someone ‘confident of their own righteousness’?

5. What do you think it is like to be ‘exalted by God’ (v.14)?

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6. Why did Jesus have to die?

_______________________________________________

BIG IDEA
Just as it is very easy to be muddled over who Jesus is, so it is
common to have unclear ideas about why Jesus died. His death
is so much more than a demonstration of love, and only makes
sense as an act of love if it achieved something. By dying on the
cross Jesus made forgiveness from sin a reality; he made his
people free; and by dying and rising again he offers new life to
the world.

READ: Luke 22:54-23:49; ch. 24; RICH Chapter 8

QUESTIONS

1. Why is it wrong to think of Jesus dying simply to show us

how much he loved us?

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2. What was Jesus doing for us when he died on the cross?

3. Why should we value forgiveness so much, particularly from

God?

4. Why does Jesus say his blood has to be poured out for us to
be forgiven?

5. How does the trial of Jesus point to the freedom which his
death achieves?

6. Would you rather live with Jesus, or live for Jesus? What does
the answer to this question say about our relationship with him?

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The reality of encountering Jesus