The Rich Man

Day 1- 01 THE STORY

When you believe in Jesus, you will have to give up the things to make him the most important thing in your life. It is okay to have things like toys, money, and clothes, but those things should never be more important than Jesus. Things, no matter how cool or valuable the world says they are, should never get in the way of what God wants you to do.
Read Matthew 19:16-22
What kept the rich man from following God? What did God want the man to do with his money? What was God going to give him instead?

I PROMISE YOU

Make a list of everything that is valuable to you:
Would you be able to give up all these things to God? God promises you that He will reward you for what you give to Him. That reward will come true when you are with Him in heaven. There is nothing on earth that could compare to the sweet reward you have in heaven.

Day 2- 02 THE WITNESS

Read Matthew 6:25-33
Should you worry about things? Does this verse say that God will provide for you what you need? If the rich man would have given all his money away to the poor, would God have provided for what He needed? Have you ever seen God provide for you?

Day 3- 03 THE SOURCE

Being rich isn’t bad. Loving being rich more than loving God is what is bad.
Money isn’t a bad thing either. God can use money for lots of good things.
Loving money more than God is what is bad. Loving money keeps you from loving God. The rich man wasn’t able to give up being rich to give his money to the poor because he loved his money and things too much.
Read 1 Timothy 6:10
Do you love God more than money? Do you love things more than God?

Day 4- 04 THE MOTIVE

Read Luke 9:23
What do you have to do to follow Jesus?
Circle some ways you might have to deny yourself to follow Jesus.
(denying yourself means giving up what you want and doing what God wants)
Give up things and give them to others
Stop having a bad attitude
Stop treating people in a bad way
Stop doing things the way you think it should be done
Stop spending time with friends who encourage you to do bad things
Give up doing something you want to do to help someone else

Is there any other way you might have to deny yourself?

Day 5- 05 CAUGHT IN THE ACT

This challenge is going to be a hard one. You get to decide if you want to do it. You know all that allowance you have been saving? What if you gave it to someone that needed it? What if you donated it to an organization that helps others? You might have a pit in your stomach because you don’t want to. That is probably how the rich man felt, too. Remember that God will provide for you, and He can use you to provide for someone else. We encourage you to talk to your parents about some ways you could donate or give away your money.

Write down on your character sheet what you learned from the story of the rich man.