Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

What is something you would do if you won a lot of money?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will hear a story Jesus told about a rich man. We will learn what is truly important in life and why greed can be dangerous. Jesus teaches us to think about God and others, not only ourselves.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Barns — Buildings on a farm used to keep crops, animals, or tools.
2. Between — In the middle of two people, places, or things.
3. Bigger — Larger in size or amount than something else.
4. Brother — A male person who has the same parents as you.
5. Build — To make something by putting parts together.
6. Crops — Plants like wheat or corn that farmers grow to eat or sell.
7. Crowd — A large group of people in one place.
8. Divide — To split or share something into parts.
9. Drink — To take liquid into your mouth and swallow it.
10. Easy — Not hard to do; simple or comfortable.
11. Enjoy — To take pleasure in something; to be happy doing it.
12. Father — A man who has children.
13. Fool — A person who makes bad choices or does not think carefully.
14. Friend — Someone you like and trust.
15. Gave — The past tense of give; to hand something to someone.
16. Give Up — To let go of something or stop having it.
17. Goods — Things that you own or buy.
18. Grain — Small, hard seeds like wheat or rice used for food.
19. Greed — Wanting too much of something, especially money or things.
20. Guard — To watch over something to keep it safe.
21. Judge — A person or someone who decides what is fair or right.
22. Keep — To hold onto something and not give it away.
23. Land — Ground or soil where plants can grow.
24. Left Us — What someone, like a father, gave to family members after dying.
25. Life — The time a person is alive.
26. Lucky — Having good things happen by chance.
27. Made Up — Put together or formed from different parts.
28. Many — A large number of people or things.
29. Matter — Something that is important or needs attention.
30. No Matter — A way to say it does not change the truth or result.
31. Own — To have something that belongs to you.
32. Parable — A short story that teaches a moral or spiritual lesson.
33. Pile — A group of things put on top of each other.
34. Property — Land or things that a person owns.
35. Rich — Having a lot of money or valuable things.
36. Right — The power or freedom to do something.
37. Sight — The way something appears to someone.
38. Store — To keep something in a place until you need it.
39. Take Life Easy — To rest, relax, and not worry.
40. Teacher — A person who helps others learn.
41. Tear Down — To destroy or take apart something.
42. Tell — To say something so another person knows it.
43. This Very Night — Later in the same night, very soon.
44. True Life — The life that really matters, especially life with God.
45. Watch Out — To be careful or pay attention to danger.
46. Year — 12 months or 365 days.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells about a time when Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people. A man asked Jesus to help him get more of his family’s money and land. But Jesus told him that life is not about having many things. Jesus wanted people to be careful about greed. Greed means wanting too much and thinking only about yourself.

Then, Jesus told a story called a parable. It was about a rich man who had a lot of land. His land gave him so many crops that he did not have space to store them. So, the man decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. He thought that having lots of food and goods would make him happy for many years. He wanted to rest, eat, drink, and enjoy himself.

But God spoke to the man. God told him he was foolish because that very night, the man’s life would end. Then, all the things he saved would go to someone else. The man had worked for himself, but he had not thought about God or others.

This passage teaches us that life is not about having many things. What matters most is having a good heart and loving God. Jesus wants us to be rich in God’s eyes, not just in money and things.

Read The Passage

The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”
14 Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?”
15 And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”
16 Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops.
17 He began to think to himself, ‘I don’t have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do?
18 This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods.
19 Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’
20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”
21 And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s sight.”

Luke 12:13-21 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 12:13-21 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 12:13-21 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 12:13-21 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 12:13-21 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Who asked Jesus to divide the family property?
2. What did Jesus say about life and owning many things?
3. Why did the rich man want to build bigger barns?
4. What did the rich man plan to do after saving all his goods?
5. What did God say to the rich man that night?
6. What happened to all the rich man’s things after he died?
7. What lesson did Jesus want people to learn from this story?

Application Questions

1. Why do you think people sometimes want more and more things?
2. What can we do to be rich in God’s eyes, not just with money?
3. How can we help others instead of only thinking about ourselves?
4. What is one good thing you can share with someone this week?

Theological Insights

1. God is the one who gives us life, and it can end at any time.
2. Greed pulls our hearts away from God and others.
3. Jesus cares more about our hearts and kindness than about how much money we have.
4. Everything we have is a gift from God, and we should use it to love him and serve others.
5. It is wise to think about heaven and not just about life on earth.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for teaching us what is important in life. Help us to love you and care for others, not just gather things for ourselves. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.