The Generosity of the King 3: The Rich Man
For Meditation
This Sunday, we welcome Paul Miller as our guest preacher, author of A Praying Life. Paul Miller learned to pray through suffering and helplessness. Paul found himself in difficult situations he couldn’t control, and he could only cry out to his heavenly Father. It happened often enough that it became a habit, creating a rut between his soul and God. “We initially receive Jesus because we are weak,” Paul explains. “But somehow we forget that helplessness is also how the Christian life works.”
Paul began bringing his messy life to the Father, and he discovered a Father eager to embrace the mess. Paul and his wife Jill entered a new realm of helplessness when their fourth child, Kim, was born with developmental challenges. Diagnosed as autistic, via a microscopic chromosomal deletion called 1p36, Kim has worked hard to overcome her disability. Now 27 years old, Kim’s life has been a blessing to her entire family. The Millers have learned to see God’s story of love and redemption woven into their own.
This week, he will be sharing with us on the toxic danger of wealth without generosity. We'll go deep into the story, and be captivated by how Jesus turns this around.
Our weekly worship guide can be downloaded here.
Luke 16:19-31
Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.
22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the heavenly banquet.[a] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and he went to the place of the dead.[b] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.
24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
