Small Group Discussion Questions for the Book of Luke (Teenagers)
Luke is the gospel that makes you feel like you’re actually there. More than any other gospel writer, Luke zooms in on specific people — a tax collector up a tree, a woman who lost one coin, a father running down a dirt road, a thief dying next to Jesus asking for something he doesn’t deserve. These are the stories teenagers remember.
Luke is also the longest of the four gospels, which means you need a plan. This guide organizes the book into six thematic sections, each with 5-7 discussion questions designed for teen small groups. You can run it as a full semester study (six sessions over six weeks), or pull individual sections as standalone discussions.
Assign Luke alongside this study using Ori. A chapter-by-chapter reading plan through Luke, tracked for your whole group, means students arrive at each session having already spent time in the text. Try Ori free for 14 days and run your Luke study with students who’ve actually been in the story.
How to Use This Guide
Luke has 24 chapters. This guide groups them into six sections:
- Session 1: Who Jesus Is (Luke 1-4)
- Session 2: Who Jesus Calls (Luke 5-7)
- Session 3: The Kingdom Upside Down — Parables and Power (Luke 8-11)
- Session 4: What Jesus Wants from You (Luke 12-14)
- Session 5: Lost and Found — The Great Parables (Luke 15-18)
- Session 6: The Cross and the Empty Tomb (Luke 19-24)
For the full session structure — check-in, opening question, text, discussion, response — see Bible Study Lessons for Youth Group: A Complete Guide. For facilitation tips that will improve discussion quality, see How to Lead a Teen Small Group.
Session 1: Who Jesus Is (Luke 1-4)
Focus passages: Luke 1:26-38 (Annunciation), Luke 2:41-52 (Jesus at the temple), Luke 4:1-13 (temptation), Luke 4:16-21 (mission statement)
Key verse:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.” — Luke 4:18 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- Luke 4:18-19 is essentially Jesus’s mission statement — who he came for and what he came to do. In your own words, what is he saying? Does anything on that list surprise you?
- In Luke 2:41-52, the 12-year-old Jesus says he had to be “in my Father’s house.” His parents were worried sick — and he seems almost surprised they didn’t know where to find him. What do you think was going on in that moment?
- In the wilderness, Satan tempts Jesus three times. Each temptation is about a shortcut: provision, power, protection — without the cross. What are the shortcuts you’re most tempted by in your faith?
- Mary’s response to the angel in Luke 1:38 is “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” That’s an extraordinary response to an extraordinary and life-disrupting announcement. What does it mean to have that kind of surrender?
- What is your first impression of Jesus based on these early chapters of Luke? What about him are you drawn to or curious about?
Leader note: Question 5 is a great opening question for a series — it invites students to bring their actual impression of Jesus, not the “right” answer. Take notes on what they say; you can return to it at the end of the series and ask if anything changed.
Session 2: Who Jesus Calls (Luke 5-7)
Focus passages: Luke 5:1-11 (call of Peter), Luke 5:27-32 (call of Levi), Luke 7:36-50 (the sinful woman)
Key verse:
“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’” — Luke 5:8 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- When Jesus calls Peter in Luke 5, Peter’s first reaction is to say “Go away from me — I’m a sinful man.” Have you ever felt that way in relation to God — like your sin makes you disqualified? What happened?
- Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) while he’s at his tax collector booth — in the middle of work that made him a social outcast. What does it say about Jesus that he goes to Levi’s world rather than waiting for Levi to clean up and come to the synagogue?
- The religious leaders complain: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30). Jesus says he came for the sick, not the healthy. Who are the people at your school or in your world who might be in the “tax collector” category — people others wouldn’t be seen with?
- In Luke 7:36-50, a woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus’s feet and weeps over him. The Pharisee is scandalized. Jesus says her many sins are forgiven — and her love flows from that. What does this story say about the connection between experiencing forgiveness and the capacity to love?
- Who in your life most needs to know that Jesus calls people like them — people who feel disqualified?
Session 3: The Kingdom Upside Down — Parables and Power (Luke 8-11)
Focus passages: Luke 8:4-15 (parable of the sower), Luke 10:25-37 (Good Samaritan), Luke 11:1-13 (Lord’s Prayer)
Key verse:
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” — Luke 8:15 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes four types of soil — four ways people receive the word. Which type of soil do you think best describes your heart right now, and why?
- In the Good Samaritan story, a lawyer asks “who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells a story about the one person the lawyer would least expect. Who is the “Samaritan” in your world — who is the unlikely person who might actually embody love better than those who should?
- The Good Samaritan saw the injured man and “had compassion” — then he stopped, helped, and paid. Three layers: feeling, decision, action. Which layer is easiest for you? Which is hardest?
- In Luke 11, Jesus teaches the Lord’s Prayer again. He adds the parable of the friend at midnight (vv. 5-8) — a story about persistent, shameless asking. How shameless is your asking of God?
- What would it mean for God’s kingdom to come in your school this week — practically, not just spiritually?
Session 4: What Jesus Wants from You (Luke 12-14)
Focus passages: Luke 12:13-21 (rich fool), Luke 12:22-34 (worry), Luke 14:25-33 (cost of discipleship)
Key verse:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” — Luke 12:34 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who builds bigger barns to store all his wealth — and dies the same night. “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (v. 21). What does it mean to be “rich toward God”?
- Luke 12:22-34 is the “do not worry” passage. Jesus asks: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” What are you most worried about right now — and does this passage help at all?
- In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus talks about counting the cost of discipleship — like a builder estimating whether he can finish a tower. What do you think it costs to actually follow Jesus? Are you counting that honestly?
- Jesus says in Luke 14:33: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” What’s the hardest thing on that list for you — what would be the hardest thing to give up?
- If someone looked at your life from the outside this week, would they be able to tell that following Jesus is your priority — or would something else be more visible?
Session 5: Lost and Found — The Great Parables (Luke 15-18)
Focus passages: Luke 15 (lost sheep, lost coin, prodigal son), Luke 18:9-14 (Pharisee and tax collector), Luke 18:15-17 (children)
Key verse:
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son.” — Luke 15:20 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- Luke 15 has three lost-and-found parables: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. Why do you think Luke groups all three together? What does the repetition say about how important the theme is to Jesus?
- In the prodigal son story, both sons are estranged from the father — the younger through rebellion, the older through resentment. Which son do you relate to more right now?
- “He ran to his son” (v. 20). In the culture of the time, a father running was undignified — something a man of his standing wouldn’t do. What does the running say about what this parable is really about?
- The Pharisee in Luke 18 prays: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people” (v. 11). The tax collector can barely look up and says: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus says the tax collector went home justified. What does that say about how God evaluates us?
- Jesus says the kingdom of God belongs to those who come like children (Luke 18:17). What does childlike faith look like — not naivety, but something specific? What would it mean for you to come to God like that?
Session 6: The Cross and the Empty Tomb (Luke 19-24)
Focus passages: Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus), Luke 22:14-23 (Last Supper), Luke 23:32-43 (crucifixion), Luke 24:1-12 (resurrection)
Key verse:
“He is not here; he has risen!” — Luke 24:6 (NIV)
Discussion Questions:
- Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus — a grown man, publicly undignified. Jesus stops, looks up, and says “I must stay at your house today.” What does it say about Jesus that he seeks out the people who are trying the hardest to get to him?
- At the Last Supper, Jesus says the bread is his body broken and the cup is his blood poured out. He says “do this in remembrance of me.” Why does he make it physical — bread and cup, not just a prayer? What does it mean to remember someone with your body?
- On the cross, one of the thieves asks Jesus to remember him. Jesus says “today you will be with me in paradise.” That’s the last person Jesus speaks salvation to before he dies. What does that tell you about who grace is for?
- When the women arrive at the tomb, it’s empty and angels ask: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” That question lands in a lot of places. Where are you looking for life in things that are dead or empty?
- After six sessions in Luke: who is Jesus to you now? Has anything changed from your first answer in Session 1?
Leader note: The final question is a bookend to the first session. Take time with it. This is the question Luke’s entire gospel is trying to answer — who is this man? The resurrection demands an answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I run all 24 chapters or just key sections?
This 6-session guide is designed to hit the major movements of Luke without covering every chapter in equal depth. If your group wants to go slower, split Session 3 (Luke 8-11 is dense) and add a session on the healing miracles (Luke 13-14). An 8-session Luke study gives more breathing room.
What’s the best way to assign Luke reading between sessions?
Assign 3-4 chapters per week — which is 4-5 minutes of daily reading. Ori’s reading plan lets you build a Luke track, push reading notifications, and see daily engagement before the session. See how Ori reading plans work.
Is Luke appropriate for students who don’t have much Bible background?
Luke is one of the best starting points for new readers — he writes for a Gentile audience who doesn’t assume prior knowledge of Jewish context. The stories are self-contained and accessible. Session 1’s opening question (“What’s your first impression of Jesus?”) works particularly well for students new to the gospels.
Send Your Students Into Luke’s Gospel
Luke is 24 chapters of Jesus reaching for the people no one else would. Your students need to see that — not just hear about it, but sit in the stories themselves. Assign the Luke reading plan through Ori, track who’s been reading, and come to each session with a group that’s actually been in the story.
Try Ori free for 14 days. Start your Luke study with Ori.