On Sunday, March 26, 2023 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Luke 16:1-13.  This message was part 3 of the “In God We Trust” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find audio and video from the sermon to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Luke 16:1-13
3. Have you ever stopped to consider the principle that we take zero dollars and possessions with us into eternity?  How does remembering this cause you to think differently about the stuff (money and possessions) in our lives today?
4. When you look back on your life, do you have any regrets financially?  Given what we have studied over the past three weeks, is there a spiritual component to your regret?  (i.e. do you have any sense that you have squandered any of the resources the Lord has entrusted to you?)
5. What are some ways God is leading you to invest for the ultimate tomorrow today?
6. In the message we talked about what Jesus says in Matthew 6:21 … that our heart attention follows where ever our “treasure” is.  Have you seen this principle play true in your life?
7. We detailed some of the ways we can serve God with our money in the message:
   1. • Give then live (Matthew 6:33)
      • Work for your wages (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12)
      • Provide for your family (1 Timothy 5:8)
      • Pay your taxes (Romans 13:6-7)
      • Save for the (un)known (Proverbs 6:8, Ecclesiastes 11:2b)
      • Plan to help others (Deuteronomy 24:19-21)

Did the Lord prompt you during this section of the message in any particular way to change any of your current behaviors regarding money?

8.  What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

 

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the file to download:

In God We Trust #3 3.26.23

 

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To watch, use the YouTube stream:

 

Have you ever made a financial decision you regret?  A decision painful enough to make you wish you had a time machine to go back and worn “former you” what lay on the other side of that decision/purchase/investment?

I have.  Sadly a few times.

I once bought a used car that within 3 months of ownership was identified to have more $ of repairs needed than I had paid for the car initially!  What a disaster!  And then there was my first “investment” in a Mutual Fund when I bought a “can’t miss” portfolio that popped in the Tech Bubble.  Sure, neither of these things were THAT expensive (the car was not that awesome to begin with and the amount I “invested” in my late twenties was laughably slim) but looking back, I wish I had stayed away from both.

How about you … can you relate?  A house that was a money pit?  A business venture that went south?  A timeshare that was a money suck?

Living in this world carries with it a number of “mandatory” expenses, or things that are dictated to us by life and culture … things like taxes, medical bills, and the rising price of groceries.  The resources we manage already feel crimped by the things outside our control … so we HATE IT, when the things inside our control go up in smoke.

This feeling of financial regret is often-times magnified when investigated through the lens of our walk with Christ.  Over the past two weeks at Wildwood we have seen that “God owns it all” and “We are called to manage His resources.”  How are we to respond TODAY in light of the financial regrets of our YESTERDAYS as we follow Christ?

Well, this Sunday, we will look to the ultimate TOMORROW to help us make the right investments TODAY with God’s resources He has entrusted to us to manage.

Join us this Sunday, March 26 at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 at Wildwood Community Church for the conclusion to our series, “In God We Trust:  3 Thoughts about God and Money.”  We will look at Luke 16:1-13 and select verses from Matthew 6 to see our third thought about God and Money – “Invest His resources in light of eternity.”

See you Sunday … and bring friends!

On Sunday, March 19, 2023 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 25:14-30.  This message was part 2 in the “In God We Trust” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the message to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 25:14-30
3. Take an inventory … enumerate the resources the Lord has entrusted to you: Time (opportunities), Talent (skills), and Treasure (stuff). Taking a look at those resources, would you consider yourself having been given 1 “talent” or several “talents”?
4. Three observations were given … one about our past (do we need to repent for any previous misdealing with God’s provision?), one about our present (are we currently playing the “comparison game” with other believers?), and one about our future (what is our plan to invest His provision in the days ahead?)  Did anything in particular stand out to you as you evaluated your life in these ways?
5. Like the “one talent” servant in the parable, we are also tempted to bury God’s blessing and not deploy it for His purposes.  Can you relate to this?  Do you have a sense that you have buried or squandered any of the Lord’s resources that He has entrusted to you?
6. What are some specific ways you want to invest His blessing this week?
7. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link below:

In God We Trust #2 3.19.23

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

To watch the stream, use YouTube online:

 

Every day there are a number of assets that I manage. It is actually quite a generous portfolio. These resources are not mine, but are mine to manage. What does this collection include?

*  I am not an investment banker, but this portfolio does include money.
*  I am not a real estate broker, but it does include property.
*  I am not an auto dealer, but it does include transportation.
*  I am not an event planner, but it does include time.
*  I am not famous, but it does include relational connection and influence.
*  I am not the most talented person around, but it does include gifts and skills.

Every day, I wake up on this planet, I tend to these resources, and attempt to steward them in the manner that their owner would desire. Hundreds of dollars and square feet, thousands of minutes and relationships, several skills and a few vehicles have all been entrusted to my care by their true owner.

This is not unique to me. You also manage a similar portfolio daily of resources that are owned by another.

Who is that Owner? Well, if you were at Wildwood last Sunday for the start of our new sermon series, you heard from 1 Chronicles 29:1-16 that Jesus Christ is the rightful Owner of All Things. This means that our salary, our stuff, our calendar, our skills, and our influence is not REALLY OURS … but are actually God’s. By His grace and mercy He has entrusted into our care some of His things, with the hope that we would manage it for His glory and honor.

Your time, talent, and treasure are actually His. Though He has entrusted different amounts to each of us, the objective is the same. So how can we be a good steward of His resources? We will look at that this Sunday morning at Wildwood in our 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00 sermon series in part 2 of our series – “In God we Trust: 3 Thoughts about God and Money.” Last week we saw that God owns it all. This week we will discuss our role as stewards of His portfolio.

See you Sunday … and bring friends!

On Sunday, March 12, 2023 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message based on 1 Chronicles 29:1-16.  This message was part 1 of the “In God We Trust” sermon series.  Below you will find questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion.  You will also find the audio and video of the sermon to listen to/watch, download or share.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read 1 Chronicles 29:1-16
3. Why do you think the subject of “my money” is so emotional for all of us?  Can you think of any examples when your emotions or anxieties were elevated as you were considering your resources?
4. In 1 Chronicles 29:9, the people rejoiced at the opportunity to give.  Have you ever experienced this feeling when giving away your resources?  Describe that experience?  What led to you having this feeling of joy as you gave?
5. In 1 Chronicles 29:10-16, David prays to God and declares that ALL David and Israel had were actually the Lord’s.  Personalize this statement for a moment.  Did you realize that all you have is actually on loan from God?  Take a brief inventory of all of the Lord’s resources He has entrusted to you in this season of your life.
6. Take some time and pray and thank God for His provision He has given you to manage and steward at this time in your life.
7. What are some ways you are challenged to alter the way you are handling God’s resources at this time in your life?
8. Do you regularly give a percentage of your income away (as a reminder that ALL of the resources are ultimately the Lord’s)?  When did you develop this rhythm?  What led to you to begin giving?  If you are not giving, what is preventing you from practicing this act of worship today?
9. Why is it easier to trust Christ with our souls than with our stuff?  Are you gently holding both with an open hand before Him today?
10. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

 

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

 

To listen offline, click the link to download:

In God We Trust #1 3.12.23

 

To listen online, use the media player below:

 

 

To watch the stream, use YouTube online:

 

Money is an emotional subject … isn’t it?  To be fair, not all aspects of money are emotional; after all, most of us don’t beak out into cold sweats when we drive by a bank, or when we submit an expense report at work, or when we attend a class on Macro-Economics at University. These things are common for us – simple everyday realities.

But we do understand money to be emotional in different contexts.  For instance, when someone approaches us at a busy intersection with a sign that says “Help Please,” our heart rate might quicken.  When we get a bill from the orthodontist about the cost of straightening a smile, we have an emotional reaction.  And when a Pastor says “the subject of today’s sermon is about money” … well, we might just decide this is a good week to sleep in and watch the church down the street on livestream.

Why is that?  Well the answer is simple.  Money isn’t the issue … it is MY MONEY that causes the anxiety to rise.  And the reason the busy intersection of money and religion cause such avoidance is that we approach the topic EXPECTING the Pastor to tell US what we SHOULD DO with OUR money.  This has the emotional appeal of an arranged marriage.

And so with that introduction, I want to let you know that for the next 3 weeks, I will be preaching at Wildwood Community Church about [drum roll please]  … YOUR MONEY*!  

Now, before you sleep in and tune out for the remainder of March, I want to share with you three reasons why you should pay attention to this new series:

1. We WANT this input.  We really do.  We want to understand what the creator of the universe has to say about money.
2. We NEED this input.  We really do.  Inside each of us is what the New Testament calls “the flesh” which is an insider agent who is exceptional at convincing us that our desires are the most important thing. Yet giving into the flesh financially does not lead to happiness and fulfillment … instead it leads to things like debt, idolatry, and lack of peace.  We need outside input about a better way.
3. We CAN TRUST the input of Jesus on this topic.  Did you realize that Jesus never took up an offering … though He talked about financial matters often.  Jesus is not after our money, He is pursuing our hearts … but there is a peculiar connection between these two things. We often ignore the advice of people concerning our finances because we assume that they just want to take advantage of us in some way.  However, we CAN TRUST Jesus on this topic every time.  He actually wants something for us, not just from us on this issue.

So, if you don’t want to listen to ME about money – I get it.  But let’s both gather these next 3 Sundays to see what God says about the topic. We will be in a 3 part series entitled “In God We Trust:  3 Thoughts about God and Money.”  This week, we will look at 1 Chronicles 29 and see why the phrase “YOUR MONEY” is starred (*) above.  Looking forward to worshipping with you all Sunday morning at 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00.  See you there … and bring friends!