Taking a Spiritual Audit of Your Money - Sermon Setup

I hope you are excited to think about your money because I am. I have been praying and studying on this subject for the past two weeks. Here is the sermon setup for this Sunday, April 11th.

Please be in prayer -- He has great things in store, because His Word is powerful and He loves His church!

Thinking Like Christians in this Financial Crisis

Did you see the numbers on the DOW JONES lately? I did--even though I really don't know what they mean other than high is good and low is bad. This morning the stock market slide even further after a week of consistent descent -- from what I hear it recovered a bit since this morning.

How should a Christian think about this "Financial Crisis"? Is it just greed? Is capitalism a system of corruption that needs to go?

I suggest you read the follow two articles by Charles Colson and Albert Mohler.

"God Is in Control of the Financial Crisis" by Charles Colson

"A Christian View of the Economic Crisis" by Albert Mohler

Robbing God, Tithing, Douglas Wilson...

Here are some verses, a quote and a link on giving and the tithe that I have found challenging lately.

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' (8) Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. (9) You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. (10) Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. (Malachi 3:7-10)

I have heard John Piper say this before and in one of his sermon he spoke about tithing with these words:

My take on tithing in America is that it’s a middle-class way of robbing God. Tithing to the church and spending the rest on your family is not a Christian goal. It’s a diversion. The real issue is: How shall we use God’s trust fund—namely, all we have—for His glory? In a world with so much misery, what lifestyle should we call our people to live? What example are we setting? — John Piper (1946-), pastor and author

I also would recommend you reading these two blog entries from Douglas Wilson on the Christian and money. Almost everything that Wilson writes is worth reading and thinking about -- he also is enjoyable to read.

Seeking Financial Wisdom
Robert P. Greedybuckets III