God, Debt, Stewardship & Benjamin's

This past Sunday we jumped into part 3 of our series "Financial Path of a Champion." We talked about how money is a test. It tests our trustworthiness and it tests our motives.

You can listen to this message on on our website at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

This has truly been a good sermon series. The Bible has WAY MORE to say on money than we will cover this month. I encourage you to continue to study God's word and what He says about money. It's not my opinion or my thoughts that ultimately matter but HIS. 

Here are several Bible reading plans through YouVersion that address issues of money,

debt, and stewardship:

1. Debt: A Biblical Exploration

2. Undying Commitment: A 14-day study in Stewardship

3. Money Matters 

Take a few moments today and sign up for one of the above plans and let God's word continue to transform your heart and change your life!!

May we continue to always be growing and moving forward toward Him!!

Who really is on first?

This past Sunday we jumped into part 2 of our NEW series "Financial Path of a Champion." 

You can listen to this message on on our website at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Because this is the first time in 2 years we have preached a sermon series on money and because we don't pass an offering plate on Sunday's, I can say with all confidence that we are doing this series because we want you to truly be blessed!! Look around at everyone in debt, addictions and emptiness and tell me if not following God's way is working.

The title of my message this past Sunday was "Who's on first." You know how easy it is for all of us to say "well, God is, naturally." However, money has a way of revealing who really is on first. God has instituted a principle in Scripture to really see if he is 1st place in our lives. It's called Tithing. Because God's word is so powerful, I thought it would be worth it just to put all of the Scripture verses again on my blog this week.

Matthew 6:20-21— ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Matthew 23:23— “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Exodus 13:12-13— ¹² you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. ¹³ A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son

Proverbs 3:9-10— Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Exodus 23:19— The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. 

Genesis 4:3-5— And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. 

Malachi 3:8-10— “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

I know tithing can be hard at first but once you experience the amazing provision and blessing from God you will never turn back!

Money reveals my heart

This past Sunday we had a blast as we celebrated our 2 year anniversary and kicked of part 1 of our NEW series "Financial Path of a Champion." 

You can listen to this message on on our website at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

The title of my message was "Mammon." Simply put Mammon is the spirit behind the money. Jesus said, "We can not serve both God and mammon." The spirit of mammon says, "you don't need God, trust in money." The spirit of mammon says that money is the answer to security, peace & happiness. However, mammon promises many things it can never provide.

Here are some tough questions to wrestle with as we strive to apply the message to our lives. 

#1--Who do we believe is our source? (our employer, the government or God?)

We want to say God but if we were honest we often live our lives likes its the others. Here is a powerful verse that wasn't shared on Sunday.

Deuteronomy 8:18--Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

God is the one who provides for us and takes care of us. Take a few moments and read Matthew 6. You will get the big picture of what God is saying and how he takes care of his children. 

#2--How have we viewed giving in the past? 

Do we view it as a get rich-quick scheme? Do we view it as an obligation? Do we feel guilted into it? 

Giving is not a get-rich-scheme; it is a lay-down your life challenge--Robert Morriss. 

If I told you that being generous and giving wouldn't make you rich according to the American standard, would you still be generous? 

Those who are not controlled by the spirit of mammon can be generous and begin to live the blessed life!!

#3--What aspects of money make you afraid?

Does thinking about retirement make you anxious? Do you avoid balancing your checkbook? What behaviors do you have that show you  are afraid of money? 

The more we are controlled by the spirit of mammon the less peace & security we actually have.

#4--How would you react to the following situations?

a)it's been a touch month financially, and to top it off, your car needs an unbudgeted repair.

b)you've worked hard for the last 6 months expecting a bonus from your employer. A downturn in the economy makes it impossible for your employer to give you the bonus. 

c)you have been generous with your church and you have also saved carefully for your retirement by buying stock in your company. You learn from the newspaper that mismanagement of the retirement fund has resulted in it's losing more than half its value

When these kind of setbacks occur how can we look to God rather than men for provision? 

May we be a people who put our trust in the only one that can truly provide for our needs. May we trust God with our lives and rest knowing He takes care of His children.

PS. This entire series is adapted from the book "The Blessed LIfe" by Robert Morriss. 

Choose Your Own Adventure

This past Sunday we had a blast as we laid the foundation for our new series "Financial Path of a Champion." If you missed it, make sure you check out the links below.

You can listen to this message on on our website at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

The title of my message was "Choose Your Own Adventure." We had fun going through our own choose your own adventure story during the gathering. There were a lot of challenging truths shared but I want to hone in on one...throughout Scripture you see  a connection between obedience & trust with blessing and the hand of God. If you want the hand and blessing of God on your life, then follow his path and his ways!

In 2 Kings 8 we read the story of a widow who was told by the prophet and man of God Elisha to leave Israel for 7 years because there was going to be a famine in the land. That is not an easy pill to swallow. Leave your home, everything you are accustomed to, your friends, your neighborhood etc. She also was at risk of losing everything if she left.
She was faced with a choice, go her own way or follow God's way.

Which path did she choose? She chose to follow God's path. After the famine was over she returned to Israel and an event happened that only he could orchestrate. Something remarkable happened in her favor that came from the hand of God.

Elisha's servant was telling the king a story about how Elisha and raise to life a widow's son and did a miracle. As he was telling the king the story the widow walks in at that exact moment to see if she can get her property, land etc. back. 

http://bible.us/2Kgs8.6.NLT “Is this true?” the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.

Not only does she get everything restored to her that she lost but also the value of the crops while she was gone. throughout Scripture you see  a connection between obedience & trust with blessing and the hand of God. 

Will there be challenges? You bet! Will it be difficult? YES! However, when we choose to follow God's word and His ways we will see blessing. 

We all choose our own adventure, may we choose wisely!!