Sermon Sunday October 25, 2009
ENOUGH 2
WISDOM AND FINANCES
Genesis 12:1-5A
Luke 15: 11-24
- Where did all the money go?
- Ok kids. You are at Wal Mart and you want to get something, but you don’t have any money so you ask your parents and they say a big “NO”.
What does that mean?
It may mean several things.
- Your parents really don’t have enough money, because they have spent it on other stuff.
- They don’t want to spend their money on what you want because they have a plan for that money and your stuff is not in the plan
- They consider it an unwise purchase.
- Today we are going to talk about how you can help your parents and yourself make smart plans about money.
And we begin with a story about a young man who does not have a smart plan for his money. He thinks he knows everything and tells his dad, “Father, when you die I am going to get half of your family farm. My brother will get the other half. Give me my half now!” So the father does and the son wastes it on things that don’t last. If it were my kids it would probably be candy, soda and Pizza bites. Or maybe Yugio Cards. Eventually the boy wastes all of his money.
We call him the prodigal son. That word prodigal means one who wastes resources. That is what the boy did. Not only did he waste the money, but that land on the farm that he sold to get the money, was to support him and his family for the rest of their life.
He was like many people today and probably a good number of us: adults and kids. He was in a financial crisis. The key sign of a financial crisis is that we have spent everything we have and a little bit more. Often that little bit more comes from the next pay check, or next year’s paycheck.
- Some of us though have enough money that we can afford to buy
what we want and are not going into debt when we spend.
but perhaps we still spend in wasteful ways. Our bigger problem is we have no purpose or over all goal in spending. We have forgotten God’s purpose for our spending and for our being blessed in the first place.
A. Abraham’s call from God gives us an idea of that purpose.
God told him, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will
bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. …And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12: 2 and 3b.
We are blessed and called to be a blessing to others.
When you and I look at our purpose in life, do we consider that we are to bless others? How can I bless others?
Do I use my resources strictly to provide what I want and need, or do I also use them to bless others through my giving???
- Barbara Glanz is a motivational speaker for large companies.
One day she was speaking to some grocery employees about their life purpose. She challenged them to look at each person they met to be an opportunity to give a blessing. One of the people in the audience was Johnny, a 19 year old young man with developmental handicaps. He was a bagger in a grocery store. When he got home he had an idea and several weeks later called Barbara to see if it would be OK to follow through on it. His idea was to find sayings that blessed people, print them on strips of paper and put a blessing in each bag of groceries he packed.
After several weeks people began deliberately getting into Johnnies line so they would get a blessing in their grocery bags. A month later the manager noticed a long line where Johnny was working and no one in the other two open lines. He announced on the loud speaker that there was no line at register 2 or 3. No one moved. They preferred to wait in Johnny’s long line so they could get the blessing. He took his job seriously; to bless the people he came in contact with. How much more is our calling as Christians.
Do you look at your income as a source with which to bless others??? It should never be an end in itself. Today we will have some opportunities to bless others: Gideons, Young Life, an AA celebration, or perhaps the person next to you.
- So whether you are in financial crisis or doing OK, it’s time to look at your spending habits and rethink how you use your money. We want to give you some tools for this today. I urge you to include your children in planning at some age appropriate level. This planning is to help you be clear about your life purpose and what you want to accomplish with your life, and then to help you use your financial resources to accomplish these goals.
- Set Goals for your life. “My Life and Financial Goals Worksheet”
1. How would you define or describe your life purpose?
2. What are three goals that can help you achieve this life purpose?
3. What are some financial goals that can help to support your life goals and purpose?
- Two short-term financial goals (in the next 12 months).
- Two Mid Range financial goals (in the next 2-5 years).
- Next develop a financial plan. A budget is spending plan that helps you accomplish your goals. Perhaps you need help with your finances. At the end of this sermon on our web sight will be several sights you can turn to for help. Most of them rely on help from Crown Financial Ministries. We will also publish these sights in next week’s bulletin. You could also look for financial management organizations in the area. Or at the Presbyterian Church there is a Crown Financial ministries coach. Call our office and we can put you in touch with him.
- On your way out today we will be giving you a little card with six financial planning principles. They will help you in setting up a beneficial Christian budget. They are:
- Put God first in your living and giving 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.
- Prepare a spending plan and track all expenses monthly. Proverbs 27: 23-24
- Simplify your lifestyle; live below your means.
Matthew 6: 19-33
- Provide immediately for an emergency fund.
1 Timothy 6:9-12
5. Pay off all credit card debt and use cash, not credit cards. Proverbs 22:7
- Practice long-range saving and investing habits.
Luke 14:28
Up until now this series has been interesting and thought provoking. It may have even changed one or two lives with a deeper commitment to God. Today we go to a deeper level that could change your family forever. It is to put your faith in action by affecting your finances. The goal is to set you on a path toward freedom and generosity: freedom to follow God in your finances and not be driven by your material desires and bill collectors. It is to help you see a way out to a new and better life; a joy filled life with power to bless others and change the world.
This sermon is based on the book and accompanying materials from Adam Hamilton entitled Enough
Resources for getting out of debt:
Crown Financial Ministries Tools A helpful budgeting calculator that automatically generates a suggested budget based upon the user’s inputs and Crown’s recommended expenditures.
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, offering online info including his approach to reducing debt found at this site. Also a book by Dave Ramsey the Total Money Makeover (Thomas Nelson Publishing, 2007)
