Jesus and Money | Greg Ford | One Church Columbus
Jesus and Money | Greg Ford | One Church Columbus
ICEBREAKER:
If someone gave you a BILLION dollars today, what would you do tomorrow?
MESSAGE NOTES:
The Dunning-Kruger Effect
There are 64,000+ cross references in the Bible. There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament, for a total of 31,102 verses.
Jesus is perfect Theology
• 2350 verses in the Bible deal with money
• There are twice as many verses dealing with money than with faith and prayer combined
• 15% of Jesus’ recorded words deal with money
Jesus said more about money than about heaven and hell combined
The allure of money is the promise of freedom, but carries with it the risk of bondage.
[Hebrews 13:5]
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
“Statistics show that as many as 70 percent of divorcing couples attribute the breakdown of their marriage to arguments over money.”
- The Detroit News
Jesus talked about money alot because it’s great for 3 things…
Deep Learning
[Matthew 6:19-24]
“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! 24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
[Luke 12:13-15]
Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
[Luke 12:34]
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
[Mark 10:17]
As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
[Mark 10:21-25]
“Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
2. Expressing Love
You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
[Mark 12:41-44]
Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
3. Serving Each Other
[Matthew 17:24-27]
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax? 25 “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” 26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
QUESTION 1: How does the statement “Jesus is perfect theology” impact your personal view of theology in the here and now?
QUESTION 2: When you consider the utility of money for learning, loving, and serving, which is most challenging for you personally?
QUESTION 3: What values does your money currently display? What values would you like it to display?
GUIDED PRAYER:
God thank you for every blessing - thank you that you are my provider. I invite you to be in the center of my finances, and my mindset around money. Lead and guide how I view the resources you bless me with, and how I practically care for it. I worship you and thank you. Amen.