Treasure Principle PT3

Final Week of our special Thursday episodes! Next week we resume new episodes on Wednesdays.

TREASURE PRINCIPLE

Creating a Culture

(Week 3)

THE CHURCH: Cultivating a culture of stewardship and giving.

1.     HOW DO WE TEACH OTHERS ABOUT STEWARDSIP AND GIVING?

      The church needs to model and teach a biblical pattern of stewardship. (Ezra 7:10)

      Christians need to disciple each other in financial stewardship.

2.     WHY IS THE TOPIC OF DEBT SO IMPORTANT?

Debt is servitude (Proverbs 22:7)

3.     WHAT SHOULD WE ASK OURSELVES BEFORE GOING INTO DEBT?

Our debt mentality.

We need more than God has given us.

God doesn’t know best what our needs are.

God has failed to provide for our needs, forcing us to take matters into our

own hands.

If God doesn’t come through the way we think He should, we can find another way.

But He tells us to be content. (Hebrews 13:5 and Philippians 4:11)

4.     HAVE YOU LEARNED TO SET A BUDGET AND LIVE ON IT?

Proverbs 27:23-24

5.     TEACHING CHILDREN HOW TO MANAGE GOD’S MONEY AND POSSESSIONS.

Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 6:5 and 6:7

6.     HOW CAN WE HELP CHILDREN BECOME GENEROUS GIVERS?

Jesus taught us that our hearts follow whatever we treasure. (Matthew 6:21)

TREASURE PRINCIPAL #2: My heart always goes where I put God’s money.

Questions to ponder:

1.     Jesus, how can I better communicate with and pray with my spouse and children

so we can walk together down this wonderful road of giving?

2.     What am I doing and what should I be doing to train the children in my sphere of

influence to be regular, joyful, and generous givers?

3.     If I am a giver, whom have I been teaching and mentoring in giving? In a spirit of

humility, how can I share with others the joy of giving?

TREASURE PRINCIPAL #3: Heaven and the future New Earth, not this fallen Earth, is my home.

If you sense God leading you to a new commitment to giving, I leave you with 6 steps to follow.

1.     I affirm God’s full ownership of me and everything entrusted to me. I recognize that my money and possessions are His.

2.     I will set aside the first fruits-starting with at least 10 percent-of all I receive, treating it as belonging exclusively to the Lord.

3.   Out of the remaining treasures God entrusts to me, I will seek to make generous free will gifts.

4.   I ask God to teach me to give sacrificially to His purposes. I commit myself to

      avoiding indebtedness so that I don’t tie up His funds; and therefore have greater 

      freedom to follow the Spirit’s prompting to give.

5.     Recognizing that I cannot take earthly treasures from this world, I ask for His direction for what to do with and where to give His money.

6.     I ask Him to help me share these principles so others, as I have, can experience present joy and future rewards.