A New Way Of Thinking Series

A New Way Of Thinking

Money Matters – part one

Play Pink Floyd, “Money” with the word Money on the screen

In regards to money, Pink Floyd said (31 years ago on the dark Side Of The Moon Album – who feels old… march 24, 1973)

Money, get away.

Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.

Money, it’s a gas.

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.

New car, caviar, four star daydream,

Think I’ll buy me a football team.

Money, get back.

I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack.

Money, it’s a hit.

Don’t give me that do goody good STUFF

I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set

And I think I need a Lear jet.

Money, it’s a crime.

Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.

Money, so they say

Is the root of all evil today.

But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re

giving none away.

In regards to money the bible said 2,000 years ago in Luke 12;

13Then someone called from the crowd, "Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me." 14Jesus replied, "Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?" 15Then he said, "Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own."16And he gave an illustration: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17In fact, his barns were full to overflowing. 18So he said, `I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store everything. 19And I’ll sit back and say to myself, My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ 20"But God said to him, `You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?’ 21"Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

- Luke 12:13-21 (NLT)

Prayer…

Play Video – What Would You Do With 10 million dollars… (Sermon Spice)

What would you do?

What would you do, with 10 million dollars?

What would you do, if you were rich?

• Buy a paint ball field?

• Travel?

• Buy a big house?

• Live lavishly?

• Go shopping

• Help the homeless

• Payoff your bills

• Buy lots of pink things

This morning we’re kicking off a brand new message series. It’s a 4 part series that will take us through 2004… YOU KNOW – 2004 has been an awesome year at Central… ONE IF NOT – the best years ever! AND – we have really done some great studies together in 04…

• The New You Revolution

• The Passion Of The Christ

• The Faith Factor

• Extreme Living

• Recovering What Was Lost

AND - I’m calling our last study for 2004 (my break out year), “Money Matters…”

NOW – God has a lot to say about money… CHECK THIS OUT - the bible has 500 verses on prayer, less 500 on faith but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions. Jesus also said a lot about money. 16 of the 38 parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. AND - in the gospels an amazing 1 out of every 10 verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money.

QUESTION – how does the topic for this series, Money Matters’ make you feel?

• Anxious

• Nervous

• Defensive, afraid, uncomfortable…

• Does it make you wish you stayed home… I MEAN – what a day to come to church.

In an article called, ‘The Energy Of Money,’ Maria Nemeth writes;

Money is an uncomfortable subject for most of us. Many people would rather talk about their sex lives than about their bank balance. We love money, and we hate it. We can’t live with it, and we can’t live without it. Money can be a source of great joy and creativity, or it can bring frustration and misery, depending on our relationship with it. And we bring all these doubts and fears, hopes and expectations with us every time we deal with money--not just when we visit a financial planner or a loan officer, but in every area of our lives.

Money touches almost every aspect of living: work, leisure time, creative activities, home, family, and spiritual pursuits. Everything we do and dream of is affected by our relationship with this powerful form of energy. Whether your dream is to travel around the world, pay for a house, establish a food bank, buy a Corvette, get out from under a mountain of debt, or take a year off to write a novel, that vision is intertwined with the possibilities and pitfalls bound up in the energy of money.