Blog

It’s 2022 and this year’s budget (at least for calendar year) isn’t exactly screaming for attention. But what would it be like if, right now, your church set this year’s giving goal to exceed budget expectations?

Crazy talk? Sure, if we’re just talking cash gifts. But when non-cash gifts are in play, anything’s possible.

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When impulse buyers went shopping in the Middle Ages, they often ended up with a “pig-in-a-poke.” It made them wish they had practiced some patience and self-control.

Today, we’re not doing much better.

Is it possible to make regular, reasoned and calculated money choices? Can that little whisper telling us to “buy now” ever be silenced?

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Every church has attendees and even members who contribute nothing … zero…nada to the operating budget — year after year. What gives?!

Is this okay? Can anything be done? Should we expect a miracle?

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Dirty money.

It’s not just the Netflix series about corporate corruption. It’s the headline some believers apply to money.

After all, Jesus Himself said it was dirty — once, sort of, when He called money “adikia” — unrighteous, unjust, iniquitous, wrong. But this was as a postscript to His story about the shrewd money manager.

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Here’s a conversation that could never happen. Why? Because it’s between a fictional farmer from one of Jesus’ stories and Jacob!

Like I said, that ain’t happening.

But if these two did talk, what do suppose they’d have to say about owning wealth? Who it belongs to? How it should be used?

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“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (John 6:27, NIV)

I saw it this morning, while walking my dog. An hour before daybreak, the shadowy figure of a coyote disappeared and re-appeared between the streetlights just ahead of us. After my dog let out a nervous huff, it stopped, turned to stare at us, and then kept trotting ahead.

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“And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” (Exodus 36:6-7, NIV)

Here’s a silly question: Is there ever such a thing as too much giving? When it comes to generosity, is the sky always the limit?

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What’s the cost of church renewal?

It depends on the type of cost, right? Fees for renewal programs range from hundreds to thousands of dollars; but there’s also the human cost of soul searching, prayer and repentance.

Which cost would you rather pay?

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I once suggested to a funeral director that his standard pay rate for conducting a funeral service be raised. His curt reply: ‘I thought you did this for ministry.’

Ouch

So when does greed leach into ministry? Where’s the line and how do we know it’s been crossed?

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Let’s have some fun with a sermon challenge! Here goes…

Could you or would you ever compose and preach this sermon: “Jesus Is the Key to Your Financial Success”?

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