Solomon Sliding

Dennis McCallum

1 Corinthians 10:12

God did His part for Solomon in what He promised him. He gave him wisdom and wealth, but Solomon got distracted by the gift and forgot about who gave it to him. In his heart, he moved away from a life of serving God to a life of self-gratification. Solomon led his life chasing after things that had no end, there was always more to have, and he was never happy or grateful for what he had. But for us today no matter how far we drift away from God's will for our lives, we are able to come back to His presence under His grace through Jesus.

Cages of Affluence

Jim Leffel

Jeremiah 5:27-28

Greed and generosity are contrasted by using an analogy of birds in a cage. Being locked in slavery distorts reality and makes it difficult to distinguish wants from needs. Freedom gives clarity, contentment, and relational wealth. Greed is ingrained in our culture; we need to fight against it for ourselves and our children.\r\n

The Kosmos

Dennis McCallum

James 4:4

The Kosmos, a world-system set up by Satan in contrast to God's way of living, is well taught on throughout the Bible. Christians should recognize this system and fight against it, in contrast to how the American church has fed into this system, causing many people to compromise their faith. Far too often, Christians look no different from non-believers in this area, falling into greed and materialism along with the rest of our culture. We cannot serve two masters. Therefore, we must take a stand against this system and its damaging effects.

8 Essential Attitudes (Part 3)

Dennis McCallum

Hebrews 13:5-6

Developing God's perspective on money is of utmost importance to Christians. God desires to free us from anxiety and fear that comes from the love of money, and instead teach us how to draw contentment and security from what He's provided. As God provides more freedom and contentment in this area, Christians are freed up to focus more on His will for our lives, be excited for His purposes, and enter into deep relationships with others. Developing a stewardship mentality over an ownership mentality concerning God's money is crucial for Christians wanting see freedom in this area.

Healthy Families

Tom Dixon

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

Tom Dixon contrasts a positive vision for healthy, Biblical parenting against a negative vision of prioritizing materialism over spirituality in the home. He references secular studies to support his call for higher involvement in family life in a culture that is increasingly demanding more time from both children and parents than ever before.\r\n\r\nThis teaching includes a CNN clip on the effect of busy careers on families, an ABC clip on overloaded children's schedules, and a testimony by Jenny Hale on what worked well for her in parenting.

The Materialistic Church

Gary DeLashmutt

Revelation 3:14-22

In Jesus' letter to the church in Laodicea, he rebukes them for their wrong attitude towards wealth. He makes it clear that materialism can have no place in the church. Instead, Christians need to offer a contrast to what the world has to say about wealth. Followers of Jesus should be pursuing and enjoying his life-giving riches. Video testimony by Gary Ware.

The Difficulties of a Life Based on Self

Dennis McCallum

2 Timothy 3:1-3

We're designed to live in union with God. In the last days people will live separately from God and for self. Living for self is a broken path. We try to gratify the demands it lays without any lasting satisfaction. When we put pleasure-seeking at the center, the thing that used to create pleasure doesn't do the job anymore. These are the dynamics of addiction and become a devastating habit that ends up taking us over. God gives us an alternative so that we can have a growing sense of freedom from the enslaving habits that take us over.

Principle of Equality

Jim Leffel

2 Corinthians 8:13-15

Paul's instructions for the Corinthians on being generous was based on the principle of equality. The biblical picture for equality is the basis for universal human rights, reflecting God's personal concern for all people who are lacking in resources. With poverty around the world, there is more of a need to be generous (as Americans) with our vast resources to help those in need. Living in material affluence should motivate us to be generous with God's resources towards others. Addressing these big issues isn't a simple solution, but we should look to long-term strategic development in other areas of the world, where indigenous, self-sustaining solutions present themselves, and where God's message of hope can be at the center of the development work.

Challenge of Wealth

Jim Leffel

2 Corinthians 8:1-5

Paul expresses his desire for the Corinthians to give generously, giving principles about generosity and wealth. God desires a spiritual mindset concerning how we value wealth, to understand principles of stewardship and financial freedom and to understand affluence as it pertains to poverty. God-centered generosity is an extension of entrusting our lives to God.