What Must I Do?

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 19:9-30

A man asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. This reflects the typical religious attitude Jesus had been teaching against. The man ended up walking away saddened, because he wanted to earn righteous standing instead of simply asking for mercy from Jesus. Jesus' conversation with the man highlights the deceitfulness of the human heart and exposes what the man truly wanted, which wasn't forgiveness. Often, people are deceived into thinking they can do enough to be good with God, but in reality all people need to simply ask for God to have mercy on them through Jesus.

God or Money

Scott Risley

Matthew 6:19-34

Living in this modern era it is easy to believe that anxiety about money is normal, but God calls it a sin! Instead, store up treasures in heaven by investing in your own spiritual growth by focusing on following God who loves and cares for you. If your treasure is in God, your heart will follow. You can either live a life filled with anxiety or you can seek first God's Kingdom and enjoy Him for eternity.

Jesus on Life Motivation

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 6:19-34

Jesus teaches on what really motivates us in this life. There are two masters that people can serve, God or money. Jesus specifically speaks to living our lives for eternal things, rather than the temporary material things of this world. With a lifestyle of materialism comes heart-level issues between us and God and anxiety. Conversely, Jesus offers instruction to his audience to put God as the first priority to seek after and trust Him entirely, as His values and His guidance will give our lives true meaning and purpose that will carry on to eternity.

The Great Secret

Dennis McCallum

Philippians 4:10-20

A life of contentment consists of daily choices to trust God to meet our needs and responding to God in faith. This life is in direct opposition to a life of covetousness in which one can never be satisfied and constantly demands more from others and this world. Paul's confident assertion in Philippians that he has learned the secret of contentment is not an impossible goal for Christians, but rather a perspective that is available to anyone who knows God personally.

Affluent Christians and Their Poor Neighbors

Dennis McCallum

James 2:5

The Chrisitan worldview is one of the few worldviews that elevates the poor out of a social structure that says they are a burden or unwanted. We all are fellow heirs to the kingdom with equal status in our standing with God to those who have redemption in Christ. Are we grateful to God to be in the position to have a positive impact and meet the needs of the poor in the world? Or do we go through our busy lives of excess and forget about the great commission?

The End of King Solomon

Scott Risley

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

King Solomon violates the covenant between God and the Israelites. He disobeys the Lord by accumulating vast amounts of wealth, wives, horses, and an army. Eventually he begins to worship other gods, which leads to his downfall.

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.