Download The Bible on Money and Possessions

Class Expectations
• Be here, be prepared, be a participant
Each week students will be expected to write a
500 word reflection on the reading assignment
and post this paper on “My Luther Net”. This
reflection must be posted each week by 6 p.m.
Wednesday. (Earlier would be wonderful)
Class Expectations
Reading Assignment to be completed by
February 12
– Word and World Supplement 6 (WW), pp. 1-19
– The Soul of Money, pp. 43-94
– Ask, Thank, Tell, pp. 11-56
Session II – February 13
– Biblical Reflection/Discussion of reading material
Class Expectations
The final project will be a 3000+ word
presentation of a financial stewardship plan for
a congregation well known to the student.
Weekly writings will contribute to this final
project. This final project will include an
analysis of the congregation’s setting and
stewardship history and a proposal for financial
stewardship ministry for the next three years.
The instructors will provide additional detail
during the first class session.
The Bible on Money and
Possessions
Money and the Mission of the
Church – CL 4560
What does “stewardship” mean?
For most people, “stewardship” is a code word.
– For most congregation members, it is code for
“What the congregation does to get some of my
money out of my pocket and into the offering
plate.” (and my job is to give just enough to not
feel guilty)
– For most congregations, it is code for “Those
things we have to do to get enough money to pay
the bills.” (and we know how well we have done at
year end when we know if we have enough
money to pay all the bills)
What does “stewardship” mean?
Until we “crack the code” (“smash the code”?)
and stop connecting stewardship with paying
the bills,
– There is no hope for financial stewardship to
become a part of a Christian’s walk with Jesus
– We are dooming ourselves to long faces every fall
The #1 Stewardship Resource
regardless of your ministry setting
The Bible
What does it say about stewardship?
What does “stewardship” mean?
For most people, “stewardship” is a code word.
– For most congregation members, it is code for
“What the congregation does to get some of my
money out of my pocket and into the offering
plate.” (and my job is to give just enough to not
feel guilty)
– For most congregations, it is code for “Those
things we have to do to get enough money to pay
the bills.” (and we know how well we have done at
year end when we know if we have enough
money to pay all the bills)
What does “stewardship” mean?
Until we “crack the code” (“smash the code”?)
and stop connecting stewardship with paying
the bills,
– There is no hope for financial stewardship to
become a part of a Christian’s walk with Jesus
– We are dooming ourselves to long faces every fall
The #1 Stewardship Resource
regardless of your ministry setting
The Bible
What does it say about stewardship?
It all belongs to God.
God is the creator and owner of all
that is.
Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Psalm 89:11
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it--you have founded
them.
Morning Prayer
“Into your hands we
commend ourselves:
our bodies, our
souls, and all that is
ours.”
“Into your hands we
commend ourselves:
our bodies, our
souls, and all that is
yours.”
What we have is
much more than a
gift from God.
God owns what we
“have”.
Our society and ownership
• What we have is a source of self-worth.
• What people have is a source of how they are
valued.
• If we don’t “have” anything, then all of this
comes into question.
Deuteronomy 8:12-18
When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them,
and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is
multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself,
forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible
wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He
made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with
manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you,
and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, “My power and the
might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” But remember the
LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he
may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing
today.
“The crisis reflected in the text and in Israel’s lived reality in
the land, is that gifts given in abundance to the satiated do
not finally eventuate in trusting gratitude, but in
complacent self-congratulations. A gift kept long enough
begins to seem like a possession. A gift kept long enough
becomes separated in the memory from the giver, so that
the giver is forgotten.”
- Walter Brueggemann. Deuteronomy. p. 109
It all belongs to God.
If we don’t get this right,
nothing else will be right either.
It all belongs to God.
We are stewards.
We are stewards.
I Corinthians 4:1-2
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and
stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is
required of stewards that they be found
trustworthy.
We are stewards.
I Peter 4:10
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of
God, serve one another with whatever gift each
of you has received.
Sty warden – the keeper of the sty.
Steward – a most important and
prestigious role
Genesis 39:1-6a
Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh…bought him.
The Lord was with Joseph…. His master saw
that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord
caused all that he did to prosper in his hands.
…He made him overseer in his house and over
all that he had.
Steward – a most important and
prestigious role
God thinks so highly of you that God has chosen
to entrust some of what God owns into
• your care
• your management
• your stewardship
Image and dominion in
Genesis 1 and 2
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our
image, according to our likeness; and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the wild animals of the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
Image
• To be in the image of God is to be in
relationship with God.
• “Our God is the God of belonging. The Lord
created us and all that exists to belong to
him.” - Rolf Jacobson
The state’s image establishes the
state’s rule.
The king’s image establishes the king’s
rule.
Those in God’s image establish God’s
rule.
That would be you!!
Dominion (not domination)
• Genesis 2:15
The LORD God took the man and put him in
the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
• The human being is, as God’s steward,
accountable to God and responsible for its
fellow creatures. – Douglas John Hall
• We are God’s representatives, to exercise care
as God would exercise care.
It all belongs to God.
We are stewards.
• What does this mean?
– Not “What do I want?”
– Rather “What does God want?”
– Not “How much of my stuff do I want to share
with God?”
– Rather, “How much of God’s stuff do I dare keep
for myself?”
It all belongs to God.
We are stewards.
Stewardship writ large
• Care of the earth
• God does not care just about how much we
give away. God cares equally about all that
has been entrusted to our care, including, but
not limited to, that which we give away.
– How effectively do most congregation’s
stewardship practices communicate this?
– How often do congregations talk about money
when they aren’t asking for any?
It all belongs to God.
We are stewards.
The absolute importance of getting this right.
The generosity of God
Genesis 1:31
God saw everything that he had made, and
indeed, it was very good.
The generosity of God
Malachi 3:8-10
Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But
you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes
and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you
are robbing me--the whole nation of you! Bring the
full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be
food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says
the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the
windows of heaven for you and pour down for you
an overflowing blessing.
The generosity of God
Justice issues around money
Justice issues around money
• How you earn money
• The duty and delight of generous living
How you earn money
Exodus 22:21-23:12 (portions)
If you lend money to my
people, to the poor among
you, you shall not deal with
them as a creditor; you shall
not exact interest from them….
You shall not pervert the
justice due to your poor in
their lawsuits….
You shall not oppress a
resident alien
John Wesley – “The Use of
Money”
Gain all you can without
hurting yourself, your family,
or your neighbor. (Then save
all you can. Then give all you
can.)
The duty and delight of generous living
I Timothy 6:17-19
As for those who in the present age are rich,
command them not to be haughty, or to set their
hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on
God who richly provides us with everything for our
enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good
works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing
up for themselves the treasure of a good
foundation for the future, so that they may take
hold of the life that really is life.
The duty and delight of generous living
II Corinthians 9:6-8
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly, and the one who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you
must give as you have made up your mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with
every blessing in abundance, so that by always
having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work.
The threat of money
• We are rich
– We work like crazy to get money,
– then we act like we don’t have any.
• Median Household Income for this zip code
– $71,298
– Top .84% annual income in the world
The threat of money
Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters; for a slave will
either hate the one and love the other, or be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and wealth.
The threat of money
Mark 10:17-22
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and
asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said
to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know
the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery;
You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud;
Honor your father and mother.’ ” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all
these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack
one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he
was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for
those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were
perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it
is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
The threat of money is the power it can
exert in our lives.
Faithful giving is one of the most effective
ways to keep this power in check.
Characteristics of Faithful Giving
• Intentional – II Corinthians 9:7
– Each of you must give as you have made up your
mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion.
• Regular – I Corinthians 16:1
– On the first day of every week, each of you is to
put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so
that collections need not be taken when I come.
Characteristics of Faithful Giving
• Generous – II Corinthians 9:8
– And God is able to provide you with every blessing
in abundance, so that by always having enough of
everything, you may share abundantly in every
good work.
• Proportional – Mark 12:41-44
– Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more
than all those who are contributing to the
treasury.
Characteristics of Faithful Giving
• First – Deuteronomy 26:1-2
– When you have come into the land that the Lord
your God is giving you…you shall take some of the
first of all the fruit of the ground…and you shall
put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord
your God will choose as a dwelling place….
• Cheerful – II Corinthians 9:7
– God loves a cheerful giver.
“For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.” -- Luke 12:34
Where your money goes will cause
your heart to go there as well.
A thermometer measures what is.
“If you want to know what is
important to a person, look at their
checkbook register.”
A thermostat changes what is.
What a person does with
money will change that
person’s relationship with
Jesus.
What does “stewardship” mean?
When the bible talks about financial
stewardship,
• It never talks about getting enough money to
pay the bills.
• It always talks about how important it is for a
child of God to align her/his financial life with
her/his life in Christ.
What does “stewardship” mean?
For most people, “stewardship” is a code word.
– For most congregation members, it is code for
“What the congregation does to get some of my
money out of my pocket and into the offering
plate.” (and my job is to give just enough to not
feel guilty)
– For most congregations, it is code for “Those
things we have to do to get enough money to pay
the bills.” (and we know how well we have done at
year end when we know if we have enough
money to pay all the bills)
The most important thing you can do
in stewardship ministry is to move the
money conversation…
From “Paying the Bills”
To helping people connect
faith and finances in their
lives.