In the United States, the daily reports on Economic News brings nothing but burden and stress to so many Americans. When I look back through my pre-teen and teenage years, we saw the 70’s oil crisis. After I was married, in 1978 through the birth of our four children in the 80’s, we saw interest rates jump as high as 20 percent. By 2001, we had what was called the second Stock Market crash. In 2008, we experienced a major housing market crisis.
The Truth
There is a crisis somewhere in the world all the time concerning money. Have you realized how much time you spend thinking about money each day? Truth is, outside of thinking about food, money is the number one thing on our mind much of the time. Did you know that Jesus talked about money more than Heaven or Hell? Now with that said, I hope I have your attention.
Let’s answer the question of, why does a Pastor have to prepare a sermon series on money?
The simple answer goes back to my earlier statement; because Jesus set the pattern. Jesus talked about money more than Heaven or Hell. How is the next generation going to learn God’s principles about money if it’s not at church? In the United States, it’s not a part of the educational curriculum. Furthermore, most parents don’t teach the biblical way of giving through tithe and offerings, much less the biblical principles of finance.
Ever since the birth of North Elevation Church, I’ve taken three to four weeks each year to teach what the Bible has to say about money, and there is a lot! Please join me on a journey as I unpack our biggest issue with money. That being a Crisis of Mistrust towards God.
We Start Here
NLT | Mk 10:17-19
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.
19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’
NLT | Mk 10:20-21
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him.
The Posture
This man comes humbly and he publicly kneels in front of Jesus. Other translations tell us he was a young man in a position of power and wealth. This was a top-notch dude, as our urban language would describe. This is a young man who was truly seeking to know the way to eternal life. He desperately wanted to connect with Jesus. However, the love of Jesus sprang into action. This love was about to bring this young man to a moment of crisis. Jesus is coming from a love so many of us still do not understand. Jesus felt such deep love for him.
The Journey
Next time on the blog, we’ll jump into these verses where Jesus is about to bring a young man to a moment in time which would be the biggest decision of his life. Really, it’s a moment of crisis he never saw coming and no one else who was present saw coming.
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