There are 2 myths involving money and the church. The first is that people don’t want to talk about it and the second is that people really don’t want to give. However, Jesus spoke often about money and we actually want to give, the problem is that most Americans are enslaved by debt and literally unable to give. We have become slaves to money instead of allowing money to serve us.

• Have you collected a lot of stuff you never or rarely use? Why do you think you initially bought most of that stuff?
• Name a charity or mission you would love to support financially if you could just afford it?

Read Luke 18:18-25 and Luke 12:15-21. The first key to financial freedom is building a trust, not in finances, but in God. Our culture tells us that we find meaning in what we own, but Jesus tells us to be on guard against greed and materialism because life is about serving and loving God. Instead of using our blessings to help others we often build bigger barns for ourselves and miss God’s purpose and fulfillment for our lives.

• Do you often connect meaning in life with what you own? How do you fight this cultural illusion?
• Describe a time that greed prompted you to build “bigger barns” instead of using your abundance for blessing others.

Read Luke 18:26-30. By trusting in God we keep the inherit danger of serving money at bay so that it can’t jeopardize our relationship with God who actually is the source of our resources. We also begin to change our perspective from living today to living for eternity. Instead of building up our temporal net worth we begin to make eternal investments that God blesses in our lives both today and forever.

• Can you name a time that money actually jeopardized your relationship with a spouse or friend? What about with God?
• How does your eternal net worth match up with your temporary net worth? How can you better invest in the permanent?

Read II Corinthians 8:9 and Malachi 3:6-10. Even though we know we are to worship God and not material possessions, it is in the practice of money that we truly begin to show our faith and trust in God. The discipline of tithing was not put into place to tax us of our resources, but to help us understand the law of sowing and reaping. By practicing this discipline we don’t allow ourselves to rationalize faithlessness but put God first in our lives. And God promises to continually take care of all our needs and even bless us more than we could imagine, if we will just trust him and continually put our blessings to work for Jesus Christ.

• Have you ever “tested God” and his promise to take care of you by giving through tithing or offerings? What happened?
• Have you ever given sacrificially to the work of God or ministry to people? What was it and did God bless your sacrifice?
• How will you begin to sow your faith and finances to God? What step do you need to take to begin trusting in God with all your finances?