Making Money Work

1. Making Money Work: A Christian Guide For Personal Finance Welcome Tithing/Giving Making Money Work Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Tegel Prison summer 1944) Born Feb. 4, 1906 Died April 9, 1945 Doctorate in Theology German pastor/professor The Cost Of Discipleship— Cheap grace Costly grace

3. COPY COPY Making Money Work Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

4. Making Money Work What is the purpose of tithing? “Bring this tithe to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored, and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to fear the Lord your God”—Deuteronomy 14:23 (New Living Translation Copyright 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust). Story: A child ask his father for some money. The father graciously gives the child the money. The child uses the money to purchase a gift for their father and presents it to him. The father is not better off financially—it was his money from the beginning. However, the father rejoices in his child’s gift and expression of love. The child is better because of the experience and the father is happier. God rejoices in your expression of love through your tithe/gifts of time, talent and money. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

5. Making Money Work Why do you return a portion of your income to God 1st? God is the owner of all things, including your money. We are stewards who manage the resources entrusted to us by God. You should give your tithe/gift unconditionally out of your love for God. Your giving is outward proof to God that He is the #1 priority in your life. Obedience out of love has a reward from the Master. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

6. Making Money Work “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who dwell therein” –Psalms 24:1. “…God…made the world and everything in it … he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else”–Acts 17:24-25 (NIV) . “You shall bring the choicest firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God”—Exodus 34:26. One of the main reasons you make money, is so you can give money. Malachi 3:10 (KJV)—“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it”. “Give, and gifts will be given you”—Luke 6:38. “Sow bountifully, and you will reap bountifully”—2 Corinthians 9:6. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

7. Making Money Work The Tithe—1/10th Of All Jacob said, “And of all that thou [God] givest me, I will without fail allot a tenth part to thee”—Genesis 28:22. The keyword in that scripture is “all” which includes your time, talent, and treasure. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

8. Making Money Work Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

9. Making Money Work The Apostle Paul said, “Give according to your means. Provided there is an eager desire to give, God accepts what a man has; he does not ask for what he has not. There is no question of relieving others at the cost of hardship to yourselves; it is a question of equality”—2 Corinthians 8:12–14. Paul also said, “Each person should give as he has decided for himself; there should be no reluctance, no sense of compulsion; God loves a cheerful giver”—2 Corinthians 9:7. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

10. Making Money Work Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

13. Making Money Work How Much Is Enough? He moved into a one room shack in one small corner of a wooded lot where he owned one of the most lucrative shopping centers in the entire county. He turned off his phone to save $’s—he would borrow a relative’s phone when he needed to make a call. He turned off his electricity to save $’s—he used candles and lamps as light. He turned off his water to save $’s on a water bill—he borrowed buckets of water from relatives. He was so miserly, his wife and children left him. When he died, he was monetarily the richest man in the entire county. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

14. Making Money Work St. Francis of Assisi Francis di Bernardone—born 1182 in Assisi “The second part, …, dwells on the reality of death and its power in robbing us of those earthly possessions to which we have devoted much of our energy”--St. Francis Of Assisi, Writings for a Gospel Life, Regis J. Armstrong, Copyright 1994 by the Province of St. Mary of the Capuchin Order, page 42. “Material poverty enabled him to embark upon a daily stripping away of all that to which he truly clung, …, letting go of … anger and hurts, … concern for our good name, even our vices and sins. Poverty, in other words, became the privileged means Francis discovered to ensure a life of true penance, of turning totally to the Lord who so graciously satisfied his every need”--St. Francis Of Assisi, Writings for a Gospel Life, Regis J. Armstrong, Copyright 1994 by the Province of St. Mary of the Capuchin Order, page 15. God does not call most of us to a life of extreme abject poverty. God does want us to be the best stewards of His resources that we can. When we are blessed financially, we should in turn be a blessing to others. Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

15. Making Money Work “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted”—Luke 18:9-14 (NIV). Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

16. Making Money Work "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others”—Matthew 23:23 (NAS). Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

17. Making Money Work The Tithe Involves Your: Time (your time spent serving God) Talent (your gifts--spiritual, teaching, leading, administration, music, etc.) Treasure (money--resources) Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.

18. Ink Drawing By Rembrandt (Dutch painter and etcher, 1606-1669) The figure of Jesus illuminates all other people around him. Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world.” Notice that the radiance of Jesus is accentuated by the darkness around those he illuminates.

19. Making Money Work Giving transforms us from being “consumers” to being “contributors.” God Gave The Ultimate Gift “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son”—John 3:16 (emphasis added).

20. Making Money Work Please complete the “Chapter 3 Tithing-Giving--Extra Learning Module.” Copyright 2008 Willie Glenn Page, Inc.