Managing Money Gods Way

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Managing Money Gods Way

• Sunday 23 November 2008

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Imagine .

• Youre wanting to buy a new house
• Youve decided to join a new church

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A true story
A debt counselling agency was helping a vicar who
had run up unsecured debts in excess of 100,000
with 19 different creditors. He had no assets.
A friend had offered to pay 30,000 on a
pro-rata basis if the remaining amounts were
written off. Eventually all but one a major
clearing bank agreed. On the same day that
the vicar received a letter saying the bank would
only accept 70, he received another letter from
the same bank offering him an increase of 5,000
on his credit limit. When this information was
fed back to the bank they immediately accepted
the original offer.
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Money is a big deal in the Bible

• 500 verses on faith and prayer
• How many on money possessions?
• over 2,000!
• A third of Jesus parables
• Lukes gospel in particular
• Paul one chapter on love, one on the
  resurrection, half on meat offered to idols
• and two on the importance of a financial
  collection
• so we wont cover the whole topic this
  morning!

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But it is not prescriptive

• We need to be careful with scripture
• Wealth is a blessing but also a liability
• Poor are poor because of their laziness but also
  because of the exploitation of the rich
• No clear cut guidance on spending, saving,
  borrowing or even giving

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Have a look at .

• Luke 3 10 14
• Luke 16 10 13
• 1 Timothy 6 6 - 19

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The Desert and the Land

• The first approach to the land of plenty
• Compromise faith doesnt affect money
• A prosperity gospel
• A third way
• Back into the desert to learn trust in a time of
  scarcity
• A daily gift
• An abundant gift for the community
• Not on the Sabbath
• A vulnerable gift

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The Pause at the Boundary

• Deuteronomy 8 6 18
• A place of blessing but with dangers
  temptations
• Laws on how to handle the plenty
• God is not just Owner, but also Giver
• Live with openness and generosity
• A place of rest security contentment
• Remembering generosity
• Remembering - gratitude

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Some scary figures from Credit Action

• Personal debt increases by 1m every
• 8 minutes
• Total consumer credit lending at end Sept
• 238bn (6 increase in 12 months)
• Average debt (excluding mortgages) per household
• 22,190
• Properties repossessed each day
• 121
• Someone goes bankrupt or insolvent every
• 5 minutes

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And some more

• Failure to budget effectively leads to 64 of
  people running out of cash on average 5 days
  before payday
• 75 of people dont understand the monetary value
  of a 1 difference in mortgage interest rates
• Research from Scottish Widows we would rather
  talk about sex and health than money
• One in three adults dont plan their finances at
  all those that do set aside 5 minutes per week
  (but on average we watch 3h 38m of TV every day)
• 15 of 18-24 year olds think an ISA is an iPod
  accessory, 10 think its an energy drink!
• Better money education and management and is a
  pressing issue

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Taking control - budgeting

• An important tool for everyone
• But for the Christian its also a spiritual pause
  at the Jordan how should we live
• If the land is a gift
• If the land can be temptation
• If the land is a place of remembering

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A Challenge and an Opportunity

• Nationally, more than 20 of adults struggle with
  debt
• 60 of these will seek medication or counselling
• In Portishead, this could represent up to 2,000
  individuals who will actively be seeking help or
  support
• and in GVC, perhaps 20 the church isnt immune

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Why get involved?

• Show the love of Jesus within our community
• Help those with money management or debt problems
• Provide practical support
• Creates opportunities to introduce people to
  Jesus
• Get the topic of money more out into the open in
  church
• Release resources for building the Kingdom of God

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How can we help?

• Huge demand for money management and debt
  counselling
• Provide training / counselling to enable
  individuals to understand and gain control of
  their finances
• Where appropriate refer on to debt advice or
  other agencies
• Provide empathy and understanding, build
  relationships and show the love of Jesus in
  practical ways

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Who is needed?

• A team of varying ages and backgrounds
• Money coaches / counsellors
• Trainers for money management course
• Enablers and carers - for personal support
• Prayer support
• Practical help for courses (eg catering)

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And so .

• discuss!