Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Money and Generosity
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Holding Onto Youby Mike Flathers; All Over the Worldby Matt Redman; Glory to God Forever by Fee; How He Loves Us by David Crowder.
Read: Isaiah 5:8-9; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Acts 20:35
Think: The American Dream was born in the 1950s. After WWII, America wanted to just settle down and stay at home. Most families could afford a home (average size 1,000 sq. ft.), had a single income, had one family car and lived the "Dad comes home and sits smoking his pipe reading the paper" lifestyle. Achieving this "dream" became the measure of a man.
Things have changed since then... Now the average house size is 2,300 sq. ft., it requires two incomes, two or more cars and Dads and Moms spend more time away from the house in order to afford the payments.
Pastor Ben taught us this weekend that one of the hurdles to grace-motivated living and giving is financial responsibility. We need to count the cost of the American Dream and consider scaling it down to give us the margin and the freedom to live more and give more.
Do: Read Isaiah 5:8-9 and consider the warning of the results of our creating excess. From Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and Acts 20:35 we see the blessing of obeying God's commands. The choice is ours.
Pray: Lord, I want to obey you, I want to hear your voice. Please help me to understand your dream for me and give me the courage to pursue it. Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church. |
