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This video segment is one of five presentations in the “Creating a Gospel-Centered Marriage: Finances” seminar. There will be four more seminars in this series covering the subjects: foundations, communication, decision making, and intimacy. As those presentations are ready they will be posted on this blog.

NOTE: Many people have asked how they can get a copy of the seminar notebook referenced in this verbal presentation. Summit members can pick up a copy of the notebook in the church office. For those outside the Summit family, you can request a copy from Amy LaBarr (alabarr@summitrdu.com), office administrator over counseling.

Approach to Debt and Savings Evaluation: Evaluation – Debt and Savings

Monthly Meal Calendar Template: Blank Monthly Meal Calendar

Memorize: Romans 13:7-8 (ESV), “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves has fulfilled the law.” As you memorize this passage reflect upon these key points:

• “Pay… what is owed” – This is a trait that is to define Christians, even beyond their finances, and make us distinct.
• “Taxes… revenue” – First this principle is applied to our financial lives; both civil and commercial responsibilities.
• “Respect… honor” – Then it is applied to our relational lives; both authoritative and personal relationships.
• “Owe no one anything” – Now the principle is removed from the future tense and made ever-present.
• “Except to love” – The only debt we are to live in is to treat others like Christ treats us (Eph. 4:32).

 Teaching Notes

“One of the dangers of having a lot of money is that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness money can give and so fail to realize your need for God. If everything seems to come simply by signing checks, you may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God (p. 180).” C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

“Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body.” George Carlin (comedian).

“The man who never has money enough to pay his debts has too much of something else.” James Lendall Basford

“Yet in the American dream, where self reigns as king (or queen), we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and our desires (p. 28).” David Platt in Radical

“We can be content with simplicity because the deepest, most satisfying delights God gives us through creation are free gifts from nature and from loving relationships with people. After your basic needs are met, accumulated money begins to diminish your capacity for these pleasures rather than increase them. Buying things contributes absolutely nothing to the heart’s capacity for joy (p. 162).” John Piper in Desiring God

“Laborsaving machines have turned out to be body-killing devices. Our affluence has allowed both mobility and isolation of the nuclear family, and as a result our divorce courts, our prisons and our mental institutions are flooded. In saving ourselves we have nearly lost ourselves (p. 815).” Ralph Winters in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

“There are three levels of how to live with things: (1) you can steal to get; (2) you can work to get; (3) you can work to get in order to give (p. 172).” John Piper Desiring God

This video segment is one of five presentations in the “Creating a Gospel-Centered Marriage: Finances” seminar. There will be four more seminars in this series covering the subjects: foundations, communication, decision making, and intimacy. As those presentations are ready they will be posted on this blog.

NOTE: Many people have asked how they can get a copy of the seminar notebook referenced in this verbal presentation. Summit members can pick up a copy of the notebook in the church office. For those outside the Summit family, you can request a copy from Amy LaBarr (alabarr@summitrdu.com), office administrator over counseling.

GCM Communication Part 5 from Equip on Vimeo.

Memorize: I Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV), “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” As you memorize this passage reflect upon these key points:

• “The rich” – By a global standard, even the poor in America are rich. We should view ourselves accordingly.
• “Set their hopes” – The big issue of greed is not hoarding or cheating, but a false foundation of our hope.
• “Provides… to enjoy” – God truly wants us to enjoy the blessings He has brought into our life.
• “Be generous” – One of primary the joys of the blessings God gives should be to share those blessings with others.
• “Truly life” – When we spend money we spend our life, so we should seek to get “true life” in return.

 Teaching Notes

“We will evaluate where true security and safety are found in this world, and in the end we will determine not to waste our lives on anything but uncompromising, unconditional abandonment to a gracious, loving Savior who invites us to take radical risk and promises us radical reward (p. 21).” David Platt in Radical

“Charity—giving to the poor—is an essential part of Christian morality… I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc… is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them (p. 81-82).” C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

“God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving (p. 73).” Randy Alcorn in The Treasure Principle

“If your treasures are on earth, that means each day brings you closer to losing your treasures (p. 40)… He who spends his life moving away from his treasures has reason to despair. He who spends his life moving toward his treasure has reason to rejoice (p. 43).” Randy Alcorn in The Treasure Principle

“As base a thing as money often is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost men in the light of the gospel and thus transmuted itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality (p. 107).” A.W. Tozer in Born After Midnight

“The reason the use of your money provides a good foundation for eternal life is not that generosity earns eternal life, but that it shows where your heart is. Generosity confirms that our hope is in God and not in ourselves or our money (p. 167).” John Piper Desiring God

This video segment is one of five presentations in the “Creating a Gospel-Centered Marriage: Finances” seminar. There will be four more seminars in this series covering the subjects: foundations, communication, decision making, and intimacy. As those presentations are ready they will be posted on this blog.

NOTE: Many people have asked how they can get a copy of the seminar notebook referenced in this verbal presentation. Summit members can pick up a copy of the notebook in the church office. For those outside the Summit family, you can request a copy from Amy LaBarr (alabarr@summitrdu.com), office administrator over counseling.

Monthly Operating Budget Template: GCMmonthlyBUDGET_TEMP

Budgeting Process Evaluation: Evaluation – Budgeting Process

Memorize: I Timothy 3:2-5 (ESV), “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children in submission, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?’” As you memorize this passage reflect upon these key points:

• “Overseer” – While this passage speaks to pastors, it states these qualifications are to be applied first at home.
• List – Notice how many things on this list can be, at least in part, tied to how we manage our finances.
• “Sober-minded, self-controlled” – A budget allow us to be realistic and intentional with our money.
• “Not quarrelsome” – A sign of spiritual maturity in marriage is the ability to talk about money without fighting.
• “Manage… his household” – A budget is a tool that allows us to manage our home, which allows us to manage life.

Teaching Notes

“One of our central spiritual decisions is determining what is a reasonable amount to live on. Whatever that amount is—and it will legitimately vary from person to person—we shouldn’t hoard or spend in excess (p. 26).” Randy Alcorn in The Treasure Principle

“If you want to test a couple’s oneness in marriage, take a look at how they handle their finances (p. 185).” Dennis Rainey (editor) in Preparing for Marriage

“I never did anything worth doing by accident.” Plato

“The issue is not how much a person makes. Big industry and big salaries are a fact of our times, and they are not necessarily evil. The evil is in being deceived into thinking a $100,000 salary must be accompanied by a $100,000 lifestyle. God has made us to be conduits of his grace. The danger is in thinking the conduits should be lined with gold. It shouldn’t. Copper will do (p. 172-173).” John Piper Desiring God

This video segment is one of five presentations in the “Creating a Gospel-Centered Marriage: Finances” seminar. There will be four more seminars in this series covering the subjects: foundations, communication, decision making, and intimacy. As those presentations are ready they will be posted on this blog.

NOTE: Many people have asked how they can get a copy of the seminar notebook referenced in this verbal presentation. Summit members can pick up a copy of the notebook in the church office. For those outside the Summit family, you can request a copy from Amy LaBarr (alabarr@summitrdu.com), office administrator over counseling.

Memorize: Matthew 619-21 (ESV), “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” As you memorize this passage reflect upon these key points:

• “Treasure” – This is more than “just money.” It includes whatever gives you a sense of security and identity.
• “On earth” – If your treasure is earthly you are losing it or moving towards losing it every day; fear-based living.
• “In heaven” – If your treasure is heavenly you are gaining it or moving towards having it daily; hope-based living.
• “Moth… rust… thieves” – Add to this list the threats to your earthly treasures and hear them in Jesus’ words.
• “Heart” – What we treasure shapes the core of our life: our heart (i.e., values, priorities, agenda, character, etc…).

 Teaching Notes

“In order for a couple to deal faithfully with the resources God has entrusted to their hands, they must adopt a shared mission in life… This will not tell you exactly where every penny ought to be spent, which couch to buy, or exactly where to live and what to eat, but it will orient your hearts toward God in your approach to life, and join you together in such a way that conversations about stewardship become a joy rather than a source of strife, (p. 189).” John Henderson in Catching Foxes

“Stewardship is the management of God’s resources for the accomplishment of God-given goals.” Ron Blue quoted in Dennis Rainey (editor) in Preparing for Marriage

“How a person handles his money reveals much about his character, his desires, his priorities and his relationship with God. Put two people together in marriage, and you can see that financial discussions are really spiritual discussions (p. 185).” Dennis Rainey (editor) in Preparing for Marriage

“Assuming a sensible standard of living represents another way we steward God’s creation well. Being wise with money and material things, I believe, is not very complicated. It is hard, but not complicated. It requires commitment to one very simple guideline: wisely spend less money than you possess (p. 197).” John Henderson in Catching Foxes

“In our quest for the extraordinary, we often overlook the importance of the ordinary, and I’m proposing that a radical lifestyle actually begins with an extraordinary commitment to ordinary practices that have marked Christians who have affected the world throughout history (p. 193).” David Platt in Radical

This video segment is one of five presentations in the “Creating a Gospel-Centered Marriage: Finances” seminar. There will be four more seminars in this series covering the subjects: foundations, communication, decision making, and intimacy. As those presentations are ready they will be posted on this blog.

NOTE: Many people have asked how they can get a copy of the seminar notebook referenced in this verbal presentation. Summit members can pick up a copy of the notebook in the church office. For those outside the Summit family, you can request a copy from Amy LaBarr (alabarr@summitrdu.com), office administrator over counseling.

Gospel Centered Finances Part 1 from Equip on Vimeo.

Financial Beliefs and Character Evaluation: Evaluation – Financial Beliefs and Character

Memorize: 1Timothy 4:7-9; 6:8 (ESV), “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance… Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment’” As you memorize this passage reflect upon these key points:

• “Timothy” – Paul was writing to a young man he was mentoring as he started his adult life and ministry.
• “Silly myths” – Common sense about money from a debt-sick culture likely belong in this category.
• “Train yourself” – This training begins with thinking rightly about the subjects in which we need to live godly.
• “Present life” – Godliness has value for our current circumstances; it is not just about heaven.
• “Contentment” – Contentment is a core virtue of godliness that has far-reaching implications for finances.

 Teaching Notes

“The problem isn’t primarily about money and budgeting. Money and budgets are simply the topics of dispute (p. 187).” John Henderson in Catching Foxes

“Because it is built on a lie (material things can make us happy), materialism can’t and doesn’t work. It leaves us empty, in debt, and addicted, while taking our time, attention, and energy away from the most important human relationship in all of life (p. 107).” Paul Tripp in What Did You Expect?

“We spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t know/like.” American Proverb

“Are you awake and free from the false messages of American merchandising? Or has the omnipresent economic lie deceived you so that the only sin you can imagine in relation to money is stealing (p. 164)?” John Piper in Desiring God

“It is remarkable that the writer [of Hebrews 13:4-5] puts money and the marriage bed side by side… The pursuit of power and pleasure mingle in these two areas as in no others (p. 129).” John Piper in This Momentary Marriage