The Spirit Of Mammon

Spirit of Mammon - Mike Connell (4 sermons) Finance Seminar - Shane Willard (2 sermons) Spirit of Mammon (1 of 4) The number of times Jesus talked about wealth and possessions, stewardship and accountability, far exceeded any discussion on any topic. In fact there's about 10 times the number of references to finances and stewardship and resources, than there are to faith and salvation, and yet all of these go together. Often the moment we start to talk about money, people freeze - and we will see why... Put God First (2 of 4) I've seen too many rich people who had miserable lives to believe that money can really make your life happy. It just can't. God can make you happy, money can't. Money is just a piece of paper. It's some numbers in the bank. It cannot make your life happy. What it does instead is it tends to create problems. Generosity (3 of 4) We have seen many people that have had much money and yet they didn't have what money seemed to promise, health and prosperity and every good thing. It seems like it still eludes them, so we looked at that and saw that Jesus taught very specifically about us placing God first. To be generous is to be liberal. It's an attitude of heart that shows up in every area of your life including finances. Generosity exposes selfishness! Generosity (4 of 4) There's something about generosity that creates a very sweet fragrance. When people give and there's nothing in it for themselves, they've just given unexpectedly to you, then there's something sweet about it. Generosity usually exposes greed. God is love and you can't love without giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving, so the greatest way we express the love of God to people is when we can be generous and kind to them with no agenda. That's when people see God, because that's what God is like. Shane Willard offers a unique Jewish/Hebraic perspective for Christians on Finance and Giving. Shane is mentored by a pastor with rabbinical training, and teaches the context of the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective. This perspective helps people to see God's Word in a completely new way and leads them into a more intimate relationship with the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Finance (1 of 2) There's a great cure for poverty, it's called get a job, work hard. God never set himself up as the cure for laziness, or the cure for stupid. There is no supernatural, super-spiritual thing that over comes a lack of hard work or laziness. We've got to be wise, which means staying out of debt, not putting money in things going down in value, not trusting the government to do it for us, live on a budget, take charge of your finances, show self-control! To know God, is to take care of the poor and the afflicted. Tsedaqah (Hebrew) is introduced, equating Righteousness with Generosity/Charity Finance (2 of 2) We're called to live on a circle in a square. A circle inside of a square is 79%. The math from the commands matches the illustration from agriculture. 2.5% is put in the hands of the Priest; then a tenth is given to the church; and a tenth for yourself, in the form of savings, but one third of that is given to the poor. He doesn't want you just to go to heaven one day, he wants you to bring heaven to earth now. If your first fruits are in the right hands, your finances can't die. You sanctify everything else in your life by honouring the lord with your first fruits. James 1.26 If anyone considers himself religious and does yet not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that our God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress. The religion our father sees as pure is generosity.

Discover the Joy of Giving--and the Rewards of Receiving Our culture is saturated with false teaching on what it means to be blessed, but what does the Bible say about it? How can we truly live blessed lives? With humor, passion, and clarity, pastor and bestselling author Robert Morris presents the secrets of living a blessed life both financially and spiritually. He shows that when God changes your heart from selfishness to generosity, every part of your life-journey is affected. "There is no greater adventure on Earth than simply living the life of generosity and abundance that is available to all of God's people--but so few ever dare to live," says Pastor Robert. "It is a journey of reward. It is the blessed life." First published in 2002, this newly revised and expanded edition includes new content from recent sermons, updated illustrations from years of the life-changing impact of its message, and testimonies from people experiencing the blessed life.

“An extraordinary work of intellectual history as well as a scholarly tour de force, a bracing polemic, and a work of Christian prophecy...McCarraher challenges more than 200 years of post-Enlightenment assumptions about the way we live and work.” —The Observer At least since Max Weber, capitalism has been understood as part of the “disenchantment” of the world, stripping material objects and social relations of their mystery and magic. In this magisterial work, Eugene McCarraher challenges this conventional view. Capitalism, he argues, is full of sacrament, whether one is prepared to acknowledge it or not. First flowering in the fields and factories of England and brought to America by Puritans and evangelicals, whose doctrine made ample room for industry and profit, capitalism has become so thoroughly enmeshed in the fabric of our society that our faith in “the market” has become sacrosanct. Informed by cultural history and theology as well as management theory, The Enchantments of Mammon looks to nineteenth-century Romantics, whose vision of labor combined reason, creativity, and mutual aid, for salvation. In this impassioned challenge to some of our most firmly held assumptions, McCarraher argues that capitalism has hijacked our intrinsic longing for divinity—and urges us to break its hold on our souls. “A majestic achievement...It is a work of great moral and spiritual intelligence, and one that invites contemplation about things we can’t afford not to care about deeply.” —Commonweal “More brilliant, more capacious, and more entertaining, page by page, than his most ardent fans dared hope. The magnitude of his accomplishment—an account of American capitalism as a religion...will stun even skeptical readers.” —Christian Century

Following her popular Breaking the Threefold Demonic Cord, Sandie Freed offers groundbreaking insight on the spiritual aspect of money, exposing the demonic strongholds behind it.

In his first full-length book Justin Welby looks at the subject of money and materialism. Designed for study in the weeks of Lent leading up to Easter, Dethroning Mammon reflects on the impact of our own attitudes, and of the pressures that surround us, on how we handle the power of money, called Mammon in this book. Who will be on the throne of our lives? Who will direct our actions and attitudes? Is it Jesus Christ, who brings truth, hope and freedom? Or is it Mammon, so attractive, so clear, but leading us into paths that tangle, trip and deceive? Archbishop Justin explores the tensions that arise in a society dominated by Mammon's modern aliases, economics and finance, and by the pressures of our culture to conform to Mammon's expectations. Following the Gospels towards Easter, this book asks the reader what it means to dethrone Mammon in the values and priorities of our civilisation and in our own existence. In Dethroning Mammon, Archbishop Justin challenges us to use Lent as a time of learning to trust in the abundance and grace of God.

Everyone yearns for “the good life” ... where children are reared in a loving, stimulating environment ... where youth are prepared for their future ... where adults achieve satisfaction through personal relationships and meaningfully rewarding work ... and where seniors find peace in their “golden” years. Typically, it entails economic sufficiency. Yet, when this universal hope becomes reality, many Christians confront a disturbing faith challenge. Jesus taught his followers to postpone earthly satisfactions until the next life. In the present world, their blessings will be found in poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution. Woe to those with wealth, full stomachs, laughter, and popularity! Christ practiced and demands self-denial, not self-satisfaction. Entry into Jesus’ severe life-style is difficult and the path is arduous. Multitudes are called but only a select few actually follow the way to eternal life that requires crucifixion of one’s self. This book is a thought-provoking biblical analysis of the gospel’s opposition to wealth. One cannot serve both God and money. The Christian dilemma is that practical faith absolutely requires compromise. Money is necessary for daily life and future needs. How is it possible to follow Christ in this money-driven society? The Book of Mammon searches the Bible for the surprising resolution.

God’s Way to Prosperity You may have given God control of many areas of your life, yet you won’t know His real blessings and intervention until you bring your money into line with His will as revealed in His Word. God’s plan for your life, including your money, is summed up in one beautiful word: prosperity. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2:2 NASB). God wants you to succeed in the area of your soul, in the area of your physical body, and in the area of your finances. Failure, defeat, frustration, and poverty are not His will for you. Internationally acclaimed Bible teacher Derek Prince helps you bring your finances in line with God’s perfect plan by taking you through specific steps that lead to abundance. Do not underestimate your money, belittle it, or think of it as unspiritual or unimportant. Discover God’s Plan for Your Money.