Intersections

  Do you know what a paradox is? A paradox is defined as “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.” Our faith as Christians is rife with paradoxes. Let me name a few: Christians conquer through surrender; we see the unseen; we lead by serving; and, we are strong when we are weak. Those are but a few. One preacher from another generation said “that without paradoxes there is no Christianity.” We wrestle today with another paradox—living today with an eye on the future. It’s particularly challenging for us to think about the future in light of Jesus’ own words to us in Matthew’s Gospel. In the Sermon on the Mount, when he’s laying out the new ethic for the Kingdom of God, we hear him talk to his disciples about not storing up treasure on earth and about not worrying about food or clothing, and especially not worrying about tomorrow. His quote is “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomo...

  It seems strange to be talking about “Making Change” by using the Old Testament. We’re New Testament people, right, and Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit are the change agents in our lives. So? What’s with this message series rooted in the writings of Solomon? Well, think about it. In his day, Solomon was not only considered the wisest man in the world, but he was also the richest man in the world. I’ve always believed if we want to be successful in life, we should watch successful people. If you want to be good at basketball, watch what Michael Jordan does (well, maybe Steph Curry these days). We’ll probably never be NBA players, but we can learn from the best to make ourselves better. If it works that way in other areas of life, why not with our money. Solomon used his wisdom and increased his wealth. We ought to learn from him, and Solomon, in his collected wisdom says: Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. 25 The generous will prosper; t...

  Continuing our series this month on “Making Change” and where our stewardship and financial health coexist, we will be talking about how STRESS IS BAD. This again is a no-brainer, like our other topics in this series - Less Is More, Giving is Good, and Tomorrow Matters.  This morning, we will be talking about debt. I'm sure there are few things many people want their pastor to talk about more. Maybe if I had a series on sex, that would bring less interest, but here we are, talking about the taboo of debt.  You know, I haven’t met anyone who’s said, “I just got a new credit card, and now that I’ve maxed it out, my marriage has gotten so much better.” Or, “My marriage has gotten so good because I have a huge mortgage. Now that interest rates have gone up, it’s made date nights more thrilling!”; or even “Every night, I thank God for my debt. I used to be debt free but now I’m over my head and it’s amazing!”  As Christians though, we love to give. We want to help peopl...

We are getting into this new series - Making Change - at a time when people are thinking about   not only our church budget, but looking ahead to the next year of our personal budgets. But you know, this series may be the easiest or the hardest to impact your life! You might say… yeah Pastor Dan - I’ve got this down… and then start zoning out and wondering what’s for lunch or your fantasy football team or something. Hopefully I’ll keep it engaging for ya’ll too. But on the other end, I hope that this series of Making Change will hit you so that it inspires you to take the next step in your financial journey.   Now, these lessons seem simple on their surface - Less is More, Stress Is Bad, Giving is Good, and Tomorrow Matters - but taking what we will be discussing and implementing it is where the message may get jumbled.  We start this morning with the message of Less is More. Now - as much of a paradox as this seems, it’s been a proverb that has been around for centur...