© 2009 Cross Creek Community Church
370 Carverton Road, Trucksville, PA 18708
(570) 696-0399
370 Carverton Road, Trucksville, PA 18708
(570) 696-0399
Service Times
Sunday Worship and Bible Studies @ 9am & 10:45am
Wednesday Family Night @ 6:30pm
Tuesday Night Celebrate Recovery @ 6:30pm
Small Groups meet at various times
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“God’s Blessing!” Ecc 5:10-20 & Selected
· One-sixth of the gospels, including one out of every three parables, touches on finances. · 20% of everything Jesus taught was about money and the grace of giving! This is an important subject! · Giving sacrificially back to the Lord is the secret of a healthy life..."do your giving while you’re living" · God will not merely judge us on the basis of what we gave but also on what we kept for ourselves.
GIVING is mentioned over 1537 times in the Bible... more than faith, hope or love put together 2 Cor. 8:7 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us--see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
I read about a preacher who was arranging the service who said, "And when I get through with my sermon, I’ll ask those of the congregation who want to contribute $1000 toward the church building fund to stand. In the meantime you play appropriate music." The Organist asked: "What music do you want played?" The Preacher replied: "You play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ "
Proverbs 3:9-10 9 Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Malachi 3:8-10 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Heaven’s Blessings Flow from my Giving!
Five Principles Concerning Money... 1. The more you have the more you Want. Ecclesiastes 5:10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. · It’s interesting, it’s human nature to always want more money... it seems there is never enough...· Whether you are living on a fixed minimum income or are worth a million... we have a desire for more.· Money can do a lot, it can buy a lot of things but there are some things it can’t buy...Money Will Buy...
...a bed but not
sleep; ...books but not brains; I’ve heard it said Money is like manure: “If you spread it around, it does a world of good; but if you pile it up, it stinks to high heaven".
2. The more you have the more you Spend. Ecclesiastes 5:11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
The only reason a lot of American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a twenty dollars down and 36 easy monthly payments.
3. The more you have the more you Worry. Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. · Some of the most stressed out, anxious, uptight people are those who have lots of money · Worrying about the stock market, interest rates, portfolio, decisions of what to do.. hover over computer · The abundance of a rich man affords him no sleep...
A man had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital. He could receive little company and was not to be excited. While in the hospital a rich uncle died and left him a million dollars. His family wondered how to break the news to him with the least amount of excitement. It was decided to ask the preacher if he would go and break the news quietly to the man. The preacher went, and gradually led up to the question. The preacher asked the patient what he would do if he inherited a million dollars. He said, “I think I would give half of it to the church.” The preacher dropped dead.
4. The more you have the more you Lose. Ecclesiastes 5:13-14 13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, 14 or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.
· Wealth is fleeting, bad investments, misfortune comes along... the more you have the more you lose · It’s been said, “Do your giving while you’re living so you’re knowing where it’s going“ · G. Mueller said, “God judges what we give - by what we keep.” · The average church member contributes between 1.5% and 2.5% of his total income specifically to the Lord’s work... Can you imagine the impact upon the world if Christians began giving 10% as God desires? · This world would be turned upside down for Christ... Just think of our ministries here... · As we grow up past 300 every Sunday, why is it important for you to financially support the ministry? · Because we must grow spiritually, physically and organically with support staff... pastors, secretaries, ministry leaders, maintenance people... with a new construction project approaching... · There is no better place to give your money than directly into the Lord’s work here at Cross Creek · Just look around at the hundreds of faces... come out on a Wednesday night & see what God’s doing! · God’s principle is if you don’t give to Him... He truly has ways to thin out your money. Give to Him!
Someone asked Willie Sutton, the notorious bank robber why he robbed so many banks? Because, replied Sutton, That’s where the money is. Don’t rob God... it’s not worth it... BUT test Him in this area of finances!
5. The more you have the more you Leave. Ecclesiastes 5:15-17 15 Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. 16 This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? 17 All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger.
· You brought nothing into this world... you’re taking nothing on the way out. · All your blood, sweat and tears in hard labor... away from home, sleepless nights, running, planning... · Why earn all the money you can... build a bigger & bigger nest egg... get old, get a disease and die? · Then leave it all behind and in steps the IRS to take 50% of what’s left with a death tax...
A man called the police and reported that all of his wife’s credit cards had been stolen. Then he added, “But don’t look too hard for the thief. He’s charging less than my wife ever did.”
As a free moral agent God grants us with a will to choose... to make choices, an awesome responsibility God Gives You...
Ecclesiastes 5:18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him--for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work--this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
In 1928 a group of the world’s most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. The following were present: The president of the largest utility company, The greatest wheat speculator, The president of the New York Stock Exchange, A member of the President’s Cabinet, The greatest “bear” in Wall Street, The president of the Bank of International Settlements, The head of the world’s greatest monopoly. Collectively, these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the U.S. Treasury, and for years newspapers and magazines had been printing their success stories and urging the youth of the nation to follow their examples. Twenty-five years later, this is what had happened to these men. The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed money the last five years of his life and died broke. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died abroad, insolvent. The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, served a term in Sing Sing Prison. The member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home. The greatest “bear” in Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, committed suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser, committed suicide. The head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Drueger, committed suicide. All of these men had learned how to make money, but not one of them had learned how to live.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
I read a true story about a young man 16 years old named William who left home to seek his fortune. All his possessions were tied in a bundle carried in his hand. He met an old canal-boat captain. William told him his father was too poor to keep him and the only trade he knew was soap and candle making. The old man then kneeled and prayed earnestly for the boy and advised: "Someone will soon be the leading soap-maker in New York. It can be you as well as someone else. Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make an honest soap; give a full pound, and I’m certain you’ll be a prosperous and rich man." He went Into the city, remembering the old captain’s words, and though poor and lonesome, he united with a church. The first dollar earned, he gave 10% to God. Ten cents of every dollar were sacred to the Lord. Having regular employment, he soon became a partner and later sole owner of the business. He made an honest soap, gave a full pound and instructed his bookkeeper to open an account with the Lord of 10% of all income. The business grew, so he gave 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and finally he gave all his income, 100%. This is the story of William Colgate, who has given millions to the Lord’s work throughout the world.
A mother wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson. She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself,” she told the girl. When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given. “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.” Bits & Pieces, February 4, 1993, p. 23
Matthew 6:19-21 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I thank God for so many Christ-honoring ministries here at Cross Creek – touching lives. Take MOPS for example, why invest in our MOPS ministry? Just imagine a young mother coming, connecting in with the other woman. She comes into contact with the Word of God, and the Gospel message... she trusts Christ as her personal Savior... literally she’s changed for eternity! She goes home & shares with her husband... the family begins to attend Cross Creek... he too gets saved... the children attend Jr Church / Awana’s they too get saved... their lives affect their friends, relatives, co-workers, classmates.... Was the financial commitment to MOPS worth it? There is so much more to do! God’s calling YOU to make a difference for all eternity in your financial giving! God’s Blessing!
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
You can NEVER out give God! “There shall be Showers of Blessing!” |