My Financial Account
Series: What 2 Live 4
Dr. Les Hughes
January 24, 2010
Scripture:
Genesis 14:17-24
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
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.
Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the Lord with your wealth, the firstfruits of all your crops”
Opening Questions
Discussing the Scripture & Life
(Life-Changing Lessons are in bold type.)
1. Do you believe that everything I have God has given me? Does your attitudes towards your possessions testify to this truth? If not, why not?
2. Do you view the practice of giving a tithe to God as a missional sacrifice? Can any one share how God used a gift they had given to reach someone with the Gospel?
3. We learned this morning that when we have a generous heart God blesses us. One of the ways that God blesses his people is by changing their heart. Is there any amount of money that can quantify a heart changed by God?
4. Read 1 Timothy 6:6. What are some ways you can be more content with what God has given you? Can you truly give out of the overflow of your love for God and people if you are not content with what God has given you?
Closing Challenge
What are some commitments you want to make to God and to your family as a result of today’s sermon?
