Try the Tithe

So on Sunday, I challenged our people to tithe, especially if they have never given it a go. I added a little twist to show our committment to the promises of scripture. Malachi 3:10 calls us to test God and see if He want dump great big globs of blessing on us. So I’m hereby calling us to try it. If you have not tithed at Genesis previosly, simply fill out the form on Sunday, begin tithing off your gross income, with a check. If you do not believe that God has blessed your life in 3 months, we will give you your money back. Yes, we are nutty bunch. God is good. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you ever tested God in this way? Do you believe He will bless you? What would keep you from trying the tithe?

Investments

So let’s talk about the two kinds of investments that we discussed today: First our earthly “portfolio”. Do you invest your money so that it is making money? How do you decide where to invest? What are you investing for? Does the bible factor in to how you invest your money?

Heavenly investment: Do you have faith in God to the degree that you trust Him with 10%, even when it doesn’t loook like you have it? Have you experienced God’s blessing in your life because you have shown faith in the area of tithes and offerings? Let’s talk!

Debt snowball

So I’d really love to hear your opinions on debt and the road to financial freedom. Specifically do you think you have been sucked in to this consumer culture? What about the ideas to regain financial freedom: Saying no (to purchases) for a little while so you can say yes for a lifetime, praying before you pay, and planning for a debt free future. Have you found other systems to get out of debt that you could share?

Lowering your overhead

Okay gang, this is a team effort as we experience our loving God’s bailout plan for us. There is no time like the present to learn from each other about frugality, cost cutting strategies and other money saving tips during our current economic downturn. So let’s here it: what are you have done previously, are currently doing, and planning on doing to lower “overhead” in your household?

I’ll start it off: Karen and I haven’t had cable tv since 1992. Nothing necessarily against cable (wow do I miss ESPN some days…), but we have roughly pocketed $7,680 in 16 years. Karen plays the grocery game which has saved us hundreds (yes, hundreds) of dollars on our grocery bill. I do some of our shopping at Costco and The Grocery Outlet which save additional fundage. We look for free entertainment whenever we can, check out dvd’s from the library, use stored up gift cards for date nights, among other things I’ll share later. Dive in to the conversation pa-lease!!

Perspective instead of panic

Okay gang, what I’d really love is to get some comments about this series. Specifically, what is it that you really need to hear from God when it comes to finances, your economic situation, anxiety about money, etc. Would love to get some good dialogue and ideas from you so that I can both dialogue with you, and incorporate what God is saying through you into future messages in this series. Let er rip!!