Give your life a new perspective

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Give your life a new perspective
The Credit Crunch
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Objectives

• To see what the Bible says about our everyday
  problems.
• To help give our lives a new perspective on
  issues that concern us.
• To build confidence in the Bible.

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Content of Seminar

• Week 1 The Credit Crunch
• Week 2 Disease, stress and depression
• Week 3 Law and order
• Week 4 Family Life

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Why has the crunch happened?

• Greed
• Wanting material things
• Credit
• Wanting them NOW!
• Corruption
• Not caring how you get them

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In a nutshell!

• Why did Mr Greenspan, along with the rest of
  the worlds regulators, fail to foresee that this
  financial crisis could happen? We think their
  mistake was to neglect the role of human nature.
• This crisis was fuelled by the seemingly
  irresistible temptation to refinance the mortgage
  rather than pay it off. Falling interest rates,
  rising home prices and aggressive mortgage
  brokers made refinancing seem like the apple in
  the Garden of Eden.
• November 11 2008

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Before we begin!

• The amount of money you have is not a
  reflection of how good you are.
• Jesus never sinned, and yet was very poor,
  not even having a regular place to sleep at night
• Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of
  the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no
  place to lay his head Luke 9 v 58

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Before we begin!

• On the other hand, Abraham was counted as
  righteous and was a rich man
• Abram had become very wealthy in livestock
  and in silver and gold Genesis 132

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Before we begin!

• There is nothing intrinsically good or bad in
  being poor or rich. They are both God given.
  What we need to learn is how to deal with each
  state
• The Lord sends poverty and wealth he humbles
  and he exalts 1 Samuel 2 v 7

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The Ten Commandments

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Ten commandments on money

• 1.  Be generous
• 2.  Beware the love of money    
• 3.  Be content
• 4.  Laziness can lead to poverty
• Dont depend on money  
• Plan before you spend    
• 7.  Save little by little    
• 8.  Do not squander your money    
• 9. Beware of debts and loans
• 10. Seek God and he will provide what you need
•  

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1. Be generous
Generosity is the antidote to greed The wicked
borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give
generously Psalm 37 v 21
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1. Be generous
Generosity is commanded by God Command to do
good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be
generous and willing to share 1 Timothy 6 v
18
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1. Be generous

• Most people find it difficult to give money away
• How much should we give?
• Out of the most severe trial, their
  overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled
  up in rich generosity. For I testify that they
  gave as much as they were able, and even beyond
  their ability. Entirely on their own, they
  urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of
  sharing in this service to the saints. And they
  did not do as we expected, but they gave
  themselves first to the Lord and then to us in
  keeping with God's will
  2 Corinthians 82-5

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1. Be generous

• Our attitude in giving must be to do so willingly
• Remember this Whoever sows sparingly will
  also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
  will also reap generously. Each man should give
  what he has decided in his heart to give, not
  reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a
  cheerful giver 2 Corinthians 96-7

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1. Be generous

• God commanded his people Israel to be generous
• If there is a poor man among your brothers
  in any of the towns of the land that the Lord
  your God is giving you, do not be hard hearted or
  tight fisted toward your poor brother. Rather be
  open handed and freely lend him whatever he
  needs........ Give generously to him and do so
  without a grudging heart then because of this
  the Lord your God will bless you in all your work
  and in everything you put your hand to. There
  will always be poor people in the land. Therefore
  I command you to be open handed toward your
  brothers and toward the poor and needy in your
  land Deuteronomy 157-10

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2. Beware the love of money
Money is the root of all evil For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some
people, eager for money, have wandered from the
faith and pierced themselves with many griefs
1 Timothy 610
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2. Beware the love of money

• If you love money, it will bring you more grief,
  not less
• Be aware of how much time and energy you are
  putting into earning more money
• Jesus told a story of a man whose greed for more
  and more wealth cost him his life.....

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2. Beware the love of money

• And Jesus told them this parable the
  ground of a certain rich man produced a good
  crop. He thought to himself, what shall I do? I
  have no place to store my crops. Then he said,
  this is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns
  and build bigger ones, and there I will store all
  my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself,
  you have plenty of good things laid up for many
  years. Take life easy eat, drink and be merry.
  But God said to him, You fool! This very night
  your life will be demanded from you. Then who
  will get what you have prepared for yourself?
•   This is how it will be with anyone who
  stores up things for himself but is not rich
  toward God Luke 1216-21

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3. Be content
If we can be content we will want for nothing I
know what it is to be in need, and I know what it
is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every situation, whether
well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or
in want Philippians 4 v
12
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3. Be content
Having God on our side should be enough for
us Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have, because God
has said, "Never will I leave you never will I
forsake you."
Hebrews 13 v 5
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3. Be content

• Do you secretly believe you would be happier with
  a little more money?
• Beware of this trap.
• The wisest, and probably richest man who ever
  lived said..

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3. Be content

• Whoever loves money never has money enough,
  whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his
  income
• Ecclesiastes 510       

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4. Laziness can lead to poverty
Working hard achieves results, talking about it
achieves nothing All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.." Proverbs
14 v 23
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4. Laziness can lead to poverty
The christians were commanded to earn a living
and to support their families We hear that some
among you are idle. They are not busy they are
busybodies. Such people we command and urge in
the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the
bread they eat.
2 Thessalonians 3 v 10-12
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4. Laziness can lead to poverty

• All talk and no work can make you poor
• But many people do work hard and are still poor.
  There are many reasons for poverty, and laziness
  is just one of them
• Whatever you do, do it with 100 dedication and
  effort..........

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4. Laziness can lead to poverty

• We should consider all our efforts as being
  for the Lord
• Whatever you do, work at it with all your
  heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
  since you know that you will receive an
  inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the
  Lord Christ you are serving
• Colossians 323-24

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5. Dont depend on money
We cannot rely on our riches Do not wear
yourself out to get rich have the wisdom to show
restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they
are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and
fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Proverbs 23 v 4-5
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5. Dont depend on money
Wealth cannot be relied upon Command those who
are rich in this present world not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so
uncertain 1 Timothy 6 v 17
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5. Dont depend on money

• If we rely on and trust in money we may well be
  disappointed.
• Money, as we have seen recently, can disappear!

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Ten commandments on money

• 1.  Be generous
• 2.  Beware the love of money    
• 3.  Be content
• 4.  Laziness can lead to poverty
• Dont depend on money 
• Plan before you spend    
• 7.  Save little by little    
• 8.  Do not squander your money    
• 9. Beware of debts and loans
• 10. Seek God and he will provide what you need
•  

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6. Plan before you spend
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will
he not first sit down and estimate the cost to
see if he has enough money to complete it? For if
he lays the foundation and is not able to finish
it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
saying, "This fellow began to build and was not
able to finish.
Luke 14 v 28-30
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6. Plan before you spend

• These passages show that we must plan ahead. We
  shouldnt begin a costly project without sensible
  financial planning to ensure we can finish it.
• Planning how we spend our money is an important
  part of managing it wisely.
• A helpful tool for planning is a household
  budget.
• A useful way to work out your own budget is to
  keep careful records of all your expenses for a
  few months.

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7. Save little by little
he who gathers money little by little makes it
grow. Proverbs 13 v
11
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7. Save little by little
On the first day of every week, each one of you
should set aside a sum of money in keeping with
his income, saving it up, so that when I come no
collections will have to be made.
1 Corinthians 16 v 2
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7. Save little by little

• An important part of planning is saving.
• It isnt wise to use up everything we have,
  taking no thought for the future. When a large
  expense arises unexpectedly, we won't be able to
  handle it.
• Instead, put aside a little of your income every
  week or every month. It might not be very much,
  but over time it will grow.

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8. Do not squander your money
Do not join those who drink too much wine or
gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and
gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them
in rags. Proverbs 23 v
20-21
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8. Do not squander your money
There was a man who had two sons. The younger
one said to his father, "Father, give me my share
of the estate." So he divided his property
between them. Not long after that, the younger
son got together all he had, set off for a
distant country and there squandered his wealth
in wild living. After he had spent everything,
there was a severe famine in that whole country,
and he began to be in need.
Luke 15 v 11-14
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8. Do not squander your money

• When we have expenses, we should ask "Is this a
  necessary and wise use of my money?" In
  particular, be careful of large expenses like in
  starting a business, purchasing a vehicle or
  planning a wedding.
• When starting a business, it might well be better
  to start on a small scale and slowly build the
  business up. Sadly, when people spend a large
  amount of money up front, they often find that
  the business doesnt generate enough money to pay
  for the expenses in setting it up.

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9. Beware of debts and loans
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is
servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22 v 7
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9. Beware of debts and loans
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another.
Romans 13 v 8
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9. Beware of debts and loans

• When large expenses arise, people often consider
  taking a loan. Be very careful before doing this.
  Many people have got into deep financial trouble
  .
• Ask yourself, is the loan really necessary and
  can I afford the repayments? Often a better
  approach may be to save for the expense. Then you
  avoid paying interest. Many people take loans
  because they want it NOW!
• Make sure you have a genuine need for the loan.

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10. God will provide what you need
Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth
and honour and life. Proverbs 22 v 4
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10. God will provide what you need
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things food and clothing will be
given to you as well.
Matthew 6 v 33
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10. God will provide what you need

• Many money problems arise because we do not
  realise that God will look after us if we have
  our priorities correct.
• We need to be careful to avoid spending a lot of
  time and energy pursuing wealth rather than
  pursuing righteousness.
• Study and work are important, but only after we
  have put the things of God first.

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The last days..
But mark this There will be terrible times in
the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, .lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of God
2 Timothy 3 v 1 4
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Ten commandments on money

• 1.  Be generous with what you have.    
• 2.  The love of money leads to destruction.    
• 3.  Be content with what you have.   
• 4.  Laziness leads to poverty.
• Dont depend on money  
• Plan before you spend    
• 7.  Save little by little.    
• 8.  Do not squander your money.    
• 9. Beware of debts and loans.
• 10. Seek God and he will provide what you need.
•  

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Next week.

• Seminar 2
• Come along for a new perspective on
• DEPRESSION, STRESS, DISEASE
• In our modern lives we experience a great deal of
  stress etc and consequently may suffer illness.
• The Bible can help you put your life in
  perspective.

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