Show Me the Money

by Tim Howard

“Show Me The Money” is a phrase made popular in 1996 when an American comedy-drama “Jerry Maguire” aired on television. The movie starred Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. was the one who made this statement.

The phrase “Show Me The Money” reveals the influential power money can have in the lives of people who are motivated by greed.

Money, Sex and Power have been referred to as the “Trinity of Evil” when they are misused and abused. Throughout history, and in my own experience, these three issues seem inseparably intertwined. Money manifests itself as power. Sex is used to acquire both money and power. And power is often called “the best aphrodisiac.”

The truth about money is not difficult to discover in the Bible. It is clear straightforward and mentioned many, many times.

1Tim. 6:10 informs us “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 much grief.” Notice that Paul the Apostle didn’t say money is evil. This passage should awaken us to the fact that money is more than a mere medium of exchange. It can become an idol when it is loved and worshiped.

Jesus told us: “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The power behind our present world currency seeks to dominate our lives and is intent on driving us away from worshiping the true God. When you develop an unhealthy love and longing for money, which is fueled by greed, devastating results happen.

The Bible also reveals a ‘light side’ when talking about money.  I am referring to the way in which money can be used to enhance our relationship with God and bless humanity. Think of the Good Samaritan who used money generously to help a person in need. Then there was Zacchaeus who became a follower of Christ and was so grateful to Jesus that he decided to focus on giving rather than getting. And let’s not forget Abraham who used his wealth to bless other nations. Money, when used correctly, can be a blessing and not a curse.

Money is an entrustment from God and a test for mankind. David in Psalm 24 reminds us that everything in all the earth belongs to God. All of HIS ‘stuff’ is on loan to us and God watches to see how we will use it. Will we use it to bless ourselves only or others as well?  Will we allow greed to rule or gratefulness to triumph?

Giving is the antidote to materialism. Giving assures us that we stay on the ‘lighter side’ of money. Giving will make you more like God because He is a giver. Giving will strengthen your faith and the faith of others. Giving will be an investment for eternity.

Luke 6:38 declares: “Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, Gratitude, not greed is the way to live.  Generosity begets generosity."

Rather than “Show Me The Money”, God is inviting you to “Share the Money!” There are many in need and you can make a difference.

Let’s Spend Less And Give More This Christmas

by Tim Howard 

As the 2017 Christmas season began, I gave some additional thought toward this time of celebration. I asked myself these questions: Does frantically running from store to store looking for the perfect gift – for that perfect someone add or detract from the joy of Christmas? Do I really want to buy things I cannot afford or don’t really need? How would our families respond if we focused more on our time together than the gifts we receive? Do material things provide what families really want and need  or is there a better way to celebrate the Christmas season?

After talking to myself and answering a few of those questions, I’ve decided to conspire with others and find a way to celebrate the Advent of Christ without yielding to the spirit of consumerism, which is very much alive in our culture.

I’m not implying we should spend nothing! It’s not about being stingy, miserly or acting like a scrooge.  Share nothing, have nothing or give nothing.  NO! It’s all about giving gifts but giving gifts that mean something and make a real difference in a person’s life.

Spend less and give more – That’s my mantra this year!  Sounds impossible unless you realize that the greatest gifts we can give people cost nothing at all in a monetary sense.

Three of the greatest gifts came to us through the birth of Jesus Christ and you can give these three gifts to others.  He came to reveal the Father’s love.  He came to give us joy and He came to offer forgiveness and freedom from our past.

A Doctor by the name of Luke makes mention of these three gifts by recording the announcement of Christ’s birth in the Bible.  He says in Luke 2:10 -11, “the angel of the Lord said to them, ‘…behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Did you notice that Jesus came for everyone and not just a few?  The very fact that God decided to live among us reveals His great love toward us and when you add joy and forgiveness to the equation you have three pretty awesome gifts. That’s not only good news, that’s great news!

The spirit of consumerism can blind us from seeing the real message of Christmas. If we miss out on what’s truly important – the Christmas season can be a burden to endure rather than a blessing to be experienced.

Maybe we should consider returning to the true meaning of Christmas if we’ve missed it. A decision to celebrate God’s presence rather than focusing on getting presents might be the best thing you could do. Give more of yourself by serving rather than spending. You will have more money in your pockets and more life in your heart at the end of the season.  You will honor God by exalting His son Jesus Christ and that’s extremely important since it’s His birthday celebration.  He is the reason we say: Merry Christmas!

Many gifts can be purchased for people this Christmas but Love, Joy and forgiveness are among the best – and they won’t cost you one monetary cent!

When The Math Doesn’t Add Up

by Candace Cortez

During one of the most expensive times of the year, I’d like to share a story with you.

I sat down tonight to “balance the books.” To make sure all our bills are paid, and our money is accounted for. After years of marriage, we are seeing the effects of faithful stewardship in our finances. We’re not rich, but we haven’t seen a zero balance in a while. We work hard not to spend more than we earn, even if it means no cable that month, my roots growing out an extra centimeter or two between hair appointments, eating meals at home instead of at restaurants, or whatever the sacrifices may need to be. It was not always this way.

Years ago, when my husband had to stop working to finish his education, this money planning process was not nearly as rewarding. No matter how much we sacrificed, we could not make ends meet. I simply did not make enough money to support us financially. This was difficult for my family on so many levels. Our comforts were hit, our entertainment took a dive, and so did our pride; especially my husband’s. Providing for our family is a part of his identity as the leader of our household. No matter how many things we cancelled, bringing our bills to the bare minimum, we couldn’t make the amount of money made, match the amount of money required to keep the lights on and house warm. The math didn’t add up.

As we balanced the books we would circle the final dollar amount by which we would be short that month. We prayed. We prayed a lot. Then we prayed some more. Those months were some of the most faith building months we have ever experienced. We watched as family, friends, and even random members of our community reached out and bridged the gap, bringing our balance to zero, if not just over it, giving us a few dollars to breathe with. One day, a check came in the mail for the exact amount of our circled gap amount. Other times, I had to do the hard ask. It’s not easy to ask for help. Some of my most vulnerable conversations have been requests for help because I could not do something on my own. For 10 months in a row, the math didn’t add up for us to live without help or adding debt. For 10 months in a row, somehow, our bills were always paid. God. Is. Good.

I smile writing this because God is a God who balances things differently than we do. When I see a gap between what is and what’s expected, I am filled with fear, worry, doubts, stress…you name it. God doesn’t bat an eye. He shines in those math gaps. When things don’t add up, it gives space for God to do miraculous things. Thousands of years ago, when the people were expecting a king, God sent a baby. That didn’t add up. When the boy only had two loaves and 5 fish, thousands left with full bellies. That didn’t add up. When we were sentenced to eternity away from God in suffering because of our sin, and the price for freedom was far beyond what we could pay, Jesus said “it is finished” and rose again three days later. That doesn’t add up!

Don’t fool yourself. There is nothing you can do to earn what God is doing for you and through you always. We can never donate enough money, take care of enough sick or rejected, plant enough trees, solve enough problems, to be able to bridge the gap between us and relationship with God. It will never add up without Jesus.

This really is the most wonderful time of the year, unless you’re trying to fill that gap with anything other than Jesus. Do not let the desire for stuff ruin your focus on the fact that when the math didn’t add up, God made a way by sending His Son. Do not let material things ruin the glow and joy we can find in being bought at a price beyond what we can pay back. When the math doesn’t add up for our souls, God makes it happen. Let’s celebrate THAT this Christmas.

Money is a Big Deal

by Andrew Cromwell

Everyone knows that money is a big deal. There are songs about working for it. Movies about stealing it. Books about making it. Magazines that show pictures of incredible ways to spend it. You can go to seminars on how to manage it, invest it, grow it and multiply it. Entire businesses are built on giving money advice and figuring out ways to help people save what they have and grow it for the future.

Some people who have money, pretend they don’t. And some people who have none, act like they have a lot. Some spend their whole lives saving it and others, blowing it.

Yeah, it’s a big deal.

It’s a funny thing though, because as soon as you start talking about it, people get weird. No one likes to get told what to do with their money. This is particularly challenging when you’re a pastor like I am because people don’t like you to bring up money in church. The moment the subject comes up, people get mad.

But here’s the problem.

Jesus actually talked about money quite a lot. Like a lot a lot. Like more than heaven and hell combined. The only thing He talked more about was the Kingdom of God.

And here’s what it comes down to. Either God controls your money or your money controls you.

Jesus said it pretty bluntly when He said, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Apparently money is the kind of thing that is so corrosive on our hearts that the question of who is in control of it is critical. You just can’t have it both ways. And yet, that’s often exactly what we try to do. We want to love God and walk in the right way, but our attention keeps getting pulled in other directions. We feel bad because we know we are supposed to be putting God first, but we really, really want the new car, house, boat (or whatever you’re in to) and so we throw a few dollars God’s way to help alleviate our guilt and we spend the money without taking the time to ask Him what is best.

The only way that I know of to keep the green eyed money monster from taking control of your heart, is to put God first in this area. And the only way to do that is to treat your money like it is God’s and not yours. If it’s God’s money then you don’t get to spend it any which way you like. You don’t spend first and ask later. And you don’t decide how much to give based on how much is left in your bank account after you’ve bought what you want.

You have to flip all of that on it’s head. Because the truth is most of us treat Citibank or Chase like our God rather than God Himself. How? Well, we pay the bank first and put God second, third, fourth or last. But what if we set aside money from each and every paycheck to give as an offering to God first, rather than last. (There’s actually some guidance in Scripture as to how much we should set aside, but I don’t want to get too real here.) Wouldn’t that say something about our priorities? Only people who are serious about putting God first do that kind of craziness.

But people who live this way don’t live their lives driven by debt and out of control desires. They have killed the greed monster because they have decided that God is going to be first in their money rather than their money being first in their lives.

Who’s in control of your money? And how’s that working for you?

Money – Money – Money…

by Tim Howard

This Christmas season started out by putting up some lights, getting the tree decorated and visiting some of the local stores in hopes of purchasing a few gifts for those I love and care about.  Since we are cutting back on the gifts I was sure my shopping would be done in a few hours.

Even though it took a few more days than anticipated – I’m glad to say I am finished!

During this time, I was reminded of that familiar phrase “Money Talks!” I think you would agree – because we’ve all heard its voice: It shouts, “Spend me!” and whispers, “Save me!” Someone said, “Money talks: Mine is always saying, ‘Good-bye!’”

That phrase means money has power and influence. Money talks…and one of the most dangerous things it says is: “LOVE ME!”

The Apostle Paul said: “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 6:10
Money is intrinsically neutral but loving money opens the proverbial Pandora’s box.

Maybe you’ve seen ‘A Christmas Carol,’ which is an 1843 novella by English author Charles Dickens. Many have seen or read this great fictional and prose narrative but if you haven’t you should. The story tells of a sour and stingy man named Ebenezer Scrooge and his ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

Before the radical change, Mr. Scrooge LOVED money and USED people when he should have loved people and used money. When anyone confuses these two priorities, life is altered for the worse.

Jesus summed up the two greatest commands this way:  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

When a passion for God and a compassion for people become your top two priorities, you experience what Scrooge missed. Life and True Love!

Money talks, but God also talks and says: Use money!  It’s a tool for helping others but love people.

In this season of giving, remember the greatest gifts can’t be purchased. You don’t need to go into debt to prove you love someone. Money’s important but one thing is very clear in his Word: Money is not the most important thing!

Churches talk about giving money; businesses talk about making money; Frugal people talk about saving money while extravagant people talk about spending money. Penny Pinchers talk about wasting money, Financial Consultants talk about investing money but God talks about Stewarding His money and using it to bless people.

When you hear the shouts of  ‘Money, money, money’ ringing in your ears this Christmas, make sure you maintain a correct perspective. You will be much happier and cause people to be filled with a whole lot of joy!

Priority One

by Andrew Cromwell

It has been said that you can look at a person’s checkbook to see where their priorities are. For many of us this means our top priorities are Citibank, Capital One, Starbucks and Target. Your list might be a little different based on your interests. If you’re into tools then Sears or Home Depot might be on the list. If you’re into shopping online then it might be Amazon. If music is your thing, then it might be iTunes.

Where and how you spend your money does say something about your priorities. Some people value driving newer cars. Others value living in a large home. Some are into lavish globe-trekking vacations. If a friend were to open up your checkbook (or online bank statement), what would it say about what’s important to you?

Money is not the only way to gain insight into what someone loves, time is probably just as important. Time is the great equalizer. Some have more money than others, but everyone has the same amount of time in a day. The way that you choose to spend your 24 hours gives an important insight into your life.

You can tell what someone is into by how much time they spend at it. The people who are into sports spend their time on the couch on game day, watching the game. They probably also spend a significant amount of time reading about the sport and of course managing their fantasy football league. They might spend time shopping for and buying the right jersey and of course the appropriate team flags to fly out their car windows.

If you’re not into sports, you might scoff at this ridiculous display of mis-managed time. But that’s just because sports is just not your thing. Maybe your thing is computers, sewing, gaming, cars, WCW or working out. There’s a million things that people are into and they spend a lot of time doing the thing, thinking about the thing and planning to do the thing. What’s your “thing”? How do you spend your time?

Money and time are two huge indicators of what is truly important to you. People can say that their marriage and their family are their top priorities, but money (and time) talks. Often people say that they are willing to lay their life on the line for their kids, but they aren’t willing to lay their time or money on the line. It’s funny how easy it is to promise that you’re willing to “lay your life down”, but you won’t lay the TV remote down and go out and play ball with the kids outside.

What’s important to you? It is said that you can become an expert on any subject if you were to spend 30 minutes a day for six months studying it. Some of us have become experts on things that are entertaining but that don’t really mean much in the long run. Maybe it’s time to become an expert on the subject of your spouse?

Jesus told a story about a man who found a pearl worth so much that he went out and sold everything to buy it. Far too often we are spending the resources of our lives buying things that are worthless and the pearls are right in front of us all along.

Money Talks

by Tim Howard

I started the Christmas season like many others by visiting some of the local stores in hopes of purchasing a few gifts for those I love and care about.  I’m glad to say I’ve finished my Christmas shopping. As I made my way through various places, I was reminded of that familiar phrase “Money talks!”

I heard its voice: It shouted, “Spend me!” and whispered, “Save me!”

Someone said, “Money talks: mine is always saying, ‘Good-bye!’”

That phrase means money has power and influence. Money talks…and one of the things it says is: “love me.” This is the most dangerous!

1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. …We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and created for themselves many problems.” Money is intrinsically neutral but loving money opens the proverbial Pandora’s box.

I recently saw a presentation of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ which is an 1843 novella by English author Charles Dickens. Many have seen or read this great fictional and prose narrative and if you haven’t you should. The story tells of a sour and stingy man named Ebenezer Scrooge and his ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting from supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

Before the radical change, Mr. Scrooge LOVED money and USED people when he should have loved people and used money. When anyone confuses these two priorities, life is altered for the worse.

Jesus summed up the two greatest commands this way:  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ When a passion for God and a compassion for people become your top two priorities, you experience what Scrooge missed. Life and True Love!

Money talks, but God also talks and says: Don’t love money but rather love people and use money!  It’s a tool for helping others. In this season of giving, remember the greatest gifts can’t be purchased. You don’t need to go into debt to prove you love someone. Don’t spend more than you earn and you will be a lot happier. Loving people doesn’t require a great deal of money.

Money’s important if you want to eat but God says one thing very clearly in his Word: Money is not the most important thing!

Churches talk about giving money and businesses talk about making money. Frugal people talk about saving money while extravagant people talk about spending money. Penny Pinchers talk about wasting money, Financial Consultants talk about investing money but God talks about Stewarding His money. The Bible has over 2000 verses that specifically address these issues and we would do well to check out some of them as we walk through this season and hear the voice that shouts:  Spend, spend, spend!

Money talks but God talks as well. What voice are you going to listen to?

Choose Weird

by Andrew Cromwell


One of the constant themes of Scripture is that the people of God - those who have made Him the centerpiece of their lives - are to be different. In the Old Testament the term "set apart" is used. In the New Testament the people of God are referred to as "chosen". Whatever term is used, it is clear that God desires His people to be different from the rest of the world.

Over the course of history, groups have interpreted the meaning of "being set apart" differently. Some have decided that the right response is to withdraw completely from the world and create a community unto themselves. We can think of the Amish in Pennsylvania as a perfect example of this. This group has decided to shun electricity and modern conveniences. Other groups have removed themselves from society altogether, closing themselves up behind castle walls and taking extensive vows of silence or personal mortification.

But I believe that when God tells His people that they are to be different than the world around them, He is speaking about their value system and how it is expressed in their daily lives. While there may be times for the people of God to literally remove themselves from relationship with society, these occasions are rare. Much more common is the decision to live one's life in a way that is countercultural.

It is in our heart where we decide whether or not we are going to be obedient to our Father God. The choice for obedience will mean that the way our lives are led is markedly different from the lives of those around us.

There are many value systems of the people of God that are different from the ways of the world. But one that touches very close to home is the way that God's people treat their money.

Our world is all about money. It is continually obsessed with getting more. No matter how much you have, how much you “need” is always a greater number. We fill our garages with toys, we buy larger houses and we find extravagant ways to spend money. What's more, we spend money that we have not yet earned.

One of the great curses of our contemporary world is the easy extension of personal credit. Because of personal credit lines almost all of us live beyond our means. It is impossible to quantify the number of divorces and the amount of unhappiness that has been caused by the easy extension of credit and the ensuing spending sprees that have caused people to spin out of financial control.

The people of God, however, are supposed to live differently. They live on less than they earn. They are not obsessed with getting more and more things. They believe that giving is better than receiving. They feel a responsibility for their brothers and sisters of the world who have less than they do. All of these things run in contradiction to our standard cultural value systems.

People who have discovered that true joy does not come from the acquisition of possessions are truly strange. The world looks at them and cannot understand why they have a smile on their face. They cannot understand why there is peace in their home. And yet when the dust settles and the noise from the toys dies out, the world begins to realize that their mad rush for more things does not fill the void in their heart. It is at this moment, that the people of God begin to look awfully weird.

This weekend the pastors in Kings County would love to help you be countercultural! Who says that the world has it all figured out? 

Spending Ourselves To Death

by Andrew Cromwell

According to one report, 85 out of 100 Americans have less than $250 in savings when they reach 65. If this is true, then most of us are either (a) planning on living on far less than we currently do, or (b) denying reality and sticking our head in the sand. Combine this fact with our habit of spending just a little bit more than we earn and any chance of a comfortable retirement goes right out the window.

Saving your money instead of spending it goes against the grain. Not only is everyone around us doing it, the media reports to us that if everyone were to stop spending so much and start saving their money, the economy would simply crash even further. We know in our heart that we need to be saving for a rainy day, but somehow we are never able to get around to it.

Money is a big deal. So big, in fact, that Jesus talked about it a lot. Half of the stories he told were about money. One out of every six verses in the gospels is about money. He talked more about money than heaven, hell or prayer. He obviously considered our relationship with our money to have big time spiritual implications. He said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be.”

I believe there are three important things that we must do if we are going to run our finances instead of having our finances run us.

First, we must look ahead. Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wise man looks ahead. The fool...won’t face facts.” Where are our current money practices taking us? Am I paying only the minimum on my credit card? Am I spending all that I earn? Am I buying things I don’t need? These foolish money behaviors not only steal from my own financial future, they also demonstrate that I am a person that God cannot trust to manage His money!

Second, we must make a plan. Proverbs 16:9 says, “We should make plans--counting on God to direct us.” You spell plan, B-U-D-G-E-T. Most of us don’t have a real budget. We have an idea of where our money goes, but we don’t really know. We need to sit down and crunch the numbers. When it comes to money, you need to know four things: what you own, what you owe, what you earn and where it goes!

Finally, we must act quickly. When it comes right down to it, without action we can look ahead and make plans all day long and nothing will change. It is not enough to agree that it is good to systematically save for retirement. It is not even good enough to write down a budget. Unless we actually do it, then it doesn’t matter one bit. We need to stop telling ourselves we’ll do it tomorrow and start today.

Maybe this is all overwhelming to you. I know that when I look at the big picture of my finances, I begin to feel stressed and even a little panicked. Then I remind myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day and my finances won’t be fixed in an hour. Small decisions that are followed through on, result in big changes. So maybe you cancel your cable or eat out half as much — we all can do some small things that will end up making a huge impact on our bottom line.

The pastors in Kings County want to see you experiencing God’s freedom in your finances. Why don’t you give them the opportunity to encourage you this weekend?