We’re in the middle of our series, “More than Just a Fortune Cookie,” from the book of Proverbs. Sunday we talked about Trusting God’s Wisdom on Finances. Proverbs is full of wisdom on how to deal with money. And the key principle that Solomon passes on is don’t put your hope in money because, “In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle” (Proverbs 23:5 NLT).

Proverbs teaching on finances goes against conventional wisdom. We’re told to choose generosity over greed, to show restraint instead of self-indulgence, to work hard instead of expecting something for nothing, and to plan ahead instead of acting impulsively. Maybe Solomon’s greatest advice on the subject has to do with our level of contentment, “give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs” (Proverbs 30:8 NLT).

The verse that keeps haunting me this week is from Proverbs 11:25, “those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” In other words, there is some kind of “boomerang effect” that takes place when we’re generous. God mysteriously resupplies those who give away to others. Not sure you buy it? Don’t take my word for it. Put God to the test. Do your own investigation to see if this general truth plays out. I think you’ll find the same thing that many of us have found, “those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

Don’t forget to read through the book of Proverbs at least once during this series – just a chapter a day! If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can hear it at cedarridgecc.com. You can also access accompanying resources like our Journey Group Lessons and our Digging Deeper resources for personal study.

Caught this bass at the end of our cove on Grand Lake last Saturday night…after a little tail dance.

Some of you have asked about the free memory verse mobile app I mentioned this past Sunday. Bible Memory Verses by Woody Hays is what I downloaded and have recently used. There are others to choose from. The context of that free commercial was when I was talking about two things you need to finish: You need to surround yourself with good people and you need to fill yourself with the Good Book. One of the ways you fill up on God’s Word is to commit some of it to memory. This app is just a convenient way to help you do so. If you didn’t get a chance to hear the sermon on Sunday,go to cedarridgecc.com/podcasts.

We wrap up our Finish Line Faith series from 2 Timothy this week. We’ll look at the fourth chapter of this letter from Paul and see his final words to Timothy to finish strong. Why not read the final chapter in preparation for Sunday.

This is the video we showed celebrating baptisms at Cedar Ridge on Sunday, April 11th. The song in the background is “Watergrave” sung by Harold.

We wrapped up our “Really!?!” series this past weekend. I’m excited to report that fourteen people were baptized in the last three weeks. I hope you were challenged to be a completely committed follower of Jesus.

It’s easy to fall into the trap Jesus talks about in Matthew 7 where you think you’re a follower because you call yourself a Christian. Or you think you’re a follower because you fulfill some religious measurement. But Matthew 7 reminds us that the ultimate question on judgment day will be, “Do you know Jesus?” If you’re not sure about that, let me encourage you to settle it today.

If you missed any of the sermons in this series, you can hear them at cedarridgecc.com.   You can also access accompanying resources like our Journey Group Lessons and our Digging Deeper resources for personal study.

Sunday I start a new series from the New Testament book of 2 Timothy called, Finish Line Faith. 2 Timothy is really a letter the Apostle Paul writes to an overwhelmed young man named Timothy who felt like calling it quits. So Paul writes to encourage Timothy to finish the race. If you want to look ahead, read 2 Timothy chapter one before Sunday.

See you then.

Sunday, we finished our Rich Toward God series and I could almost sense the relief. Our oldest son, Tanner, called his mom last week (He gets my weekly email, but attends church elsewhere with his wife) and said, “Tell Dad he better quit always talking about giving in his emails or people will think that’s all the church talks about.”

That’s certainly been our focus the last four weeks. Thank you to those who read along in our accompanying book. Thank you to those who discussed the material in their Journey Groups or other settings. And thank you to those who made commitments at the end of our series. Many committed to start tithing. Many committed to increase their giving beyond the tithe. I’m looking forward to how God will provide for those who trust him.

If you missed any or all of the Rich Toward God sermons, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com.

Some of the questions people have before they contribute to any organization are such: Are the leaders of the organization trustworthy and have they shown themselves to be good stewards? Can I be confident that the money I give is not being misused or misappropriated? So I asked Robin Smith, our Business Administrator, to give me just a quick list of things that Cedar Ridge does to assure financial accountability.

• While our Business Administrator deals with the day-to-day finances, our appointed Treasurer (also an Elder) provides oversight and accountability.
• Separate personnel complete each step of the accounting process (count offerings, post giving, issue checks).
• The counting of offerings is always done as a team.
• Church expenditures are reviewed by more than one person.
• All expenditures require receipt or documentation.
• A recent in-house audit was performed with positive results.
• Monthly financial statements are always available to any member upon request.

I might also add that no staff member (other than our Business Administrator) including myself, nor Elder (other than our treasurer) has access to giving records or knowledge of what any individual gives. We teach it. We encourage it. We expect it of our members. But ultimately, what you give is between you and God. We trust that you will be rich toward him.

Sunday, I start a new series called, The Story of Everything. In this series we’ll look at some of the fundamental beliefs of our church understanding that they are really just a part of a big story that is unfolding through eternity. I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

1. We align ourselves with God’s agenda.
2. Part of God’s “To Do” List Is accomplished.
3. God allocates funds toward our heavenly account.
4. God is pleased with our giving.
5. God extends his personal resources to us.

The truth is, at the end of life, the only thing that will matter is what you and I invest with the Lord. So, how are you coming?

Can I share with you one secret that has helped Andrea and I to be more faithful in this area of giving? We started giving to God FIRST – before we made the mortgage payment and even before we went to Wal-mart. We found that if we waited until after we paid the bills, it affected how much we thought we could give. By prioritizing God, and giving to him first, it kept us from short-changing our offering. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.”

One of the most practical things that has helped us to be more disciplined, is to give our tithe online. Like many, we now pay the majority of our bills through an online bill-paying service offered by our personal bank. Our bank cuts the check and even mails it to the church for us. We never see it, so there’s no chance of misplacing it or holding it until a later date. And when we have to miss church, we can still be faithful in our giving. What might happen before is, I would write a check, but get busy on Sunday morning and possibly forget to put it in the offering. I might find it days later in my pocket, then have to remember to put it in the offering next week (if the money was still there). It’s not that we didn’t want to be consistent; we just didn’t have an avenue that worked for us. This works for us. If giving online helps you to be faithful, then why not take advantage of it?

Remember, we have one brief opportunity – a life time on earth – to use our resources to make a difference.

Here this sermon at cedarridgecc.com.

Sunday I talked about five “windows” that tithing opens for us.

1. The window of mutual commitment. Tithing says, “I’m loyal to God and he’s loyal to me. I can trust him to take care of me.”
2. The window of personal provision. Tithing puts us into a position to be blessed by God.
3. The window of financial order. Tithing puts discipline into your spending, protecting you from greed and materialism.
4. The window of spiritual identity. Tithing identifies us as “people of God.”
5. The window of ministry impact. Tithing releases resources to support ministry and ministry activities.

If you’re new to this, tithing refers to the practice of giving at least 10 percent of one’s income back to God to be used in ministry. The Israelites were to give 10 percent of their income or crops making it possible for the priests to feed the poor and receive support for their living expenses. Their gifts were used to support ministry. Malachi 3:10 instructed them to, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse…” The storehouse in the Old Testament was the temple. The storehouse in the New Testament is the church. When we tithe into the storehouse of the church, we are releasing funds into the care of church leaders to use those resources to support ministry and ministry activities. For that reason, I believe your tithe should go to the church you attend. Now there may be causes and projects that you are passionate about and want to help fund. The Bible differentiates that as an offering, and it should be given over and beyond our regular tithe.

When it comes to where we give our tithe, Pastor Barry Cameron says, “Remember, we’re to bring the tithe into the storehouse where we are cared for and led. You don’t eat at Burger King and say, ‘I appreciate the food, but I’m going to go down to Taco Bell and give them my money.’ It doesn’t work that way. We’re to bring the tithe, God’s tithe to the storehouse where we’re cared for and led.”

Another conviction I have is that the tithe belongs to God. We are not free to designate it, divide it, or direct it wherever we want. Unfortunately, some people want to say to the church, “Take my tithe and use it for this or apply it to that.” We can’t do that. That’s God’s tithe. In the Old Testament, priests administered the tithes and offerings. Today, Church Elders are charged with that responsibility. They are to take the tithes we bring and prayerfully and carefully direct their use. It’s important for church members to trust their decisions and not try to direct their tithes to their favorite ministries. Not only is that questionable legally, it creates problems for those who track our finances. Now occasionally, there are missions that we support or projects we tackle in which we ask members to consider giving a designated gift, over and above their tithe (like we’re doing now with the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission). But the norm should be to give our tithe to God and trust him for the distribution.

Ultimately, the question of tithing comes down to this, “What do you fear most? Not having enough or not having the involvement of your heavenly father in the realm of your finances.” I hope you’ll take the challenge to start tithing or to grow in your tithing.

Sunday, I also updated you on our current financial situation at Cedar Ridge. For 2009, our giving was about 15 percent down from the previous year. That is a trend many churches are experiencing now. We have certainly been affected by the economy; some members are unemployed or have taken a lesser-paying position. Because of that, we have adjusted expenses accordingly. In crafting our 2010 budget, a 15 percent cut was reflected. Unfortunately since some expenses, like utility costs and mission support, aren’t optional; it means that many of our key ministries took a 40 percent cut in funding. In addition to that, we have cut back our building payments to the minimum amount of principal and interest required by the bank, instead of paying extra on the principal to accelerate our debt reduction.

The good news is that we have not had to lay off staff or cut salaries as many churches have been forced to do. We have not had to cut our mission support. We’re still giving 13 cents of every dollar that’s given, to mission efforts around the world. And God still owns it all. May we be faithful stewards.

If you missed Sunday’s sermon, you can always go back and listen anytime at cedarridgecc.com. Don’t forget to read Chapter Three of the book, Rich Toward God, this week.