gods of Money and More
October 13, 2013 .......................................................................................... “Idolatry and the Battle for our Hearts”
October 20, 2013 ............................................................................................................................. “god of Pleasure”
October 27, 2013 ........................................................................................................... “gods of Power and Success”
November 3, 2013 ........................................................................................................... “gods of Money and More”
November 10, 2013 ........................................................................................................... “gods of Family and Love”
November 17, 2013 ..................................................................................................................................“god of Me”
Mark 10:17–25 (NLT) 17As Jesus was starting out on
his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to
him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18“Why do you call
me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.
19But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not
commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not
testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor
your father and mother.’” 20“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I
was young.” 21Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t
done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions
and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22At this
the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he
had many possessions. 23Jesus looked around and
said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to
enter the Kingdom of God!” 24This amazed them. But
Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to
enter the Kingdom of God. 25In fact, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a
rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Matthew 6:19–21, 24 (NLT) 19“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust
destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
20Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and
rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and
steal. 21Wherever your treasure is, there the desires
of your heart will also be... ... 24“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.
Matthew 6:31–33 (NLT) 31“So don’t worry about
these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we
drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate
the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and
he will give you everything you need.
Luke 12:13–21 (NLT) 13Then someone called from
the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide
our father’s estate with me.” 14Jesus replied, “Friend,
who made me a judge over you to decide such
things as that?” 15Then he said, “Beware! Guard
against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by
how much you own.” 16Then he told them a story: “A
rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.
17He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have
room for all my crops.’ 18Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll
tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll
have room enough to store all my wheat and other
goods. 19And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My
friend, you have enough stored away for years to
“Your god is determined by what you put your trust in.
There are gods at war within each of us and they battle
for the throne of our hearts and much is at stake.
For whatever god wins that war gains control over us
and ultimately determines our destiny.”
- Kyle Idleman
Many people put more trust in their money than they do
in God for their security and satisfaction and significance.
Three Truths:
1) Money and wealth are _______________________________________.
God is not anti-money or anti-wealth.
2) Money is portrayed in the Bible as one of God’s ___________________
__________________________________.
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The Bible contains more than 2,300 references to money, wealth,
and property.
There are twice as many references to money and possessions as
there are to faith and prayer.
16 of Jesus’ 38 parables speak about how people should handle money and possessions.
Jesus taught more about money and possessions (1 out of every 10
verses in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) than heaven and hell combined.
See Mark 10:17-25 and Matthew 6:19-21, 24.
You can’t serve two masters!
3) The way we _______________________________________ and the
way we view our money reveals whether it is a “god” in our life.
come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!” ’
20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this
very night. Then who will get everything you worked
for?’ 21“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly
wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10–11 (NLT) 10Those who love
money will never have enough. How meaningless to
think that wealth brings true happiness! 11The more
you have, the more people come to help you spend
it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch
it slip through your fingers!
Malachi 3:7–12 (NLT) 7Ever since the days of your
ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed
to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to
you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “But you
ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone
away?’ 8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have
cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean?
When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated
me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9You are
under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so
there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,”
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the
windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing
so great you won’t have enough room to take it in!
Try it! Put me to the test! 11Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.
Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are
ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 12“Then all
nations will call you blessed, for your land will be
such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Proverbs 30:8–9 (NLT) 8First, help me never to tell
a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9For if I
grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the
LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus
insult God’s holy name.
Deuteronomy 14:22–23 (NLT) 22“You must set
aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the
crops you harvest each year. 23Bring this tithe to the
designated place of worship—the place the LORD
your God chooses for his name to be honored—and
eat it there in his presence. This applies to your
tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn
males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach
you always to fear the LORD your God.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT) 33Seek the Kingdom of God
above all else, and live righteously, and he will give
you everything you need.
Six Indicators:
1) Our money is our god if we are ________________________________
in it for the future.
 See Matthew 6:19-20 and Matthew 6:31-33
Are you are consumed with putting money away
for your future and believe you are solely responsible
for making sure you have enough money for your future?
2) Our money is our god if we are ________________________________
in life by how much money we have or by what we own.
 See Luke 12:13-21
3) Our money is our god if we are looking for it to ___________________
_____________________ and satisfied in life.
 See Luke 12:13-21 and Ecclesiastes 5:10-11
4) Our money is our god if we do not use God’s money for His purposes
and if we are not ________________________________________.
 See Malachi 3:7-12
5) Our money is our god if it ____________________________________.
6) Our money is our god if it consumes our ________________________
___________________________________.
Two Things We Can Do:
1) Acknowledge and confess that we have made money our god and
choose to repent and make changes in our life.
2) Put off your love of money and put on contentment, giving, loving God
above all else, and choose to live righteously.
 See Proverbs 30:8-9, Deuteronomy 14:22-23, and Matthew 6:33
For Next Week...
 Read chapters 9-10 in the book “gods at War” by Kyle Idleman
 Watch the video “gods of Money” with your small group or online at
www.otterbeinchurch.org
For more information about what it means to begin a relationship with
Jesus or what to do after making a decision to follow Him, stop at
Guest Central in the lobby following the service or call the church office
at 717.762.7147 to set up an appointment. You may also learn more about
what it means to follow Jesus and/or request materials and find
additional information to help you on your spiritual journey by clicking
“Jesus” on our website at www.otterbeinchurch.org
“Your god is determined by what you put your
trust in. There are gods at war within each of us
and they battle for the throne of our hearts and
much is at stake. For whatever god wins the
war gains control over us and ultimately
determines our destiny.”
- Kyle Idleman
Many people put more trust in their
money than they do in God for their security
and satisfaction and significance.
1) Money and wealth are neither good nor bad.
God is not anti-money or anti-wealth.
2) Money is portrayed in the Bible as one of
God’s primary competitors.
You can’t serve two masters!
3) The way we handle our money and the way
we view our money reveals whether it is a
“god” in our life.
1) Our money is our god if we are placing our
security in it for the future.
Are you consumed with putting money away
for your future and believe you are solely
responsible for making sure you have
enough money for your future?
2) Our money is our god if we are measuring our
success in life by how much money we have
or by what we own.
3) Our money is our god if we are looking for it
to make us happy and satisfied in life.
4) Our money is our god if we do not use money
for His purposes and if we are not generous
towards others.
If you are being stingy with God’s money and are
not giving money to accomplish His purposes,
then your money and possessions very well may
have become your god.
5) Our money is our god if it controls our lives.
6) Our money is our god if it consumes our
thoughts, time, and discussions.
1) Acknowledge and confess that we have
made money our god and choose to repent
and make changes in our life.
2) Put off your love of money and put on
contentment, giving, loving God above all
else, and choose to live righteously.