When Dreams Become Nightmares -- Outline
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:10b, NIV)
The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10)
For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? (Matthew 16:26)
For most people, the American Dream has to do with a subconscious desire for achieving success and satisfying the desire for material possessions. It is the opportunity to pursue more than what we have, to gain more than what we have, and to meet success. We tend to measure our success by the stuff that we possess.
The love of money and the things money can buy is a primary or secondary motive behind most of what we Americans do. We want to consume, acquire, and buy our way to happiness—and we want it now.
The American Dream has become an American Nightmare due to two distinct yet related illnesses that impact us both socially and spiritually.
Affluenza is the constant need for more and bigger and better stuff—as well as the effect that this need has on us. It is the desire to acquire, and most of us have been infected by this virus to some degree.
Credit-itis is an illness that is brought on by the opportunity to buy now and pay later, and it feeds on our desire for instant gratification. Our economy today is built on the concept of credit-itis. Unfortunately, it has exploited our lack of self-discipline and allowed us to feed our affluenza, wreaking havoc in our personal and national finances.
Our souls were created in the image of God, but they have been distorted. We were meant to desire God, but we have turned that desire toward possessions. We were meant to find our security in God, but we find it in amassing wealth. We were meant to love people, but instead we compete with them. We were meant to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, but we busy ourselves with pursuing money and things. We were meant to be generous and to share with those in need, but we selfishly hoard our resources for ourselves. There is a sin nature within us.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). The devil doesn’t need to tempt us to do drugs or to steal or to have an extramarital affair in order to destroy us. All he needs to do is convince us to keep pursuing the American Dream—to keep up with the Joneses, borrow against our futures, enjoy more than we can afford, and indulge ourselves. By doing that, he will rob us of joy, make us slaves, and keep us from doing God’s will.
Although we receive a changed heart when we accept Christ, in a sense we need a heart change every morning. Each morning we should get down on our knees and say, “Lord, help me to be the person you want me to be today. Take away the desires that shouldn’t be there, and help me be single-minded in my focus and my pursuit of you.” As we do this, God comes and cleanses us from the inside out, purifying our hearts.
Christ works in us as we seek first his kingdom and strive to do his will. As this happens, we begin to sense a higher calling—a calling to simplicity and faithfulness and generosity. We begin to look at ways we can make a difference with our time and talents and resources. By pursuing good financial practices, we free ourselves from debt so that we are able to be in mission to the world. A key part of finding financial and spiritual freedom is found in simplicity and in exercising restraint. With the help of God, we can:
1 “Self-storage Nation: Americans Are Storing More Stuff Than Ever,” by Tom Vanderbilt, July 18, 2005; http://www.slate.com/id/2122832/.
2 “Credit Card Debt Statistics,” by Mark Brinker, August 2008; www.hoffmanbrinker.com/credit-card-debt-statistics.html.
Dear Friends,
I really hope that you will join me in worship in the coming weeks for a sermon series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Our nation is experiencing what many have described as the “American Nightmare.” Increasing consumer debt, declines in savings, lower income growth, rising housing costs, and a volatile stock market are all contributing to economic insecurity. We live in a society that tells us “you deserve it now,” whether or not we can afford it or really even need it.
I’m sure we’ve all struggled with these issues at one time or another. I know that I have. Beginning next weekend, we are going to explore what the Bible teaches us about financial management. We’ll look at what others have learned by working through financial challenges and watch some informative video clips. Each week I’ll be providing you with some tools you can use to assess your financial situation and develop a financial plan with a biblical foundation.
These are important issues that we cannot ignore. I hope you will join me as we look at how we can manage our financial resources and truly experience that God is “Enough.”
In Christ,
Pastor Dobbs
Stress. Anxiety. Fear. These words capture well the state of mind of many of us in America today. We have witnessed dramatic market losses, the collapse of the world’s largest insurance company, and many bankruptcies and mergers. Every day seems to bring another piece of economic uncertainty.
A recent survey found that over three in four Americans are stressed about the economy and their personal finances. Half were worried about providing for their family’s basic needs. Over half of respondents reported feeling angry and irritable, and reported lying awake at night worried about this. The report concludes that, “The declining state of the nation’s economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide.”1
Join us in worship the next 10 weeks for a sermon series entitled Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Our nation is experiencing what many have described as the “American Nightmare.” Increasing consumer debt, declines in savings, lower income growth, and a volatile stock market are all a part of our economic insecurity. We have lived in a society that tells us “you deserve it now,” whether or not we can afford it or really even need it.
All of us have struggled with these issues at one time or another. They are important issues that we cannot ignore. This is why, over the next 10 weeks, we will be having a church wide study and worship emphasis called Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. During this time we will explore what the Bible teaches us about financial management through corporate worship and small group study (visit eumcaustin.org for details about small-group study opportunities). We’ll hear expert advice and stories about what others have learned by working through financial challenges. Each week we will provide you with some practical tools you can use to assess your financial situation and develop a financial plan with a biblical foundation.
At the conclusion of the emphasis, we will have the opportunity to make personal commitments of our offerings to God through our church in the coming year. We will consecrate these commitments in the worship service on two consecutive Sundays (see the schedule that follows).
I hope you will join us in the coming weeks as we look at how we can manage our financial resources and truly experience simplicity, generosity, and joy.
Schedule of Events:
Introduction
9/27/09 Faith in the Midst of Financial Crisis
Small-Group Study Begins
10/4/09 When Dreams Become Nightmares
10/11/09 Wisdom and Finance
10/18/09 Cultivating Contentment
10/25/09 Defined by Generosity
Small-Group Study Ends
11/1/09 Consecration Sunday 1
11/8/09 Consecration Sunday 2
11/22/09 Celebration Sunday – Results Celebration and Consecration of Next Year’s Ministry Commitments
1 “Eight Out of Ten Americans Stressed Because of Economy,” by Madison Park, from CNN.com, October 7, 2008; http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/07/economic.stress/index.html.
Sunday June 7th, 2009
12:30-4:30
Zilker Park Polo Tables
Food, Moonwalk, Music, Games and more...
Might you need some nifty items from Pampered Chef, Avon, Southern Living, Tupperware, Lia Sophia, Crafts by Leonila (and others) but not want to be pressured to have a party? Then the Emmanuel Trustees invite you to a Vendors Fair on May 2 in Jackson Hall from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. to browse and find the items you want without the pressure. A portion of the profits will go to Emmanuel for improvements to our facilities.
We give thanks to God for the incisive and prophetic Bible Study on What we Can Learn from the Disciples' Mistakes led by Yolanda Munguia that has just concluded! I anticipate the next study on Kingdom People? Pueblo del Reino by Drs. James B. and Molly David Scott led by Pastor Dobbs will be just as incisive and edifying. It is a 13 week study on discipleship that will begin on April 22. Join us to follow our Lord Jesus more nearly and to love him more dearly!
Emmanuel UMC of Austin
Service of Welcoming for our Superintendent
and Lunch in his honor
Training for Cooperative Ministry Teams
10:00 am to 2:30 pm
What can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the laborer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is his will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between "cheap grace" and "costly grace." "Cheap grace," Bonhoeffer wrote, "is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship....Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know....It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life."The book is $10 and the first two Sundays, we will watch a documentary about Dietrich Bonhoeffer's life.
Lewis seeks in Mere Christianity to help us see religion with fresh eyes, as a radical faith whose adherents might be likened to an underground group gathering in a war zone, a place where evil seems to have the upper hand, to hear messages of hope from the other side.
