1st S : "Seeing" God's provisions in your life

2nd S : "Set aside" Using your hands to set aside what you are going to give to the Lord

3rd S: "Systematically" using your head to to give systematically what you've set aside

4th S: "Spontaneously" by being open-handed when God prompts your heart to give.

Live A Life Of....

T RANSFER Ownership back to God Col 1:16-17, 1 Chron 29:11-12
H UMBLY adjust your lifestyle to live below your means Pr 21:20, Dt 25:13, Pet 5:5-7
A VOID or eliminate growing indebtedness & surety Pr 22:7, Dt 28:15,43,44, Ez 28:17-18
N AVIGATE away from financial temptations Ps 119:36-37, Titus 2:12, Rom 13:14
K NOW your financial status and goals Prov 27:23-24, Prov 21:5
S HARE with people in need Prov 22:9, James 1:27, 2 Cor 9:9
G IVING to God first as your highest financial priority 1Kg 17:13-16, Dt 14:22-23, 2 Cor 8:7
I NVOLVE yourself in productive work Prov10:4, Pr 13:4, Mt 6:33, 2 Thess 3:9-13
V IEW every need & desire as a chance to trust God Matthew 6:11, Ps 34:10, Ecc 2:26
I NSERT time in our week to manage your finances 1 Cor 16:2, Pr 13:16, 14:23, 24:3, Is 32:8
N EVERr be dishonest Prov 13:11, Prov 20:17, Prov 10:2, Eph 4:28
G AIN Biblical understanding Ps 119:11, 2 Chron 26:5, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Generous Giving
GIVING – NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO, BUT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO!

Christian giving is not a natural act, but a supernatural act of God in your life. It is God’s grace and love that will give you the ability to give and share according to what He’s given you. Your Christian giving is to be more delight than drudgery, more privilege than pressure, more anticipation than anxiety, and more worshipful than worrisome!

II Corinthians 9:7 God loves a cheerful giver.
Leviticus 22:17,18 Giving through your own free will.
Exodus 33:5 Giving involuntarily.
Proverbs 3:5,6 Recognizing the apparent foolishness of giving but believing God is greater than your limited understanding.

1 Chronicles 29: 10-13

Then David praised the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said, "May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. In your hand are power and might, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. In your hand are power and might, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks and praise for Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand."

This passage of scripture written by King David as a praise song to God after an offering had been contributed for the building of the temple.

There are 3 major points in this passage of Scripture:

1) David established God's unquestioned, unmatched ownership and authority over all creation. He makes it clear that there is nothing that does not fall under His rightful ownership.

2) He makes the point that not only does God own everything; He is the source of everything. There is nothing that exists that does not come from Him.

3) We are privileged and are commanded to live our lives grateful and dependent upon Him.

We need to understand that God owns everything and has a right to control how we live and utilize His resources. We are to manage what He gives us.

From this text we learn that:

a) God owns everything and we need to yield to His ownership.
b) Acknowledge God as our source. He provides us with our gifts and abilities to work and even though we may have an employer, we still work for God.
c) We need to live with gratitude and dependence on God. We will either depend on God, or we will depend on ourselves. When it's my stuff it's never enough. When God owns my stuff, He is enough.

Supportive Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 6:20; Psalm 24: 1-2; Psalm 50:10;Haggai 2:8; Job 41:11; Deuteronomy 7:17; 8:18; Luke 14:33; Colossians 3:17; Matthew 10:29-31

Excerpt from: "It's A New Day For Financial Freedom" Bible Study

EIGHT STEPS TO GETTING OUT OF DEBT PART 1
There’s no doubt personal debt has played a key role in the current financial crisis. Debt levels have been climbing for several decades. People are spending a $1.25 for every $1 they make. Debt isn’t just impacting our church’s pews though. It’s impacting the pulpits as well. Many ministries are sunk because pastors are so burdened by debt they leave the ministry for more profitable work. Debt is a problem we can’t ignore any longer. But how do we get out from under it? We’ve got to commit to these eight Biblical steps for Financial Freedom. For the next several weeks we will examine these.
1. Commit to becoming debt free now. This is the most difficult step of all, but it’s also the most important. You’ve got to make a commitment to do this. It’s absolutely crucial. Paying off debt is something God blesses. The Bible says in Psalm 37: “The wicked borrow and do not repay…” (v. 21 NIV). God does not bless the wicked.
That means you can’t take the easy way out and file bankruptcy in order to beat people out of debt. Sure, bankruptcy is legal. And some types of bankruptcy allow you to reorganize in order to pay off debt. However, some types of bankruptcy are designed to get out of obligations. They may be legal, but that doesn’t make it moral. It’s not moral to stiff somebody out of debt. God says if you have a debt, you are to pay it off. This is tough to preach in these difficult days. Some think it’s their only option. We need to make this important commitment to pay our debts.
Nobody just drifts out of debt. You’ve got to be intentional and start with a commitment. We all want to be out of debt. But we have to do what it takes to do that. It isn’t easy. It takes discipline. It takes perseverance. But it’s also the right thing to do.

2. Start paying God and yourself first. If you want to get out of debt, you’ve got to start tithing 10 percent (paying God) and saving 10 percent (paying yourself). People in debt will balk at this. They don’t understand how tithing and saving will help get them out of debt. But if you wait until you pay off all your bills, you will never save and you will never tithe.
When we’re in debt, we need God’s help. That means we need to do it God’s way. The fact is, whatever area we want God to bless, we have to put him first in. You want God to bless your finances? You better put him first in your finances. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be added to you.”

STEPS 1 & 2
1. Commit to becoming debt free now.
2. Start paying God and yourself first.

3. List all you own, owe, and earn. You’ve got to keep good records. It’s the principle of accounting. You need to know where your money has gone, where it’s going, and where it’s coming from. The Bible says this: “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established.” You’re wise when you know where you money is going.
People say money talks. It doesn’t talk! It just walks away quietly. Then you get to the end of the month and ask, “Where did my money go?” If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, you don’t have a budget and you need one. A budget is telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.

4. Have a sale. You need to get rid of some of your stuff. You need to convert some of the “stuff” around your house to cash. Look around your house. Even if it’s paid off, you may be better off selling it. Why? You’re paying to maintain it.
Nothing should be off the table. If you’ve got a car, ask yourself what’s the purpose of the car? If it’s transportation, there are a lot of ways you can get from here to there. Is there a cheaper way to do so? Be radical. Can you buy a cheaper house to cut down on your monthly payments? Do whatever it takes. By the way, if you have something that you can’t imagine getting rid of, it’s not a possession, it’s an idol. Nothing is off the table.

Let's refresh:

1. Commit to becoming debt free now.
2. Start paying God and yourself first.
3. List all you own, owe, and earn.
4. Have a sale.

5. Set up a repayment plan to get out of debt. You’re never going to get out of debt accidentally. It’s got to be intentional. You’ve got to have a plan. The Bible says, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity” (Proverbs 21:5 NLT). You’ll need someone objective to help you do this. We need somebody who’ll say, “Have you thought about this? Can you really afford it?” And, most importantly, they’ll help you set up a repayment plan.
Just find some folks in your church who love people and aren’t scared by numbers. If the person has gotten out of debt themselves, that’s even better. You can find fantastic training out there for church-based financial counselors. Crown Financial Ministries and others similar plans to help. Our own Caryn Carson teaches a class a couple times a year to help. You may need a coach to help you get out of you financial woes. It’s also a tremendous outreach opportunity during these tough economic times.

6. Add no new debt. Cut out debt cold turkey. Stop going into debt right now. Cut up your credit cards. Don’t get another loan. The number one reason people go in debt is that they can’t live on what they make. Decide today that you will. To do that, you’ve got to be content with what you have. It’s the only long-term antidote to debt.

First 6 steps again:
1. Commit to becoming debt free now.
2. Start paying God and yourself first.
3. List all you own, owe, and earn.
4. Have a sale.
5. Set up a repayment plan to get out of debt.
6. Add no new debt.

7. Share the plan with your creditors. Let the people you owe know that things are changing. Make a list of those you owe. Call each one of them and say, “I don’t want to file bankruptcy. It’s not good for you. It’s not good for me. I can’t pay you $25 a month. I just don’t have it. But I could pay you $5 a month. I want to pay off my debts. Can you help me with this?”
The Bible says, “When your ways please the Lord, he will make your enemies into friends” Proverbs 16:7 GN). Those people you’re in debt to will say, “Here’s somebody who’s not going to stiff us. They’re not going to walk away from it. At least they’re going to try to make the effort to pay it back. So we’ll help them out.”

8. Stick to it. Getting out of debt isn’t easy. It takes discipline, effort, and sacrifice. But you can do it. You’ve just got to stick to the plan. These principles work, but you must work them. The Bible says, “Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” (Galatians 6:9).
You’ll be tempted to give up. That’s when you need to keep going and stick to the plan. That’s also when you need fellow believers to cheer you on. God is interested in every detail of your life – including your financial life. He wants you to pay off your debt, and he’ll help you do it. You just have to ask.