Redeemer Youth - Spring 2025 Money Series Notes
Money is neutral in the Bible - Part of a good world God made but Bible also warns us of improper love of and use of money
God owns everything
We are Stewards of what God gives us - money, relationships, time, health, talents, wisdom
Compounding all of what we are stewarding (through consistency/faithfulness) over long periods of time and taking calculated risk is stewarding well. Avoiding risk entirely is NOT Gods design for us.
We all have something we treasure the most - Bible teaches to make your treasure heaven focused
Summary of Godly use of money in the Bible - Provide, Do Good, Celebrate, Save and Give
Making plans is wise (including budgets/investments) but we shouldn’t put our ultimate faith in the plan - Trust God
Budgets 10/10/80 - Give/Save/Use - Goals is to NOT spend money we don’t have, to be satisfied with what we have/live simply, and honor God by trusting him with our tithe/budget/use of money
Project your spending and track actual spending against projected every month
Investments/Savings - Look for good odds of return and mitigate risk when you can = the goal of a professional money manager (and us as we start to invest)
Different Types of investments - Stock Market = Dividends/growth in value (consider stability, value and prospects for growth when selecting), Bonds = Government or Company Debt (consider interest rates and risk of getting paid back when selecting), Bank Savings = CD’s and Interest-bearing accounts, and Real Estate = owning homes and buildings for use or that people/companies rent
Rules for Investing = compounding # 1, Invest in things you know/understand # 2, Take risk after doing your best to mitigate it # 3
Scripture warns about Debt
Borrow only on appreciating or income generating assets and only borrow if you can afford the payments (and manage to do so through times of unemployment through savings)
Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt (because of its high interest rate and often for things we don’t need) but ok if you pay off fully each month
Pay all debt on time to build good credit
We are made in the image of God and made co-creators through our work - we are meant to be like gardeners in this world, helping it grow and flourish.
Work is frustrating as a consequence of sin entering the world - just because its hard doesn’t mean we should stop doing it
All work is part of Gods economy (no job is more pleasing to God than another) and we honor God through our work (a job well done is worship).
Making money is not the primary goal of Work - Stewarding our resources by serving God and Others.
Making money is one of the many blessings we get from God as we work. Be careful of greed and/or making Work our identity. Success at work doesn’t make us experts in everything - be careful of Pride.
We can know what we should do for work by asking 3 questions - 1. What do I like to do? 2. What am I good at or could be good at? (Stewarding gifts/talents) 3. What are people/market willing to pay for?
Key Verses/Chapters we reviewed -
1 Chronicles 29:12, 1 Timothy 6:10, Matthew 6:24, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Matthew 25:14-29, Psalm 24:1, Matt 6: 19-20, 2 Corinthians 8-9, Luke 14:28-30, James 4:13-15 Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 3:15-18, John 20:15, Deuteronomy 15:6, Proverbs 22:7