1. Year of the Family

2. “Money Smarts is Crucial!”
Matthew 6:33; Acts 5:1-10

3. Do people set out to get themselves into financial difficulties
Do people set out to get themselves into financial difficulties? Are some people predestined to be in debt all of their lives? Is money smarts all that important?…

6. 60% - all couples in marriage counseling say money is the #1 problem…
80% - of all Americans owe more than they own…
85% - of all Americans who reach age 65 have not saved $250…
2% - of all Americans will be financially independent at age 65…

7. Getty was worth four billion dollars when he died
Getty was worth four billion dollars when he died. Yet, Getty, who married five times, lamented the only people he envied were “…those with successful marriages.”

8. to see how being a faithful steward is necessary for wedded bliss
Purpose:
to see how being a faithful steward is necessary for wedded bliss

9. I Be Smart and Avoid Greed

10. Nothing pushes a married couple to embrace needless debt like greed – GREED, not God is where a lot of marriages place their trust.

11. I Be Smart and Avoid Greed
A. A Couple in the First Church Fell Prey to Greed

12. God had blessed Ananias and Sapphira with good profit from the sale of some land… Their unwillingness to give to the full extent of their ability stemmed directly to their greed…

13. I Be Smart and Avoid Greed
A. A Couple in the First Church Fell Prey to Greed
B. Greed Affects Many Couples Today in the Church

14. Master Your Money
By Ron Blue
“The average charitable giving in the US is 1.7% of adjusted gross income. The average among those who claim to be Christians is 2.5%…” Obviously Christians aren’t putting their money where their mouths are!

15. II Be Smart and Avoid Rationalizing
A. Rationalizing Begins With Deception
B. Rationalizing is Justifying Sin

16. 2 Timothy 4:9-10
“Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…”

17. III Be Smart and Avoid Faithless Stewardship
A. The Amount That is Yours

18. Matthew 6:20-21
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

19. III Be Smart and Avoid Faithless Stewardship
A. The Amount That is Yours
B. God’s Response to the “Amount” that is Yours

20. Luke 12:20
“God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’”

21. I remember as a little boy singing about and being read to the Bible story of Zacchaeus. Remember, the “Wee little man”?

22. Summary and Conclusion:
Starting today you too can choose to become a Zacchaeus and prove by your faithful stewardship that money is not your god. And then the words of Jesus can bless your marriage as they did that of that former tax collector: “Today, salvation has come to this house.”