6. Put Your $$ Where Your Mouth Is. . . . .Pg 24

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...... pg 3

2. Hang Time ...... pg 8

3. Accountability ...... pg 11

4. Just Do It ...... pg 15

5. That Infamous Question...... pg 19

6. Put Your $$ Where Your Mouth Is. . . . .pg 24

7. Dig In...... pg 28

8. Wrap Wrap Wrap It Up...... pg 33

Introduction

Take a moment and answer the questions on this page. We’ll discuss them in a few minutes. . .

What is a habit? ______

______

What are some of your daily habits? ______

______

Why do you have these habits? ______

______

Have you ever broken a habit? ðNope, I’m perfect

ðYep – If so, what?

______

Is it always bad to break a habit? ðOh yeah

ðNope

Why or why not? ______

Here’s what some people say about habits:

Webster’s Dictionary:

Aristotle:

Horace Mann:

Let’s see what the Bible has to say about habits:

Proverbs 22:6 –

What is the author’s point?______

______

How does this verse apply to you?______

______

Hebrews 10:25 –

What habit is being broken in this passage?______

______

Have you ever broken this habit? ð Never

ð Uh, yep I did

Think about your best friend for a moment.

How often do you communicate with him or her?

ð Once a month ð Once a week

ð Once a day ð Many times during the day

It’s difficult to maintain a good friendship when you only communicate once a month. Chances are, that relationship will die. . .

Having a relationship with Christ is the same way. How strong would the relationship be if you only prayed once a week? What if you only attended church once a month?

A relationship with Christ must be developed, just as the relationship with your best friend had to be developed. During this Bible study, we will identify six habits that must be maintained in order to have a solid walk with Jesus Christ.

Don’t worry if you aren’t doing some of these habits yet. We are studying them so that you can learn to do them for the rest of your life, because after all, a relationship with Christ isn’t a once a month activity. Turn the page to see the six habits of a lifelong walk with Christ. . .

Think about your best friend. What sort of things do you like to do together? ______

______

What sort of things do you talk about?

______

Do you ever hide things from your best friend?_____

Do you ever say good things about your best friend to them? ð Never – I’m actually a terrible friend

ð Not as much as I should

ð Yes, as much as possible

How does your friend feel when you do that?

______

Hang Time with God is a 2 step process:

1. Spend time in God’s Word

2. Spend time in prayer

1. Spend Time in God’s Word

Why do you think you should spend time reading the Bible?______

·Check out Joshua 1:8.

How often should we study God’s Word?______

______

What are the benefits of obeying the first part of the verse?______

______

We believe that God’s word is inerrant in the original translation. There is no better way to know God personally that to study His Word.

Spend Time in Prayer

2. Spend Time in Prayer

Rich Mullins once told the story of a man who had difficulty praying to God. A pastor friend told him that he needed to set an empty chair next to his bed, and pretend that Jesus was sitting in that chair. Then the man should just talk to the chair as though he was talking to Jesus. A short time later, the man passed away. When the man’s family found his body, he was sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around the chair. This is the fervor in which we should pray.

·Check out Ephesians 6:18.

How often should we pray?______

For whom should we pray?______

·Check out Matthew 5:44.

For whom should we Pray?______

·Check out 1 Thesselonians 5:17.

How often should we pray?______

How should we pray?

· Check out Matthew 6:9-12.

In verse 9, Christ tells us that these verses are how we should pray. When you analyze these verses, you can make an acronym for prayer.

The ACTS Prayer Model

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

When you pray, be sure to use the ACTS model for prayer so that you don’t miss any part of your prayer.

So, how do I apply this to my life?

· Do a quiet time every day.

-This will involve three things (and less than 10 minutes each day!)

1. Scripture reading

-Use a Bible that is easy for you to understand.

2. Application

-Use a devotional that is also easy for you to understand.

-Check out the “One Minute Bible” – it contains several verses to read and an application.

3. Pray

-Use the ACTS prayer model

-Keep a prayer journal, in which you can log prayer requests and when God answers your prayers.

What does accountable mean?

Webster’s Dictionary:

Who are some people to whom you are held accountable? ______

______

Why do those people hold you accountable? ______

______

Do you have someone that is accountable to you?

ð Yes. Who? ______

ð Nope.

Accountability in our Christian Walk

Sanctification is the process in which we become ______like ______through the work of the ______.

Part of this process is reducing the sin in our lives. An easy way to reduce the sin in your life is to hold yourself accountable to another believer.

Let’s see what God’s Word has to say about being held accountable to another believer. . .

· James 5:16

According to this verse, why should we confess our sins to each other? ______

______

Healed from what? ______

What else should you do with your accountability partner? ______

So, how do I apply this to my life?

· Meet with an accountability partner one time each week for 5-15 minutes.

-This will involve three things:

1. Find an accountability partner, and make a covenant with them to meet once a week to pray and encourage each other.

2. Meet with your accountability partner weekly and confess your sins to each other. The object in doing so is to reduce the number sins in each others lives. The key to effectiveness is being honest.

3. When you have finished confessing your sins, pray with your partner. This will strengthen your relationships with your partner and with God.

What is your phone number?

______- ______

What is your best friend’s phone number?

______- ______

What is your address? ______

Why do you have these things memorized?

______

How difficult would it be to invite others to your home if you didn’t know your address?

ð Not difficult – My room is so messy, no one will

come visit my home

ð Very difficult – I have trouble finding it already and I

know the address

Typically, we memorize things that are important to us. What are some things that you have memorized? ______

______

Is there anything more important than God’s Word?

ð No

ð All of the above

Perhaps, then, if we are serious about our Christian walk, we ought to memorize selected verses from the Bible.

Let’s see what God’s Word says about scripture memorization:

· Check out Psalms 119: 11

Why has the Psalmist memorized scripture? ______

______

Doesn’t that sound like sanctification?

There are several advantages of memorizing God’s Word:

1. You can witness to others more easily.

2. You can impress your grandparents by commanding a firm grasp of the Bible.

3. You will be more aware of the sin in your life, and in the long run, will sin less.

4. You will please God, since He tells you to memorize scripture. (See Joshua 1:8)

There are several secrets to memorizing God’s Word:

1. Don’t try to memorize long passages of scripture. Memorize one or two verses at a time.

2. Read through the verses several times. Figure out what is being said in the verse.

3. Underline the verse in your Bible.

4. Write the verse on a card, and carry it with you.

5. Quote the verse regularly when talking to your friends.

6. Recite your verse to your accountability partner.

So, how do I apply this to my life?

· Memorize one verse each week.

Here are some suggested verses to get you started:

ð Done

Listed below are several super heroes. Match the super hero with their correct partner.

1. Batman A. Mr. Spock

2. The Lone Ranger B. The Sundance Kid

3. Starsky C. Robin

4. Butch Cassidy D. Hutch

5. Captain Kirk E. Tonto

Why do these super heroes have partners? ______

______

Just like these superheroes, we can not fight the battles of life and be victorious without having a partner or two. This is where becoming involved in church comes into play. We must band together as believers to encourage each other in the battle.

Look at the above diagram. In the diagram, there are three people looking at the oval in between them. Each of the three people sees a different aspect of the oval. Picture the oval as representing God. Church is a place where believers can get together to express the aspects of God in their lives.

Attending church allows us to be spiritually fed. While doing a daily quiet time is critical to grow spiritually, attending a corporate worship service is also important, because it allows us to learn more about God from someone who knows the Bible in greater detail than we do.

What do you think?

· Check out Hebrews 10: 25

What is the author of Hebrews telling us not to give up? ______

What are we to do when we meet together? ______

Why is it important to be involved in the church? 1.______

2.______

3.______

So, how do I apply this to my life?

· Attend a church service at least one time per week.

1. If you have not done so, find a church where you feel comfortable with the worship style and theology.

2. Begin attending that church every Sunday.

3. Get involved with different areas of ministry within the church. Some areas where you can get involved are:

a. Attending Sunday School

b. Assisting in the Nursery

c. Assisting with Vacation Bible School

d. Assisting with Sunday School

e. Helping clean up the church

f. Getting involved with a prayer chain

“There is a selfish attitude in this generation. I think this generation is primarilly concerned with themselves – ‘What can I get out of this?’ ‘Will it make me any money?’ ‘Will it help me gain more earthly goods?’ There is a real me-ism that keeps us from darkening the doors of the church.

Toby McKeehan, DC Talk

How to Get Rich

The Big Financial Picture

Check out these verses, then answer the questions immediately following the verse.

Why did the man walk away sad? ______

______

What happens when you put God before money on your priority list? ______

______

What does this passage say about the love of money? ______

______

What does this passage say about God’s presence in your life? ______

______

Where does wealth come from? ______

______

How much is a tithe?______

If you earned $100 in one month, how much would your tithe be? $______

If you earned $75 in one month, how much would your tithe be? $______

Why do you think that it is important for a Christian to give? ______

______

What Happens When You Give?

What part of our wealth are we to give to God?_____

______

How will God honor you according to verse 10?____

______

What happens to the man who gives?______

______

What happens to the man who withholds from God? ______

What promise does God make to those who give freely to Him? ______

______

Why do you think that it is important for a Christian to be a giver? ______

______

How Should I Give?

What was Jesus’ problem with the religious people? ______

______

What is the most important aspect of giving? ______

______

How does Jesus want us to give? ______

______

What happens when we give in this manner? ______

______

So, how do I apply this to my life?

· Begin calculating your income and tithe it every Sunday.

The Big Financial Picture

“Being satisfied with what you have comes from the presence of God in your life. Possessions can be stolen, but the Spirit of God will never leave us.”

What Happens When You Give?

“Christians belong to a community called the body of Christ (a.k.a. the church). What each member does effects the other members. Giving builds up the body.”

How Should I Give?

“Could you imagine getting left-over “hand me downs” for Christmas? God deserves more than our spare change, when we get money, we should pay Him first.”