Finances on The Ancient World

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Differences in Economics from the Ancient World to Ours

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At this point in the discussion some will remark that the Old Testament says a good deal about being prosperous and even occasionally speaks about wealth, but not about money per se. That is the case ...

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Pearls of Great Price

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Scripture

Matthew 13:45-46, Proverbs 3:13-15, Isaiah 55:1-2

Pearls were of much greater value in Jesus’ time than they are today. Queen Cleopatra is reputed to have had two pearls which together were worth around 15 million denarii. A denari was roughly a day’...

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The Economics of Child-Sponsorship

Author

Bruce Wydick

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While I was at a concert in college, I responded to a flyer requesting volunteers to sponsor a child overseas. For years I read the letters from this little girl in El Salvador. Ruth seemed happy to b...

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Author

Wendell Berry

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The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.

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Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 11:29-30, 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, Matthew 25:35-40, Psalm 112:5-9, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

The early church was strikingly different from the culture around it in this way - the pagan society was stingy with its money and promiscuous with its body. A pagan gave nobody their money and practi...

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My dear King, my own King, without

Author

The Northumbria Community

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Scripture

Psalm 24:1-2, Revelation 4:11, Genesis 1:, Colossians 1:16-17, Job 38:4-7, Isaiah 40:28-31, Psalm 139:13-14

My dear King, my own King, without pride, without sin, You created the whole world, eternal, victorious King. King of the mysteries, You existed before the elements, before the waters covered the ocea...

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Author

D. L. Mayfield

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The deep and dark tragedy of affluence is how it takes away curiosity, how it accepts the world as it is, how it conforms to the talking points of empire and Pharaohs.

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Preparing a Table

Author

Kenneth E. Bailey

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Scripture

Psalm 23:null, Proverbs 9:2, Isaiah 21:5, Ezekiel 23:41

In his excellent study of the famous Biblical passage on shepherds, ( The Good Shepherd: A Thousand Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament ) , scholar Ken Bailey provides helpful context...

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Let us pray. Almighty, powerful,

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Jacob Traeger

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Let us pray. Almighty, powerful, creator God So often we think we know best. We confess to you our sin alongside the sin of all humanity. We have tried to master creation rather than care for it. We ...

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Thinking Biblically about Work and Ownership

Author

Ben Witherington III

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In modern Western culture we place a high value on work, which is fine, but one of the philosophical assumptions that can come with such values is that we assume that we own what we earn or buy. From ...

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A Fixed Pie Or A Growing Pie?

Author

Tom Nelson

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Scripture

Genesis 41:46-57 , Proverbs 31:10-31, Deuteronomy 8:17-18, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 12:13-21, Psalm 128:1-2

Seeing that wealth is neither to be avoided nor praised but rather stewarded wisely and generously, how should we think about material wealth creation? This is an important question worthy of thoughtf...

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Sleeping Well

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor, had quite the sharp wit. After hearing about a Roman nobleman who had passed away with enormous debts (which were kept private throughout his lifetime), he se...

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Author

Andrew F. Walls

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Other major world religions are still centered in the same general geographic area from which they originated except for Christianity. Even more intriguing, the center of Christian growth continues to...

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Author

Andrew Murray

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The world asks, "What does a man own?" Christ asks, "How does he use it?"

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Author

Stanley Hauerwas

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A social order bent on producing wealth as an end in itself cannot avoid the creation of a people whose souls are superficial and whose daily life is captured by sentimentalities. They will ask questi...

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God’s Abundant Provision in Genesis 2

Author

Mark D. Roberts

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Scripture

Genesis 2:16-17, Proverbs 3:10, Genesis 1:29, Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 34:10, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17

There is a tendency among readers and scholars of Genesis 2:16-17 to focus on the prohibition of verse 17: “but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.” …I want to pause to cons...

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Author

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

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Everything in the universe is all jumbled together. So God begins to do some creative separating: he separates light from darkness, day from night, water from land, the sea creatures from the land cru...

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Almighty God of creation, please

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Almighty God of creation, please forgive us for the times when we’ve squandered the gifts you’ve given us. You give so freely, so abundantly, that we sometimes take your gifts for granted. For the tim...

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Adapted from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13

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Scripture

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in h...

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Author

John Calvin

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Wealth

Where riches hold the dominion of the heart, God has lost His authority.

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God blessed them, and God said to them,

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15, Exodus 20:9-10, Psalm 90:17

God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth' Lord be with those who work and worship The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to ti...

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A Prayer for the Future

Author

Francis Drake

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Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves; when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little; when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lo...

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Father God, too often we show

Author

Scott B. Bullock

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Scripture

Psalm 82:null, James 2:1-13

Father God, too often we show preference to those who appear to have it all together, to those whom we consider complete: the self-motivated, self-made, and self-sufficient. We honor the rich and look...

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A Transfer of Funds

Author

Randy Alcorn

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Scripture

Matthew 6:19-21

When Jesus warns us not to store up treasures on Earth, it’s not because wealth might be lost; it’s because wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live, or we leave it when we die. N...

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Surrounded by Possessions

Author

Jeff Manion

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Scripture

Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:33-34, Luke 12:15, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:24

Members of the Natomo family sit on the flat roof of their mud house in Mali, Africa, posing for their early morning photograph. Their earthly belongings are arrayed in front of them. Two kettles, pla...

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Everything is Required?

Author

Ben Witherington III

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Scripture

Leviticus 27:30, Matthew 23:23

“A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord,” reads Leviticus 27:30. It may come as something of a surprise bu...

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Putting the Saints into Circulation

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

Matthew 5:16, James 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:7

There's an intriguing story about Oliver Cromwell, who, while serving as Lord Protector of England, faced a tricky cash flow issue. When he found himself short on precious metal for coins, he sent...

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Jesus Christ is the light of the

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

John 8:12-20, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 27:, John 9:5, Matthew 4:12-17, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Psalm 72:2-14, Colossians 1:26-29

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He will judge the people with righteousness and defend the cause of the poor. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The mystery of the ages is revealed; th...

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Adapted from Proverbs 3:13-18

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:13-18

Leader: Happy are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding. People: For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold. Leader: She is more preci...

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Gracious God, you tend to the earth as

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, James 5:4, Psalm 24:1, Isaiah 5:7, Micah 6:8

Gracious God, you tend to the earth as your vineyard, longing for it to bring fruit. You want our society and our lives to look more and more like the Kingdom of Heaven. We work against your plans, so...

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