Haggai: How To Patch The Hole In Your Pocket

GracePoint Church

Haggai: How To Patch The Hole In Your Pocket

September 22, 2024 • Neil Montgomery • Proverbs 3:9–10, Proverbs 12:9, Proverbs 21:17, Proverbs 21:20

I was done! This was going to be the last time I put any money into that junk-heap of a car. My 1978 Ford Pinto was draining my back account on a regular basis. I finally gave it a burial, and bought a new(er) car.

The problem wasn't that I got a much needed car. The problem was that I bought a car that looked nicer than I needed it to look, and cost a little more . . . no, a lot more than I should've paid. Now I had a car payment and repairs. Suffice it to say, I learned my lesson about trying to keep up with the Joneses.

The trouble with keeping up with the Joneses is that you never can. Who are the Joneses anyway? It's our tendency to covet. That's part of our sin nature. Hence, we need to practice the way of Jesus in being content and making wise choices with the resources that He has entrusted to us.

Join us in person or online this Sunday as we look at what true Financial Freedom looks like and wrap up our study in the book of Haggai.

Haggai: The Hole in Your Pocket

September 15, 2024 • Neil Montgomery • Proverbs 15:8, Haggai 1, Haggai 2:3–9

Pressure seems to come from all sides. It seems like everyone wants something from us. Friends, family, work, school, church, clubs...all seem to pull at us until we are exhausted. As a result we have so little left to give to anything else. The important things are left in the dust. We find ourselves rushing through life, attending to the necessary, the immediate, and the urgent. Our battle is not the busyness and volume of demands...it comes down to values. What is truly important to us? We cannot hide what we value the most because it is reflected in how we use our resources--time, money, talent and touch. I may say God is number one, but hang out with me for a day. Look at my calendar or my bank account and you'll soon see that I struggle keeping God at the top of it all. Haggai was a prophet who called the people of God back to the value of placing God first in every area of our lives. How are you doing with that? Struggling? Come struggle together with us as we delve into these two small chapters.

Zephaniah: “If I’ve Said It Once, I’ve Said It A Thousand Times”

September 8, 2024 • Neil Montgomery • Zephaniah 1:1–9, Zephaniah 2:1–3, Zephaniah 3:1–2, Zephaniah 3:7–8, 2 Kings 22:19–20

"You're grounded!" I can still hear the words as I worked to hold back tears of frustration toward my parents who failed to heed my cries of innocence. Truthfully, I was guilty. My parents were right. Their motivation was in my best interest...grounded in a deep love for their son. Everyone one of the minor prophets we have studied have shared echoes of the same message--God gave us a path--the people chose to go a different way. God fought to bring them back...grounded in a deep love for His children. God is the same today as He was back then. The same love drives Him to draw us back into intimacy with Him. His goal, that summarizes most of your bible, is that He is willing to do whatever it takes to bring you back. Many times it comes in the form of adversity. If we can learn to trust God and lean into a trial with prayer, patience and perseverance...an intimacy with God awaits on the other side that nothing on Earth can compare to. Join us as we open the 9th Minor Prophet--Zephaniah.

Habakkuk: How to Complain to God

September 1, 2024 • Neil Montgomery • Psalm 13:1–4, Psalm 22:1–2, 1 Peter 4:17, Habakkuk 3:17–19, Hebrews 11:32–40

All of us come to times in our life when we don't understand what God is up to. At times like this, the bible teaches us to have faith and trust that God has a plan...even when it doesn't make sense. However, if you and I had an "honest" moment, there are times when that seems all too convenient...like "wishful thinking." Doubt starts to creep in and if God doesn't come through in a reasonable amount of time, I begin to get a little upset. If we were to be even a little more honest, our anger makes us want to complain to God. BUT...that doesn't seem right or respectful to God. As a result, so many of us "bottle up our pain"...until we explode in anger and walk away from our faith. Can you relate to that? The good news is that "complaining to God" is all over the bible. I wouldn't make a habit of it, but what I want you to understand is that GOD CAN TAKE IT. We see it all throughout the Psalms and we see it in the book of Habakkuk. I hope you can join us as we look into how to "effectively complain to God."