Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus and the events of Holy Week:

Betrayed by a friend - Ps 41:9
Sold for 30 pieces of silver - Zech 11:12
False witnesses accusing Him - P…

So much has been written, discussed, and speculated about Judas that we feel we know enough about him already. And really, what more is there to say of him other than he is for all times the supreme symbol of betrayal? Nothing, unless we are willing to admit that there was such about his life which causes us to be introspective about our own.

1. Jesus had confidence in him. To begin with, Jesus observed qualities about Judas which were suitable for discipleship. Had there been no goodness, no promise, no ability, Judas certainly would not have been included among the Twelve. Moreover, he was capable and trustworthy enough to be selected as treasurer for the group. So for whatever reason, future potential or ability already acquired, Jesus had confidence in him.

Has not Christ placed trem…

"Mother, look what I got," said Jimmy. "A man gave me all these big pieces of money. Now I'm rich. Is it alright if I buy an ice-cream cone for you and me?"

"Let me see that money," said his mother. "I am sorry Jimmy you can't buy anything with this money. It is no longer of any value."

Jimmy said, "You mean it is no good Why? It is even bigger than the money in my bank!"

"It is difficult to tell you Jimmy, but our government didn't make this money and money is not good unless the people that make it stand behind it."

"Gee, that makes me feel bad," said Jimmy. "I thought I was rich."

Learning …

One of the great struggles in our lives is the one that we have with materialism. Often our childhood affects the way we see money and possessions. In my own life, the fact that I had parents who were both products of the Great Depression shaped the way in which money is viewed. My parents always lived as if they would be poor again. As a result, it has sometimes been difficult to see money as a tool and not the end result.

In my first congregation, we were disc…

16 out of 38 of Christ’s parables dealt with money. More is said in the New Testament about money th…

Godfrey Davis, who wrote a biography about the Duke of Willington, said, "I found an old account ledger that showed how the Duke spent his money. It was a far better clue to what he thought was real…

John 2:15 - "And making a rope of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables."

In biblical times, the money-changer was a familiar sight. He would sit at a table in a conspicuous place to change the people’s money from one kind to another. Interest, which was often excessive and unfair, w…

In 1923 at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, eight of the most powerful money-magnates in the world gathered for a meeting. These eight, if they combined their resources and their assets, controlled more money than the U.S. Treasury. In that group were such men as Charles Schwab. He was the president of a steel company. Richard Whitney was the president of the New York Stock Exchange, and Arthur Cutton was a wheat speculator.

Albert Fall was a pres…

Many people think money is security, but I Timothy 6:9 warns that it can be just the opposite. Many years ago, columnist Jim Bishop reported what happened to people who won the state lottery:

Rosa Grayson of Washington won $400 a week for life. She hides in her apartment. For the first time in her life, she has "nerves." Everyone tries to put the touch on her. "People are so mean, " she said. "I hope you win…

In 1928 a group of the world's most successful financiers met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. The following were present: The president of the largest utility company, The greatest wheat speculator, The president of the New York Stock Exchange, A member of the President's Cabinet, The greatest "bear" in Wall Street, The president of the Bank of International Settlements, The head of the world's greatest monopoly.

Collectively, these tycoons controlled more wealth than there w…

Someone said that...

Money will buy:
A bed, but not sleep.
Books, but not brains.
Food, but not appetite.
A house, but not a home.
Medicine, but not health.…

I fear, wherever riches have increased (exceeding few are the exceptions), the essence of religion, the mind that was in Christ has decreased in the same proportion. Therefore I do not see how it is possible, in the nature of things, for any revival of true religion to co…

In I Talk Back to the Devil, A.W. Tozer reminds us:

"Money often comes between men and God. Someone has said that you can take two small ten-cent pieces, just two dimes, and shut out the v…

“I sit in my house in Buffalo and sometimes I get so lonely it’s unbelievable. Life has been so good to m…

Money Changers have always been in the church. It was a shock in 1965 when Professor Thomas Altizer of EmoryUniversity, a man from within the church, expounded his God is dead theology in the "New York Times." More recently, seminary professors at the so-called "Jesus Seminar" attacked the nature of Jesus. Luther, in the sixteenth century, saw the evil of the church in the monopolistic hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The evil was not from the gove…

A businessman had an angel come to visit him who promised to grant him one request. The man requested a copy of the stock-market quotes for one year in the future. As he was study…

The college faculty gathered for their weekly meeting. A professor of archaeology brought with him a lamp recently unearthed in the Middle East. It was reported to contain a genie, who, when the lamp was rubbed would appear and grant one wish.

The Dean was intrig…

No treachery is worse than betrayal by a family member or friend. Julius Caesar knew such treachery. Among the conspirators who assassinated the Roman leader on March 15, 44 BC…

People can be divided into three clas…

Do you also wish to go away? I wonder sometimes how I would have responded to the question. Because at times the truth is I do wish to go away. I don't like thinking this about myself. But in times of temptation, in times when I deceive other people to avoid trouble or get what I want, in times when I deliberately close my eyes to the sight of those who are poor or marginalized because I don't want to feel guilty or bother to help. I too am one of the o…

Money is like sea water…

One night a thief broke into the single-room apartment of French novelist Honoré de Balzac. Trying to avoid waking Balzac, the intruder quietly picked t…

Guys, just remember, if you get lucky, if you make a lot of money, if you get out and buy a lot of stuff, it's gonna break. You got your biggest, fanciest mans…

A hungry man was walking down the street in a village of medieval Turkey. He had only a piece of bread in his hand. He came to a restaurant where some meatballs were being grilled. The cooking meat was so near and the smell so delicious the man held his piece of bread over the meat to capture some of the smell. As he started to eat the …

While traveling separately through the countryside late one afternoon a Hindu, a Rabbi, and a Critic were caught in a terrific thunderstorm.  They sought shelter at a nearby farmhouse.

"That storm will be raging for hours."  The farmer told them. "You ought to spend the night. The problem is there is only room for two in the house. One of you must sleep in the barn."

"I'll be the one said the Hindu, a little hardship is nothing to me." And he went to the barn.

A few minutes later there was …

William Tyndale, first translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English, making a Bible for the common people. In 1535 he was betrayed by a friend, taken prisoner to the castle of Vilford, but continued to work on his translation during his year …

One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi, who took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. “Look out there,” he said. The rich man looked into the street, “What do you see?” asked th…

What's the most outrageous thing you would do for $10,000 cash? That's the question posed recently by Chicago radio station WKOX, which attracted responses from more than 6,000 people.

The eventual winner was Jay Gwaltney of Zionsville, Indiana, who consumed an 11-foot birc…

Some of you may have read a remarkable short story sometime during your school years by D. H. Lawrence titled, “The Rocking‑Horse Winner." I wonder if you remember how the story begins?

It is a haunting tale about a family living above its means. The mother is considered by friends and neighbors to be the perfect mother, in spite of the fact that deep down she knows she has difficulty loving her three children. It's important to the husband to keep up the pretense of success the large house, staffed with servants but they are living on the edge, just like many families today. Listen as D. H. Lawrence describes this family's life situation:

“And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: ‘There must be more money! There must be more money!' The children could hear it all the …

How often have you imagined using the one million, five million, or ten million dollar grand prize of some well-known sweepstakes? How many times have you 'daydreamed' about how you would use a large, unexpected sum of money? How many times have you listed [in your mind] all the good things you would do if you suddenly received a large, unexpected inheritance? Have you ever made this statement: "If I had the money, I would take care of 'X' need in the congregation."

It is amazing to consider what we would do with the money we do not have. It is amazing to con…

Among the apostles, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter. Judas was a success in the ways that most impress us: he was successful both financially and politically. He cleverly arranged to control the money of the apostolic band; he skillfully manipulated the political forces of the day to accomplish his goal. And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread: he w…

What would you do if someone gave you one million dollars and then told you to come back as often as you liked and you could have whatever money you needed whenever you wanted?  Just ask and it is yours.  What if he told you to tell all your friends and they could also come and have a million dollars?  Do you think you would tell your friends?  Do you think you would show up regularly to receive more from this very wealthy and very generous person?

What would you t…

J. C. Penney was a man of advanced years before he committed his life fully to Jesus Christ. He had been a good man, honest, but primarily interested in becoming a success and making money. "When I worked for six dollars a week at Joslin's Dry Goods Store back in Denver," he confessed as he looked back on his life, "it was my ambition, in the sense of wealth in money, to be worth one hundred thousand dollars. When I reached that goal I felt a certain temporary satisfaction, but it soon wore off and my sights were set on becoming worth a million dollars."

Mr. and Mrs. Penney worke…

"Lift my bank," said Billy. "It's almost full."

"Yes, it is heavy," said the mother. "You are learning to save your money and that's good."

"But Jimmy says he has more money than I do and his bank isn't nearly as heavy," protested Billy.

"I do have more money than you do -- lot more," said Jimmy.

"You see, Bill," said the mother, "Jimmy has been saving dimes and you've only been saving nickels; so Jimmy does have more money."…

Matthew 25:27 - "Then you ought to have invested my money with bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest."

Certainly, I don’t have to acquaint you with the bankers or with their duties or with their very important place in our society and economy. We all know our friendly neighborhood banker, and we have probably had to rely on him more than once to get us through a tight financial bind. Of course, for the privilege of using some of the bank’s money temporarily, we pay a fee. But that’s only to be expected - it’s good business. Nobody puts out something for nothing, right?

Well, that’s the way it is now, but that’s not the way it was in Old Testament time…

One day a couple by the name of Herman and Mary were riding along in their shiny new car. Mary spoke up and said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this wonderful new car." And Herman just sat there and didn't say anything at all. As they pulled into the driveway, Herman turned off the motor and they quietly admired their new home. Then Mary said, "You know, Herman, if it weren't for my money, we probably wouldn't have this new house.…

In a book entitled Plain Talk about Churches and Money, one of the authors states: "Clergy often come to their calling with a distinct aversion to conflict and to having to deal with money issues. Our culture seems to reinforce them in that behavior. So long as clergy are cowed and anxious in the face of money and wealth, they will remain silent about the spiritual issue that touches our culture more deeply than any other. The more I steeped myself in this book and looked at churches around me, the more I became convinced this behavior is the way a culture controls a chall…

Stock market guru Jim Cramer, host of television's Mad Money, says, "Bulls make money."  Then he adds, "Bears make money." Then the punch line, "Pigs get slaughtered." "Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered." He is saying, "Beware of being greedy when you are investing in the stock market. You may overreach and lose everything."

Jesus said somewhat the same thing.  He …

We are often afraid to speak of money in the church. We are concerned that someone will become offended. We do not want to confirm the position held by many that all the church wants is your money. As a result, we respond to this perception in a variety of ways. I know of one church that prints in its Sunday bulletin that visitors to the church are not expected to give financially but that this is the responsibility of the members of that church. I know of another church where the pastor announces that they only speak about giving once a year and that he as the pastor does not know what anyone in the church …

Those who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They have already attained new life through dying with Christ. But they do need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted up, but only a few grew into maturity. The rest withered and died.

A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat,…

A few years ago there was a true story about a man in New York City who was kidnapped. His kidnappers called his wife and asked for $100,000 ransom. She talked them down to $30,000.

The story had a happy ending: the man returned home unharmed, the money was recovered, and the kidnappers were caught and sent to jail. But, don't you wonder what happened when the man got home and found that his wife got him back for a discount? Calvin Trillin was the writer of this story. He imagined out loud what the negotiations must have been like: "$100,000 for that old guy? You have got to be crazy. Just look at him! Look at that gut! You want $100,000 for that? You've got to be kidding. Give me a break here. $30,000 is my top offer."

Mark Trotter concluded his rendition of the story with this thoughtf…

Once, a man said, "If I had some extra money, I'd give it to God, but I have just enough to support myself and my family." And the same man said, "If I had some extra time, I'd give it to God, but every minute is taken up with my job, my family, my clubs, and what have you every single minute." And the same man said, "If I had a talent I'd give it to God, but I have no lovely voice; I…

A commercial where a man is rummaging through garbage finds a lamp and rubs it, and a genie pops up. And the genie says, "You have three wishes." And the man said, "OK, I want all the money in the world." And, BOOM, …

Brady Whitehead, chaplain of Lambuth College in Tennessee, tells the true story of a student whose parents were tragically killed in an accident. This student suddenly became the beneficiary of the estate. According to Brady, he started squandering the money on lavish trips. He would e…

If we believe in Jesus, we know the boundaries are erased inside and out, life's for us all. Fred Craddock tells the story of a missionary sent to preach the gospel in India near the end of World War II. After many months the time came for a furlough back home. His church wired him the money to book passage on a steamer but when he got to the port city he discovered a boat load of Jews had just been allowed to land temporarily. These were the days when European Jews were sailing all over the world literally looking for a place to…

Paul Harvey told about a robber in Oceanside, California wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a gun who strode into a branch bank. He selected a teller who appeared fiftyish, soft, kindly, an easy mark. He handed her a note demanding money or her life. The woman reached for the cash drawer. Then she looked again at the note and her eyes flashed, her li…