Calvary Bible Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan

36:46 minutes (6.31 MB)

Money is an integral part of life. Not a day goes by that we don’t use or at least think about it, particularly in the face of rising prices. Do you have financial concerns this morning?

You may be thinking, “Yes, thank you, but I came to church this morning to put those thoughts aside. I want to lift my thoughts to heavenly things.” That’s certainly a worthwhile goal, but I have news for you. Jesus himself spoke often about money. (Read More)

41:09 minutes (7.07 MB)

I’ve titled this morning’s message, “Investing.” Typically, when we think of investing, we think of Wall Street. This has been a roller-coaster week in the financial world with major drops over fears of a crash and major intervention by the U.S. government. I don’t know if all of that means anything to you. Honestly, I struggle to understand what it means myself. (Read More)

40:18 minutes (6.92 MB)

October 29, 1929 is known in history as Black Tuesday. It was the day that the stock market crashed. Some investors were so devastated by their financial losses leading up to the crash that they committed suicide—eleven men on October 24 alone. The crash coincided with a number of other tragic events. In 1926 the Gulf States had been struck by a category 4 hurricane that all but destroyed Miami. In the 1930s the Midwest entered a time of drought that led to incredible dust storms known as the Dust Bowl.  (Read More)

36:49 minutes (6.32 MB)

With money being tight, all of us are looking for good bargains. When we hear the word “bargain,” most of us probably think of finding a good sale price. We are used to walking into a store, seeing a price, and simply deciding whether or not to pay it. The only time we really engage in active bargaining may be at a garage sale or when we go to purchase a car. In many other parts of the world that kind of active bargaining is a part of normal everyday life. (Read More)

43:44 minutes (7.51 MB)

Each day as we watch the news we hear some new piece of bad financial news. We wait and watch and wonder what it will all mean for us in coming months. As you hear about all of this, do you ever wonder why God would allow the entire world to go into financially hard times? Is this even a fair question to ask?  Does God have direct control over the economy?  Yes and no. (Read More)

39:20 minutes (6.76 MB)

In all the political hype leading up to the presidential election, we are hearing quite a bit about taxes. If you listen carefully to all the rhetoric, you’ll find that the candidates’ views on taxes are flow out of some very different ways of thinking about work. The Republicans seem to think of work primarily as a way of earning money. The more responsibility and burden involved in the job, the more you should earn. The Democrats seem to think of work as a way of providing for society. (Read More)

30:54 minutes (5.31 MB)

What’s the hardest job that you’ve ever had? The hardest job I ever had was one year during seminary when I got hired on at one of the big home improvement stores. It was November and the store was getting ready for Christmas. They were hiring extra people to sell Christmas trees. You know that wonderful smell of fresh pine, it gets old very quickly.
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36:49 minutes (6.32 MB)

With all of the election news over the past few weeks, other news stories have been passed over. There was one story from the country of Argentina in South America that caught my attention. This financial crisis we’ve seen unfolding this fall is affecting countries worldwide including Argentina. As the country struggles to generate money, its president has proposed a solution—the government is preparing to nationalize $30 billion from private pension funds.
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36:23 minutes (6.25 MB)

One of the fascinating things to watch when any President is elected is whether or not he actually follows through on his campaign promises regarding taxes.  Someone has said, “America is the land of opportunity. Everybody can become a taxpayer.” It’s true.  We have laws and organizations to combat illegal immigration. At the same time, the IRS assigns tax ID numbers to illegal immigrants so that they can have income tax deducted. Banks are even helping illegal immigrants purchase homes, so they get to pay property taxes too.
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35:14 minutes (6.05 MB)

Is anyone planning any air travel over the holiday season? I came across an article a while back about new security technology being tested in some airports. You know how they have the metal detectors and pull people out of line to pat them down. Has that ever happened to you? Instead of patting people down, some airports are testing full body scanners that actually see through your clothing. The article I read called it a virtual strip search. It reminds me of the old X-ray glasses that they sell along with other gags at magic shops. (Read More)