God's Resources

KiDZ Message

SLIDE - KiDZ Message

Props - 10 quarters

Onramp

We’ve been talking about being “Stewards”

Stewards are people who care for other people’s things.

In the story today there was a man named Joseph who was a really good steward. And because he was a good steward, he was able to help a whole bunch of people/

You see, Joseph knew something really important. He knew that everything is God’s, and because of that the best way to use things is God’s way.

Lesson

Let me show you how it works.

Hold up coins

Invite a volunteer → give it to them

Ask: “Whose is it?”

→ Let them say: “Mine”

Ask: “Who gave it to you?”

→ Lead them to: “You did”

Say: “I gave it to you to USE, not just keep”

Give 3 choices

“Keep it all → MINE!”

“Ignore it → I’ll deal with it later…”

“Ask the owner what they want done.”

Land it:

“A steward doesn’t just have something they decide how to USE it”

Shift the question:

Not: “What do I want?”

But: “God, what do YOU want me to do?”

SLIDE - KiDZ Big Idea

A good steward says, “God, what do YOU want me to do?”

“Next time you get money or something new…”

“Stop and ask: ‘Am I using this my way… or God’s way?’”

Pray

Thank you for all the things you have trusted us with

We are sorry for the ways we have acted like they are ours

Help us to steward them well.

Amen

Main Sermon

SLIDE - Title

Onramp

SLIDE - Guinness

There’s a story about Arthur Guinness that gets at something we’ve largely lost.

In the 1700s, Ireland was dealing with a serious problem. Clean drinking water was hard to find, and hard liquor—gin and whiskey—was everywhere. Drunkenness was tearing through communities. Poverty, crime, and broken families were common.

And Arthur Guinness saw it. He was troubled by it. He prayed about it.

He famously attended a service where John Wesley preached. We don’t know what the topic of the day was, but we know it had a huge impact on Guinness.

Wesley had this simple but powerful framework:

Slide

“Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.”

Guinness seems to have understood this teaching. He had inherited some wealth and had led businesses before. He started a brewery that brewed a different kind of drink—a dark stout beer that had lower alcohol content than gin and whiskey, and was actually more nourishing. The idea was simple: create something people would drink that would not destroy their lives in the same way.

But it didn’t stop there.

As his business grew, he paid his workers well. He invested in their families. He gave generously. He helped start Sunday schools. He supported hospitals for the poor.

Because he didn’t just see money as money. He saw what he had as something entrusted to him by God.

Now that’s a very different way of thinking about money isn’t it?

What Guinness seems to have deeply understood 3 essential stewardship truths.

1 - The resources in his possession were not ultimately his resources

2 - It could not be only his own wisdom that guided how he used those resources

3 - He must use them for something larger than his own safety and happiness.

That’s our final big idea of this series...

SLIDE - Big Idea

Good stewards manage God’s resources with God’s wisdom for God’s purposes.

(4:00)

But we don’t naturally stay on that path. We get pulled off.

Not all at once… small, believable steps.

It usually starts with something like…

“I worked hard for this… I deserve it.”

And that doesn’t feel wrong. It feels fair. But without realizing it, what was entrusted… starts to feel like it belongs to me.

“This is mine… I can do what I want with it.”

And now I’m just a few steps further off the path.

But I don’t feel off. I feel justified. So I stop asking what God wants… and start deciding for myself.

Or maybe I don’t do that.

Maybe I go the other direction.

“I’m just not good with this stuff.” “I’ve always struggled with money.” “I’ll figure it out later.”

And that doesn’t feel rebellious either. It feels honest. It feels humble.

But what it really does… is keep me from ever stepping into the wisdom that would put me back on the path.

And then, over time, something else can creep in. I don’t avoid money anymore… I start chasing it.

“This is just how the game works.” “You have to look out for yourself first.” “I just need a little more…”

And here’s what’s dangerous: Greed almost never feels like greed.

It feels like wisdom. It feels like opportunity. It feels like finally getting ahead.

But now I’m not just off the path… I’m walking confidently in the wrong direction.

And eventually… everything I have starts revolving around me.

“It’s been a hard week… I deserve this.” “I just want to enjoy my life.” “I’ll give… if there’s anything left.”

And at this point, I’m not asking, “What are these resources for?”

I’m asking, “How can these serve me?”

And then there are the quiet moments. The ones that don’t even register anymore.

“Just this once.”

“I’ll deal with it later.”

And those small decisions… over time… don’t just affect my bank account.

They shape who I become. They shape what I’m capable of doing with what God has placed in my hands.

And one day, I look up… and I’m not on the path of stewardship at all.

Not because I rejected God. Not because I didn’t care.

But because I kept responding to the pull.

(8:00)

Exposition

So what does it look like to stay on the path when everything is pulling you off?

That’s exactly what we see in Joseph…

Turn to Genesis 41

Joseph is one of the clearest examples of a good steward in the whole bible because he managed God’s resources with God’s wisdom for God’s purposes.

1. GOD’S RESOURCES

Look at verse 25 “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.”

And then again in verse 28 “God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.”

“And then in verse 32…“The thing is established by God…”

Notice what Joseph is doing.

He’s not talking about: crops, cattle, economic cycles, as if they’re just things.

He’s talking about the entire situation as something God is doing.

Joseph never says, “This grain belongs to God.” But he talks about everything surrounding it as if it does.

Which means the resources inside that story…are not ultimately Joseph’s, nor are they Pharaoh’s.

They are entrusted to Pharaoh within what God is doing.

Joseph could have seen this differently. He could have said:

“This belongs to Pharaoh.”

“This could belong to me someday.”

“This is an opportunity to secure my future.”

But he doesn’t. He sees both himself and Pharaoh…as stewards under God.

Pause for a moment and notice your own life.

When you interact with money… possessions… your home/apartment… Do you think like a steward or like an owner?

Are they your resources or God’s resources?

Is it your paycheck, or God’s paycheck?

Is it your home/ apartment or God’s home/apartment?

Is it your retirement fund or God’s retirement fund?

Is it your car or God’s car?

Are they your clothes, or God’s clothes?

I think you’re getting the idea, but there are categories we can easily ignore.

Is it your groceries or God’s groceries?

Are they Your gifts given by people or God’s gifts given by God through people?

Are they your family pictures or God’s pictures entrusted to you?

Are they your tools, or tools you purchased with God’s resources, therefore God’s tools?

How about toys, how about vacations, how about hobbies, or coffee shop visits?

This is not to shame us for spending on enjoyment. It is to remind us how easy it is to be pulled off the path of stewardship onto the paths of neglect or ownership.

Psalm 24:1 “1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”

If these aren’t yours…then you don’t get to decide how they’re used.

Which means… you need wisdom that isn’t your own.

2. GOD’S WISDOM

Now go back to verse 16 “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer…”

Joseph, is being presented with a chance to be impressive.

To say “Oh yeah, I have a lot of experience at this”

to say “You know what you gotta do is...”

To say “have you tried this...?”

Instead, He receives.

Because he lives in a relationship with God that is close enough to recognize:

I don’t have what I need in myself alone.

Our culture says “believe in yourself” and I think that’s bogus.

Jesus said to believe in him and seek his wisdom. And that’s just what Joseph does.

And then as you keep reading—notice how he keeps bringing it back to God…

“God has shown…” v 25

“God will do…” v. 28

This is dependence on God’s wisdom. It’s not elevating himself to be larger than God’s working in the world.

Now pause and notice your own life.

When you make decisions about money… possessions… giving… “Do you start with God’s wisdom?”

Or do you only seek it… after your own ideas fall apart?

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

One person makes decisions based on what feels right in the moment. Another slows down and asks, ‘God, what is wise here?’ before they act.

One person avoids clarity—no plan, no structure—just reacting as things come. Another builds a plan on purpose, because they believe wisdom matters before the pressure hits.

One person spends first… and reflects later. Another decides ahead of time what matters… and spends accordingly.

That’s the difference. Not intelligence. Not Skill.

Dependence.

Matthew 7:24 NIV

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Wisdom looks like obedience to Christ’s teachings.

But with the first two parts, stewardship can still be poor stewardship. In fact it could even look like an incredibly successful and faithful life.

You see, wisdom without purpose can still serve the wrong thing.

3. GOD’S PURPOSES

Now look at verse 32…“…The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon”

That’s the purpose of this opportunity, not personal gain, but God’s plans

Joseph isn’t trying to become powerful.

He’s not trying to secure his future.

He’s not trying to build wealth.

He’s simply stewarding what’s in front of him… in a way that aligns with what God is doing.

Joseph wasn’t aiming to become successful, he was aiming to be faithful.

Jesus taught us to...

Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

“What is the underlying purpose driving your decisions?”

“Are your decisions about resources aligned with what God is doing?”

Or…

do you constantly find yourself choosing between what you want and what God wants

One person structures their life so that giving, generosity, and kingdom work happen naturally. Another treats those things as optional—something to consider if everything else is handled.

One person uses their home, money, and time to serve others and build something beyond themselves. Another uses those same things primarily for comfort, convenience, and personal enjoyment.

You see, a good steward isn’t re-deciding purpose with every decision, they are deciding based on pre-determined purpose, specifically God’s purpose.

You can be successful when you are rooted in pre-defined purpose

You can only be faithful when you are rooted in God’s pre-defined purpose.

Pull It Together

So look at Joseph:

He sees clearly:

the resources aren’t his

the wisdom isn’t his

the purpose isn’t his

And because he gets that right…

he becomes someone who can be trusted with what God places in his hands.

Application

So let’s make this really simple.

Joseph didn’t become a good steward all at once. He just kept responding to what God put in front of him.

So here’s the question for you:

SLIDE - Reflect

Where have you been pulled off the path of the good steward?

Not everything. Just one place.

Is it ownership?

Where you’ve been saying: ‘This is mine…’

Is it wisdom?

Where you’ve been saying: ‘I’ll figure it out myself…’

Or is it purpose?

Where you’ve been saying: ‘I just want to enjoy my life…’

Because if you can name it you can repent, and where there is repentance there is freedom!

So this week...

SLIDE - this week

Identify one resource in your life that you have been neglecting, or clinging onto.

Hear God saying “that belongs to me”

Consider how that resources could be used toward God’s purposes

dig into the scriptures, or use our workbook

Obey. Take a step Just one step. Because this is how you get back on the path:

For some of you, that step is opening your bank account this week and asking, ‘God, what is this for?’

For some it looks like finally making that budget, or scheduling that meeting to make a will.

And for some it’s actually growing as a steward with your church community. Giving more intentionally than every before.

Whatever your step is, remember. The path of stewardship isn’t walked all at once… it’s walked one faithful step at a time.