Yesterday, we closed out our "Madne$$" series, where we addressed the
"full-court economic pressure" our society is under today.  Yesterday's topic was "The Final Four"
— 4 final principles for personal economic success.

A few thoughts...

• "They're Playing Ba–sket–ballllll" — Lil' Bow Wow said it all. This series was cool.  How often do I get the chance to combine my (unequal) love of basketball & the Bible???  🙂
• Our Text — We walked through 1 Timothy 6 yesterday.  A way cool passage.
• Another Book?  — My wife often jokingly accuses me of quoting from the book of 3 Timothy.  (FYI, that book doesn't exist.)
• Hitting Home — We talked about 4 things that hit home with almost every person I know:  (1) being content materially/financially, (2) never being content spiritually, (3) trusting that God WILL provide for you when you put His kingdom first, and (4) giving…generosity that reflects Jesus.
• Slam-Dunk Example — FYI, Doug Howey gave me the best example for the message in our 6:30am review.  It was from Malachi 3:10-11, where God tells us to "test Him now" by giving.  We talked about the example of a father beckoning to his child in a swimming pool…"Just trust me & jump into my arms…it's MORE FUN in the pool…and I'll keep you from drowning."  Doug slam-dunked on that one!!
• Didn't Mean to Say THAT!!!" — I didn't mean to describe all the people who freak out about giving 10% to being children on the side of the pool, with their Dad calling them to jump to Him, wearing their "inflatable floaties" on their arms, whining & crying & peeing on themselves…needing "spiritual Pampers."  Didn't mean to say it at all.  (But wow was that good!)  🙂
• Cutting Room Floor — Here are some key cross-references I axed before the message…
  • Proverbs 11:28 — What's the problem with trusting money?  It's a "house of cards" that will eventually fall.
  • Proverbs 23:5 — What's the problem with money?  It tends to "sprout wings" and fly away to heaven.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:10 — What's the problem with loving money?  We'll never be satisfied or "have enough."
  • Ecclesiastes 5:11 — What's the problem with getting a raise?  Most of us don't have the self-discipline to not raise our standard of living.  Instead, we wave "bye bye" to our raises as they "pass thru" our hands.
• My NCAA Bracket — I got 39 out of 48 right so far.  My final 4 teams have survived.  We'll see what happens next week, though…
• The Cardinal — As of right now, my Stanford Cardinal is still in post-season play…a lot of teams can't say that.  (Yes, I know it's not the NCAA or even the NIT…it's just the 3rd string CBI tournament…but hey!!!).  Tonight, we hope to CRUSH Wichita State in Wichita.  But I think our fan base is underwhelmed by being in the CBI.  Only 1000 people showed up for our 1st round game against Boise State.

Next week, we kick off one of THE – MOST – POWERFUL series we've ever done (see Romans 1:16 for why I'm saying this).  It's called "3 Days."  We're taking the 3 weeks leading up to Easter to unpack the 3-part gospel story:

• Death of Christ (3/29)
• Burial of Christ (4/5)
• Resurrection of Christ (4/11 & 12)