Sunday Service • May 31, 2026 • Better with God

Devotional

Day 1: Letting Go of the Jar to Receive Open-Handed Blessings

The monkey clutching treats in a jar becomes trapped by its own grip, mirroring how we cling to resources out of fear. God invites us to open our hands, trusting His provision over our control. When we release what we white-knuckle, we make space for His "floodgates of heaven" blessings. This isn’t about losing security but exchanging scarcity mindsets for divine abundance. Regular giving trains our hands to stay open, our hearts to stay free. What once felt like loss becomes liberation. [45:27]

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10, NIV)

Reflection: What “jar” have you been clutching out of fear? What small step could you take this week to practice open-handedness with God?

Day 2: The Sticker Reminder: God Trusts You With This Life

A simple sticker becomes a tangible prompt to steward today’s choices well. Past failures don’t disqualify present opportunities to partner with God. Each decision—whether to invest time, mend a relationship, or redirect funds—shapes future possibilities. Guardianship isn’t about perfection but faithful next steps. This sticker whispers: You’re trusted. You’re capable. This life matters. [31:06]

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. (Psalm 127:1, NIV)

Reflection: Where will you place your sticker as a daily reminder? What one area of stewardship feels most daunting to entrust to God’s partnership?

Day 3: Handing Your Phone to a Stranger: Practicing Radical Trust

Surrendering your phone to a seatmate felt risky—a tiny rehearsal for entrusting God with bigger things. Trust grows through incremental risks: giving a first gift, releasing a grudge, choosing prayer over panic. Each act trains our hearts to believe God handles what we cannot. The more we practice handing over “our lives” in small ways, the more natural radical trust becomes. [37:14]

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6, ESV)

Reflection: What “phone” (symbolizing control) do you hesitate to hand God? What’s one tangible way to take a trust-risk this week?

Day 4: Tithing as Heart Surgery: Aligning Treasure With Eternity

Money isn’t the enemy—misplaced allegiance is. Tithing performs spiritual surgery, severing our heart’s attachment to temporary security. When we give first fruits rather than leftovers, we declare God’s kingdom over our comfort. This isn’t a transaction but a transfusion, redirecting our lifeblood (resources) toward eternal priorities. Every dollar given recalibrates our worship. [40:50]

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21, ESV)

Reflection: Does your current giving pattern reflect your stated priorities? What adjustment—even 1%—could better align your treasure with God’s heart?

Day 5: The Vine and the Branches: Staying Connected to the Source

A branch survives by staying grafted to the vine, not hoarding sap. Our connection to Christ—through prayer, generosity, and obedience—fuels lasting fruit. When we detach to chase self-sufficiency, we wither. Giving regularly reattaches us, letting His life flow through our choices. True abundance comes not from what we accumulate, but who we remain connected to. [56:03]

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you been striving apart from the Vine? How could reconnecting through intentional giving restore lifegiving flow this week?

Sermon Summary

The call to be guardians starts with the contrast between past me, present me, and future me. Past me needs forgiveness. Present me has a decision. Future me receives either the cost of drift or the fruit of faith. Jesus’ words set the path: store treasure where moth and thief cannot touch it, because the treasure and the heart always travel together. If the heart needs moving, the treasure must move first. God wants the heart held safe in what is eternal, not stranded in what breaks, spoils, or gets stolen.

Jesus’ command to seek first his kingdom sets priority. The competition is real. Culture whispers do what you want, now. God answers trust me and live free. Trust begins like handing over a phone to a stranger. Risk feels scary if God feels distant. The journey of trust grows by small risks that prove his care. The word of God, alive and sharp, cuts through excuses and shows the motives around control, fear, and the love of money, inviting honest surgery.

Tithing steps into that surgery as a practice. The first 10 percent, historically given to God’s work, trained a people to put God first. In Christ, the logic widens to everything belongs to God, so the real question becomes Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do with what you have given? The practice is not pressure, but an invitation to move treasure so the heart can follow. Start somewhere. Do something. Keep it consistent. The point is not the size of the gift but the shape of the heart.

Money’s pull often hides in the dark, like the monkey gripping a jar of treats. Closed fists feel safe but only trap. God’s invitation is open your hands. Test me in this. See if I will not pour out what cannot fit in closed lives. The love of money, not money itself, pierces souls with many griefs. Intentional giving keeps eagerness rightly ordered, God first, possessions second.

God remains in charge of the impact. The giver’s part is trust and obedience. Stories of sacrificed cars, delayed purchases, and a long obedience become gifts that teach 10 percent more income does not save. Jesus does. The image of the vine lands the point. Apart from him, nothing. With him, fruit. Moving treasure reattaches the branch to the life of the vine so guardianship is not done in vain, but in God.

Key Takeaways

1. Treasure steers the heart's location The heart follows the money, not the other way around. If the heart is cold toward God, shift the treasure toward his kingdom and let affection catch up to investment. This is not transaction but training, a re-homing of the self in what lasts. Jesus links destination of funds to direction of love. [33:05]
2. Present choices love future self Forgiving past me is mercy, but serving future me is wisdom. Small faithful decisions today compound into freedom tomorrow, especially where money once ruled. The question is not what feels good now, but what sets future faith up to thrive. Guardianship chooses long obedience over short comfort. [30:30]
3. Trust grows through risky obedience Faith does not grow in theory but in handed-over phones and handed-over budgets. Risk exposes whether God is a stranger or a Father, and experience turns risk into witness. Each obedient step expands capacity to trust the next instruction, because God keeps showing up better than imagined. [37:49]
4. Open hands make room Clenched fists promise safety and deliver captivity. Open hands look vulnerable but create space where God can actually provide, guide, and surprise. Regular, intentional giving becomes muscle memory that pries fingers loose from fear and makes room for blessing that hoarded control cannot hold. [45:27]
5. God owns the impact Obedience belongs to the disciple; outcomes belong to God. Releasing control of results keeps the soul from measuring faithfulness by visible returns and from quitting when fruit feels slow. Trust thrives when the heart says my part is to give and trust, and God’s part is everything else. [51:20]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:53] - Guardianship and the three selves
[30:30] - Present choices that serve future you
[31:06] - God loves and entrusts your life
[31:53] - Treasures in heaven, not at risk
[33:05] - Treasure and heart move together
[33:44] - Money, control, and the fight within
[36:06] - Seek first the kingdom
[37:14] - Trust illustrated by handing over the phone
[38:43] - Scripture as living heart surgery
[40:06] - Why a Christian budget looks different
[41:51] - From tithe to everything belongs to God
[45:27] - The monkey jar and open hands
[45:51] - Malachi: Test me in this
[47:06] - Loving God more than money
[49:04] - A long obedience in tithing
[51:20] - God is in charge of impact
[52:12] - A practical giving journey
[53:33] - Unless the Lord builds
[55:35] - The vine and the branches
[56:57] - Seek first in the face of worry
[57:43] - Prayer and sending out

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Observation Questions

What two locations for storing treasure does Jesus contrast in Matthew 6:19-21, and what risks does he associate with earthly treasures?
The sermon compared handing a phone to a stranger to trusting God ([37:14]). What made this illustration effective for explaining the risk of faith?
According to the sermon, how does tithing function as “heart surgery” for our relationship with money ([40:50])?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Jesus link the location of our treasure to the location of our heart? How might prioritizing earthly treasures create spiritual vulnerability?
The sermon argues that “trust grows through risky obedience” ([37:49]). How does the act of giving (even small amounts) test and strengthen our view of God as a provider?
Malachi 3:10 invites people to “test” God in giving. What does this imply about God’s character and His desire for our hearts?

Application Questions

Jesus says our treasure and heart “always move together.” What is one practical way to shift your treasure toward eternal priorities this week (e.g., giving, serving, time investment)? How might this reorient your heart?
The sermon warned against “closed fists” trapping us like the monkey gripping a jar ([45:27]). Where do you feel most tempted to cling tightly to control or security (finances, relationships, plans)? What would “opening your hands” look like in that area?
If “10% more income does not save—Jesus does” ([49:58]), how could this truth free you from anxiety about future needs? What small step of trust could you take this month to act on this?
The “believe car” story showed sacrificing comfort for God’s work ([50:21]). What is a tangible sacrifice (time, money, convenience) you sense God inviting you to make? How might this deepen your dependence on Him?
How could regularly asking, “Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do with what you’ve given?” reshape your daily decisions about resources ([42:17])?

Sermon Clips

49s

“``Everything is better with God because he is actually the source of our life. And redirecting our money, moving our treasure, moves our heart to actually trusting that and reconnecting to the vine that gives us everything we need. When we intentionally give, it's like we open our hands. We let God reconnect us to him. He pours everything we need into our lives. Apart from him, we can't do nothing, so we attach ourselves back to him. We place our heart with him. Past us made choices, but present us gets to decide. How do we want to move forward into this next part of our future with God? We are guardians, but we can't do it without connection to God.”

25s

“He says, the location of your treasure reveals the location of your heart. Jesus tells us that our treasure and our heart are always together. They always move together. So if you wanna know where your heart is, you look at where your treasure is and that will show you where your heart is. And if you want to move your heart, you have to move your treasure. Where you put your treasure, your heart goes.”

40s

“Enter into this with me, God says. Open up your hands and let me pour out blessings into your now open hands. I want you to trust me, test me. This is a better way to live. And I get it from a non Christian perspective, you would never, unless you wanted the tax write off, do this. But as a Jesus follower, this is how we practice God's ways. And it is scary, but it is a journey of trust. Like I said, for now, let's not get hung up on any percentage. Just where could you start and what could God do if you just kept trusting him and taking risks and seeing how his way is better?”

22s

“That our part is to give and we trust God with the impact and the outcome and all of those things. And if you're giving to the crossing, we have independent audits, we have board oversight, we have good quality control, but wherever you're giving, you're learning to trust God because he can manage every dollar and where it goes. And don't worry about the people getting in the way. This is between us and God.”

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