Personal Goals and Stewardship (Vision 2023, Part 2)

Last week was 2023 Church Vision and Goals, and yesterday was Vision 2023 Part 2 – Personal Goals and Stewardship. Here is the extremely helpful & insightful tool I promised to share: All of our elders’ personal 2023 goals and some of our staff’s personal goals for 2023:

I hope these will inspire confidence in our church leadership and help you prayerfully fill out your personal 2023 goals 2023 worksheet on the back of the sermon notes doc, here:

Now for a brief recap of yesterday’s highlights in case you missed the service or want to review.

A Goal is “the object of a person’s ambition; an aim or desired result.” Goals help put vision into action, to think through your plan how to be the person Jesus wants you to be and that you want to be.

You can’t drift through life. You can’t let others run your life. You can’t stay the way you are, because God’s mission and vision for you is to grow. 

To start your new year “All-In for Jesus,” today we’re going to do what God says–to Deal with our Past, and then Direct our Future.

I.      Deal with Your Past

Open to our first key text, Philippians 3:13-15.

Philippians 3:13-15 – Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 – I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Forgetting what lies behind means letting go of the past!

Every Christian needs to be good at letting go of the past. You have to let go of things in the past to pick up what God has for you now.

II.    Direct Your Future

As the Apostle Paul says, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

14 – I press on toward the GOAL for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.   

Why Goals?  

1. Because God created us in his own image (Isaiah 40:26; Luke 13:32)

2. Because WE are encouraged to plan and set goals. (Isaiah 32:8)

3. Because goals help us grow. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

What Goals?

“SMART” Goals are: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound

FIVE Categories – Click the document above for Your Personal 2023 Goal-Setting Worksheet (on p. 2 – the back of the sermon notes)

Financial/Stewardship Goals

Luke 16:11 – “Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”

To experience financial peace, I must adopt God’s priorities

What are those? Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 6:33–34 – But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious (there’s that peace!) about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.    

The 70% principle of lasting wealth… (Financial Peace University)

•      The 1st 10% goes to God.

Malachi 3:10 – Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Take the Four-Month Tithe Challenge

•      The 2nd 10% goes to debt & emergency fund

•      The 3rd 10% goes to savings & investing

The “70% Principle” or the “Tithe Challenge” are great ideas for your 2023 Personal Goals sheet (provided above). The key to all of this is learning to live on the 70%. In case you are thinking to yourself, I don’t know how to do that. I don’t think I can do that.. That’s where Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University (FPU) comes in. Having completed it twice with my wife Sarah, it has changed our family outlook. I strongly encourage you to as well.

Click here for promotional video.

Click here for class information at Community Grace.

Making plans and setting goals for a great 2023 with you!

Pastor Reg

P.S. Watch for my next post on several musts for financial planning for the future.