What Does The Bible Say About Money and Work?

What does the Bible say about money and work_ Matt: [00:00:00] Good afternoon now. Welcome to Crowd Church. Uh, my name is Matt Edmundson, and beside me is, well, just as a beautiful man, is Dan Orange. Dan, how are we doing? Dan: I'm doing good, thank you. Matt: Good man to be here. Yeah. First time hosting. Dan: Yeah. Matt: Yes it is. So be kind to Dan in the comments. That's all I'm saying. Uh, be kind and gracious to if you're kind. Dan: I'm, I make clear my, um, my background. Matt: We were talking about that when before we went live. I'm like, man, alive. Your background is a little bit what we call busy. Uh, so Dan, where are you exactly? Dan: I'm in my sort of workshop stoke office and if I swivel around, it's even busier. So hence the big chair. And we're trying to cover it all up. Matt: You are? Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just let it, for those that don't know you just, uh, quick introduction to who you are and I guess what you do and why you've got blue and red boxes behind you. Dan: [00:01:00] Yes, so I'm a a dad and husband. I've got two kids, eight and 10, and I run my own business and we do things like smart lighting and home cinemas in people's houses and some quite fancy funky stuff. So those boxes are little bits and Bobs. Matt: Bits and Bob, electronic bits and bobs. And we've known each other Dan, haven't we, for what can be described as a very long time. A very long time, yes. Very long time. With Mates, yeah, before Dan: kids, before marriage. Matt: Yeah. Long time. A long old time. And so it's great that we finally managed to get you on to come and host Crowd with us. Uh, so appreciate you being here. Uh, for those of you who are watching the live stream who are new to the live stream, let me tell you that Crowd is an online church. For those that might not see the point of church, we're a church for those who are just looking for answers about life and faith and meaning. And we say it is a safe space to come and explore the Christian faith. Uh, that's what we are here to do and we have a little bit of fun [00:02:00] at the same time as doing it. And we do all of this online 'cause we're an online church. So hence the reason Dan and I are talking via camera, uh, over this. Um, so Matt's in the comments. Evening, Matt Evening. Tracy Trace is in the comments. Sharon's in the comments. Sharon is also moderating for Crowd Church. So again, uh, say hi to Sharon. Uh, and if you would like to join in the comments, please feel the freedom to do so. Say hi. Let us know where you're watching from. It's always great to connect with new people. And if you have any questions or comments as we go through the live stream. Again, put them in the comments. Now, Dan, given that this is your first time hosting Crowd with me, you have what we can only be described as the initiation ceremony, which is points to the WhatsApp number. Oh, yes. Can you point to the number on the screen? Oh, you volume's gone, Dan. Uh, your finger's going the wrong way.[00:03:00] He's struggling. Dan, we can't hear you. Your mic's gone, but, uh, you've fallen silent, so you might wanna fix that anyway. Uh, Dan struggled to point to the number whilst he fixed his volumes. Let me just fill in a little bit here. He struggled to point to the number. And the reason we get new people to point to the number is because when you look at it on the screen, as Dan looks at this, everything is backwards. And so it becomes very difficult just to do this, uh, and points to the number. So, uh, the reason we have the WhatsApp number there is simply, uh, for you to reach out to us. If you've got anything that you want to connect with us over, like Prayer requests, uh, or any comments like that, um, that you don't wanna put in the comments on social media, feel free to reach out to us via WhatsApp, which I know some of you have done this week, uh, with a whole bunch of Prayer requests and we've been praying for you. Let me tell you. Um, so is your volume back, Dan? Nope. You're gonna have to fix it, bud. Can't hear you just can't hear you. [00:04:00] So I tell you what I'm gonna do whilst you figure that out, I'm gonna let everybody know what's happening. Uh, let me do this, actually make it slightly less distracting. Let me tell you what's coming up. Whilst Dan figures out his volume. And I'll know when Dan's volume's fixed 'cause it'll be in my ear. Uh, so it says here, Dan, by the way, if you can hear me, you have muted yourself on my screen somehow. So you need to unmute yourself. And we've got Mark Greetings from Germany. Mark. Hello. In fact, let me put that to the board. Board. There we go. There we go. Hang on, I'm gonna bring Dan back on, uh, 'cause I can hear him again. So there we go. There's Dan. Can you hear me? Now we can. And he's back. There we go. Hey, Dan: the joys of Apple. My phones had switched, my earphones had switched to my phone without knowing Matt: always good. And I had this comment on from, oh look, that's really small. Um, so we've got this comment here from Mark. Greetings from Germany. Lemme just make that a little bit bigger. There we go. Mark. Hi. How [00:05:00] you doing? Uh, like I say, if you are with us, do say hi in the comments, right Dan, now you're back. The volume's working. What is going on today? Why don't you tell everybody what's coming up? Dan: So we have got, and I believe it's the first time we've got a husband and wife doing a talk tag teaming. Yeah. Yeah. So we've got money, money and work. James and Hannah Sloan talking to us. And then we are going to be discussing this afterwards in Conversation Street. Matt: Yes, we are. Yes, we are. We've got that coming up as well. So you, and you are not wrong, Danny. It is actually the very first time that we've had a couple tag team, a talk. And I've not actually heard this talk yet. Uh, and so I am really curious to see what happens. Um, so I, I, and I know both James and Hannah, and they are the most beautiful people. And so I'm really excited to listen to what they've got say as they sort of talk together about how they deal with money and work. Uh, we are in, or we are in where we started a few weeks ago, a series [00:06:00] called, what Does the Bible Say About, well, we looked at the Bible and we asked questions about everyday life. Some of the big questions. So like Dan said, this week, what does the Bible say about money and work? So, without further ado, here is Hannah and James, and then Dan and I will be back in just a little while. But remember as we go through the talk, if we've got any questions, if any stories you wanna share, any thoughts, write 'em in the comments. We would love to hear them. Dan: We would, Matt: oh, more tech issues. Hang on, lemme just do this. James: So money and work, two fairly small topics that we've been asked to talk about today, and we thought we'd do it together as a couple. Um, partly because it's great to have two voices, um, kind of sharing, but also because money and work we've had to work out together. Um, it's not decision that I make or decision that Hannah makes. We have to wrestle with these different kind of topics together [00:07:00] and work out how both, as a couple and as a family, we want to steward, um, our money and how we want to manage our work. So we thought we'd do this together. So I'd like to say, first of all, we are talking about this in light of the fact that we have made decisions to follow Jesus, and therefore everything that we do falls in line with that being our highest priority. And so we're talking about this as, as, as believers, as Christians, as people who want to steward what we've got. Well, um. Regardless of whether you follow Jesus or not, there are some great principles in scripture. So if all you take away from this is, is what the Bible says about, uh, money and work, then that's great. Um, but if you are thinking about making that decision or have made that decision, then this is what we believe, um, God calls us into as, as his people and how we manage our money and our work. So let me start with the first key scripture, which is found in, um, the book of Matthew. Matthew six comes as part of a series of, um, teachings of Jesus. They're called, um, the stone on the Mount, the beatitudes, where he really kind of out [00:08:00] outlines how we are to live as his people. Um, and part of that is around money. So I'm gonna read to you Matthew six. Um, it's verse 24. It says, no one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Ouch. Hannah: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, I think that's a really difficult one and it's really challenging for everybody, isn't it? Because, um, money is a currency that we use to live our lives. We use it for, uh, everything, for our home, for our food, um, and it's a real challenge for us to put God, um, at the center of our lives and for him to be our authority on that and for actually him to be our Jehovah Gyre, that actually ultimately he is our provider. He [00:09:00] gives us what we need, um, and I think about serving both God and money that you cannot serve both. And actually, if money is your highest priority, and that is what you are striving for, and you are striving for riches and you are striving for wealth. And it's very difficult to be striving equally at the same time, and it's almost, it is impossible to be striving for godliness and holiness and a close relationship with Jesus. James: And actually the verse is just before that, he says, um, don't store treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust destroy. Uh, but instead, uh, kind of build treasures in heaven, uh, as in have an eternal perspective on the way that you invest your, your money, um, and, and how you use it in a godly way in the years that you have on this, on this earth. Um, and that's real, that's a real challenge. I think we are surrounded by money. Mm-hmm. Our whole culture is orientated around consumerism. You know, we've just finished Halloween and almost [00:10:00] the next day it's Christmas. The shelves are full of Christmas stuff. You know, retail really drives us into spending money on the next thing. Um, and I think we have to be so careful, uh, not to be drawn into that world of just throwing our money at the next thing that, that, you know, the world tells us to, but actually having an eternal perspective. Where can we invest? Who can we bless? Who can we be generous towards with the money that we've got as we steward what God has given us? Mm-hmm. Um, how can we bless others and be generous with that? The next passage that we, that we looked at was in Luke, um, 18. Um, again, this is kind of a passage talking about how we use what we've got, how we steward what we've got. Well, um, and it's called the Rich Ruler. So I'm gonna just read it's Luke 18, uh, versus 22, uh, to 25. It says, when Jesus heard this, he said to him, you still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. When he heard this, he became very [00:11:00] sad 'cause he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Indeed, it's easier for a capital to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And we wanna be clear and say, there is nothing wrong with having money. There's nothing wrong with being successful, um, you know, growing your own business or, or having a, a good wage, uh, as an employee doing, doing your job. Um, but actually pursuit of wealth can be really dangerous. Uh, and going after more and more and more. And it almost, it almost feeds into a sense of greed. I think that's really what, what this teaching is saying is this, this wealthy man was so concerned with what, what he had and that Jesus is saying, you can't take it with you. Mm. Um, so, and Hannah: there's that big contrast, isn't there with the, the model, the early church in acts. So in Acts two it says, all the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had [00:12:00] need. And so that doesn't mean that there wasn't wealthy believers. Of course, there was extremely wealthy, wealthy believers. Um. But they sold their property in possession to anyone that was in need. So actually that contrast of, um, giving and generosity and tithing is kind of a blessing from God to help us not get in the situation where money becomes an idol. They kinda, the instruction of generosity, of blessing others, um, is given to be a blessing to us actually. If we are generous with others, if we, um, help others, if we give to anyone who has need, um, and if we surrender our money because our, what we've got is God given, then actually if we are open handed with what we've got and are generous with, with what we've got, God can use that. Um, and God can use it in a way that he, he wants it to be used. And it is that contrast, isn't it? James: Yeah. Yeah. And I love the fact in the early church that those [00:13:00] who had money brought it in and just kind of put it into a pot. Um, now that would be very hard to live in that way today. But some of the principles are the same. You know, through the church, we see people giving, um, gifts, whether that's a one-off or a monthly amount into the church to, to further the work of the church. And, and as a church we have run something called Imagine If, which is the, the charity that I manage. And, and we, we are really our work in that, that generosity from the church. We are going out to make sure that people have homes, um, you know, roots over their head, that they have food when they're hungry, they have, you know, clothes and basically trying to steward the, the, the, the wealth and the generosity of the church to give into those who. All without, um, it's been a call all throughout scripture to God's people to look after the, the poor, the orphan, the widow, um, the stranger in the land, what we would call us, you know, refugee asylum seekers. Today we have a, a biblical mandate to look after those people. Um, and if we believe that, that that wealth is our own, that we should store it, we are missing out on what God's calling us to do by, by saving those [00:14:00] people who are really on his heart. So that contrast of the urch and, and the, the, the wealthy rich man is a really good one. Mm-hmm. Hannah: And then that's a really good point as well about steward in it, but actually it's not about how much you have at all. Um, you may have millions or you may have, um, 50 pounds in the bank, but actually it's about how we steward what we've got. And that can go far beyond money. Con it, it can go with regards to our home, with regards to our car, with regards to our possessions, with regards to our children, how we steward our children because they are God-given. Um, and actually it's. It's far more reaching and it's far more challenging with regards to just generally how do we steward our lives and how do we steward the things that God has blessed us with, um, and are we stewarding that in, in a holy way, um, in a way that glorifies God and that actually shows his goodness. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's a challenge, isn't it? James: Yeah. But you [00:15:00] know, that's money. So it's about work. There's nothing wrong with working really hard though, right? Of course not. We can, we can work every hour of the day. We can give ourselves fully to our work because the Bible doesn't say anything particularly about work or does it go on? Hannah: So it says work for six days and rest the seventh, so your ox and donkey may rest, and your servant and migrant workers may have time to get their needed rest. And that's in Exodus 23. So God doesn't just advocate rest, he commands it. And you know, he shows us that he rested on the seventh day. That actually rest isn't something that we just can opt in and out. That actually our body and our minds, um, they need rest. Rest is, is important and it's important that we partake in rest. That actually is an active choice to rest and, and not to do, especially in this culture and this society. James: Yeah, it's interesting. We do a lot of work in the Congo, um, and they don't have the same [00:16:00] sense of wages and salaries that we do. Mm-hmm. So many people in the UK are paid a salary to do a certain amount of hours. Um, so actually that sense of rest is a little bit different. Um, but I think when you go to a lot of developing nations, you see people having to work every hour that they can. Mm-hmm. So often from, from kind of daybreak, you know, right up until sunset, they are trying to do as much as they can. They're trying to work in toil and, and, and get some income to cover their, their needs. Um, so actually in, in those countries to choose to come to church on a Sunday, it's actually an active choice not to work. So they're actually choosing to rest, but actually choosing to Sabbath is what is called in the Old Testament. Um, and therefore trusting God that he will provide for them even if they're doing less work. Um, which is a bit of a different concept to us because we get paid a set wage in many, in many aspects, regardless of how many hours we work. Um, but I find it really interesting seeing how few men in Congo come to church compared to women because they're the ones out earning. The [00:17:00] ones that do come are the ones who are actively choosing to say, God, I trust you that you're gonna provide for me and my family because I'm giving you this time. I'm, I'm making space in my, in my week. And to come to church and to serve and, and to rest and to replenish. Um, so that's a really interesting kind of cultural difference that we don't quite see here. Hannah: And there's that big link isn't there, between choosing rest and choosing to trust that God is ultimately our provider and ultimately the person that that provides for us. And then that's quite. Stark, and it's quite something that's quite evident in, in certain countries over perhaps perhaps the uk. James: Yeah, I think the Bible really advocates work. Um, you know, we we're called to work to, to use what we've been gifted. Mm-hmm. Um, both to kind of help the economy work and to flourish, but also, um, to give something that God has given us to, to use our gifts in the best of our ability. Yeah. Um, but, but both work and money can become idols. You know, [00:18:00] I think there's been a, a big shift towards rest, partly because so many businesses have overdone it, um, and called employees. I think Goldman Sachs one recently called, who were asking their employees to work 80 hour weeks. Um, and that one was becoming a norm. That's crazy. An 80 hour week. Um, so I think work and money can both become massive idols. I think the call from scripture is to be generous of your money and to, to, to create Sabbath in your work. Um, both allowing for. Uh, wellbeing. Yeah. Um, but also to, to kind of allow for a point of trust and faith that God will provide for you even when you, you know, do less and give money away. Yeah. That's amazing that he will. And that's been our journey that we've seen both in our money and our work. Yeah. And trusting. God. Do you wanna share about our Sabbath routine that we're trying to work on? Yeah. I Hannah: think it's really important that God gives us free will in that, that he's not, um, a strict angry God who is [00:19:00] prescriptive about how we do sabbath or prescriptive about how we, how generous we are or to who, um, we may be generous to, but that he allows us freedom to move in that. And so we have been exploring how Sabbath rest or resting might look like towards the family. So, um, over the last, um, a month or two, we have been a little bit more intentional about. From a Saturday night to a Sunday evening, um, lighting our candles, um, in showing that we are talking more about Jesus in our general conversations, how we are kind of, um, cultivating hopefully, uh, with ourselves and our three kids, a spirit of thankfulness in that time. Um, and how we are allowing ourselves to rest. Um, and that will look different from different people. So for us, or for me particularly, it's kind of maybe resting from social media, resting from looking at my phone, resting from checking my emails, um, and resting from [00:20:00] physical housework as well, apart from the essential stuff that you need to do, um, as you've got three kids running around. But on a Saturday, I'd be more intentional about ensuring that I'm getting the laundry done and then getting the laundry put away so that actually from Saturday night to Sunday evening, we can enjoy. Rest that is very specific to us. So as extroverts, resters is being with people, it's going to church, it's worshiping God, it's, um, experiencing actually probably a relatively busy household. Mm-hmm. But that for us, blesses us. And it's also how we get rest. So rest looks so different and Sabbath will look so different to, to different people and to different families. Um, but it's been really a real blessing to be able to explore, um, how we, as our families, our unique family, get that rest. Matt: Yeah. Hannah: And it's brilliant that God allows us to, to do that and for that to look unique and different. James: Yeah. I think often we talk about a work life balance. I think it's actually more important to talk about a work rest balance. [00:21:00] Um mm-hmm. Because actually for me, rest doesn't look like sitting on the couch with my feet up. I actually find more rest in mowing the lawn. I really like putting stripes on the lawn. It just gives me something peaceful and joyous within. Um, I like doing DIY tasks. I like to. Hoover the car and clean the car. I feel rested when those little jobs are done. I can sit and and enjoy, enjoy them. So actually rest looks different for everyone. Having a work rest balance is, is really important. Um, and finding for you and you know, your significant others or your family, what that rest looks like. Our kids are seven, six, and two, so trying to have a peaceful Sunday is just not gonna happen. So we've had to find a way to do rest with them, um, which means the family film, time and lunch with other people. Mm-hmm. Um, and that is actually really restful 'cause it's a, a break in the normal routine. Um, so it, it is really good to kinda discern and work out what that might look like for us. Um, well in, in each of your context. Um, I think also just reflecting on money and how we trusted God with our [00:22:00] money. We were just chatting before, um, it's easy to think that generosity is for those who have. And if you've got lots of money, it's easy to be generous. But actually, you know, I'm only earning a small amount and, and all my bills are going up. I can't possibly give anything away. But I think we've seen in those moments when you choose to trust God, that through crazy different ways we've had tenfold back. Um, and even through lockdown because of Hannah's self-employed work. Um, on a bit of a technicality, she didn't qualify for any of the self-employed support schemes. So for quite a while we were just kind of having to get by on whatever we could. And luckily we spent a lot less, we weren't going out as much, but um, our income dropped significantly mm-hmm. For quite a long time. And then as we came outta lockdown, uh, insurance that we've been paying into said we pay too much and just gave us a full rebate back of a few thousand pound that more than covered. What we've been earning. Um, and it is [00:23:00] just amazing how God in the little things will provide when you continue. 'cause we kept giving throughout that season, even though our income dropped, we just thought, no, it's right to keep giving, to keep sewing into the things that we're passionate about. Um, even though it costs us much more, I think that the myth that generosity can only happen when you've got money is not true at all. I think God sees and rewards, um, the faithfulness of your, of your giving, um, regardless of your situation. Anything else you want to add? Hannah: No, I think that's, I think that's most of, kind of what we wanna get across a day is that link between generosity and rest. And also I think just the, um, open handedness and the kind of the surrender that we have with, with all our areas of our lives that we, we as followers of Jesus want to have. Um, that actually as we. Um, give to God our work. Mm-hmm. We give to God our rest and we give to God the money that we have, [00:24:00] that actually God can do immeasurably more with that than we can ask other than we can ever imagine. And just having that faith in Jesus that he can do more with our skills, more with our talents, more with our money, more with our time of rest than, than we can imagine, than we can think of and actually just mindfully, um, and kind of consciously surrendering those things to him. And it might be that you do that daily. It might be that it's just an occasional thing when it comes to mind, but just say, you know, God, that this is what I've got in my bank now is yours. How do you want us to use it? Or as I go into work today, the talents that you have given me or the skills that you have given me, they are yours. God, please show me how you want me to use those things today. And just being actively surrendering, um, yourself. To Jesus and that he is able to do so much more than we can do. James: Yeah. Yeah. And I think we're called to be [00:25:00] set apart. You know, it's a weird saying. This is people who've, who've chosen to live a lifestyle that is surrendered to Jesus. Um, and wanting to see his kingdom come in every aspect of our lives. And that means letting money and work come second, third, fourth in our lives, um, rather than being the top thing. So choosing to tithe, to give away our money and choosing to create Sabbath and create rest our ways of stopping those things, becoming idols in our life. 'cause we don't want any other idol. Um, we only want to look at Jesus in our lives and that's decision that we've made Hannah: and we don't always get it right. We don't apart from it. And, uh, we are all learning together and we are all allowing ourselves to um, ask God to give us the mind of Christ and sometimes. We don't listen well enough and we don't choose what actually on a later day we think, gosh, I wish I'd have, I'd listened to you Holy Spirit better in that moment. Or, I'd, um, done something different in that moment. Matt: Mm-hmm. Hannah: None of us are gonna get that. All right. But it's a journey with Jesus isn't, it's [00:26:00] a journey of learning how to listen and how to love him more. Um, how to allow him to love us and, and to kind of, to live in that place and to live surrendered. And it's a journey that all of us are on. James: Yeah, and it all sounds too much. Think, where can you start? You know, if this all sounds a bit overwhelming, well, what, what, where could you start? What's the next thing that you could do? Who could you chat to? You know, get in touch with the Crowd Church team. We'd love to talk to you more about it. Um, but what's the next step? What's the next conversation that might help me with this forward? So, um, we hope that's been interesting. Um, could a little bit of what the Bible says, but also how we've AtWork that, um, as a couple. And, um, we'll see you again soon. Bye bye. Matt: Awesome. Thank you James. Thank you. Hannah, what did you think? The first couple talk on Crowd, it was actually quite interesting watching Just talk, talk it through, wasn't there together as a couple. I quite enjoyed that. So [00:27:00] what does the Bible say about money and work? That was the topic that James and Hannah has introduced. We are gonna get into it. We are gonna get into your questions, your comments. Uh, we're gonna get into the whole thing in Conversation Street in just a few minutes time. Uh, we are gonna, we're gonna ask questions like, what is, when they were talking about tithing, what does that mean? And they, they said phrases like, money can be an idol. What does that mean? Uh, and we're going, we're, we're just gonna get into it. I'm gonna enjoy this conversation. Dan and I will be, uh, back for Conversation Street. But in the meantime, uh, we are gonna have a time of worship and reflection right now. So this is a part of the service where we play, uh, a, a. Uh, we will put the words, the lyrics up on the screen and you can join along if you are able sing, uh, or just read the words and just think about them and what they mean. This song is called, uh, by Grace Alone, and Grace, especially in the context of work and money is quite important because Grace [00:28:00] is sort of God's unmerited favor. It's kind of. God does it whether you deserve it or whether you don't. And the reality of it is you don't, and God kind of blesses you and he favors you and you don't deserve it. So when this song's singing about grace, that's what it's talking about, uh, which is why we can, we can do some of the things that James and Hannah mentioned. So, as I said, we're gonna get into that a whole lot more in just a few minutes time. But here is a time of wish per reflection, and we'll be back very, very shortly. Video: I was an orphan lost at the fall running away. When I hear you call Father, you work, you'll, I have no righteousness through [00:29:00] my own. I have no right to join you throne. Father, you love me and in love before you lay the world's foundation, you predestined to adopt as your own. You have praise me. You left your home to seek out the lost. You knew the great terrible cars, but Jesus, your face works. Sir, [00:30:00] I worked my fingers down to the bone. The thing I did get outta tone. Jesus, you paid my dad redemption and Lord, and you. I'm falling. I was in darkness all of my life. I never knew the day from the night spirit. You made me see. I swore on you the way on my own head, full of rocks, heart made of stone[00:31:00] touch. My sleeping spirit on my dark and hard light in Christ is shown. Called to a kingdom that cannot shake heaven. Yes, our stand in faith by grace and grace alone, I'll run this race by grace and grace. No, I'll reach the end by grace. And grace, heaven. Dan: Very good. Very [00:32:00] good. That was really good. Do you enjoy that talk? I did enjoy that talk. Yeah. And that song as well. I'd not heard before, have you? Oh, I love Matt: that song by Grace and Grace's. I think John's done a good version of it. Dan: Yeah. Work my fingers to the bone, but you paid my debt. Mm. That's quite apt for what we're talking about. Matt: Yeah, it is. It is well spotted. Yeah. And it is worth saying actually, if you, uh, do like the worship that we do at Crowd. Um, the songs that we play, you can access the Crowd tube, uh, worship playlist, uh, Crowd tube, uh, the Crowd Church playlist on YouTube is what I meant to say. Um, you can, uh, access those songs and listen to them, to your hearts content as I know many of you have done. So, uh, that and including that song is up there. So, uh, by all means, access it. So Dan, I want to get into this whole thing about work and money. Um, you run your own business, I run my own business. We have some things to just to, to sort of talk about where work's concerned. 'cause I'm sure we've definitely not got it. All right. Um, in [00:33:00] fact, I'm pretty sure we've not got it. All right. I'm sure. So I think this is an apt conversation, but before we get into it, I do wanna, um, just think about some of the things that James and Hannah said and, and if you are new to church, I just wanna bring a bit of clarity around some of the terminology that they used in their talk. So, Dan, are you ready for the questions? I'm gonna tell you the words, you've gotta explain what it means. Dan: Okay. Uh, I've got three here, I'm thinking. Matt: Yeah. Yeah. Tithe, or two. Two Dan: at least. Yeah. What does tithe Matt: mean? That was one that she mentioned a lot. Dan: Yes. I, I've written that down and thought, Hmm. Yeah. Tithe is, it's a principle that started in the Old Testament to give away basically a 10th of what you earn. And, um, a lot of people now do that now. So they might give a, a minimum of 10% or more, but every week, however you want to do it, it's uh, an amount that you say to yourself, to God, to your family, you know, you're in [00:34:00] partnership with this, that we are gonna give this amount of money away. And some weeks that's easy. Some weeks that's not so easy. Matt: Especially being yourself Dan: employed, right? Indeed, yes. 'cause, um, salaries don't come in straight lines. They go up and down. Matt: Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Yeah. Anybody that runs their own business watching this now knows exactly what you mean. Uh, it does go up and down. So tithe is to give away 10% of your income, right? So, uh, what do you think Hannah meant when she talked about, um, and James actually talked about money being an idol. Dan: Yeah. Um, it's a tricky one, isn't it? Because it often gets said around our, uh, money's the root of all evil, but we forget the, the li the, the little word just beforehand that says the love of money. So this money being not just, we need it without money. We [00:35:00] can't live. Um, but if we love it, if it's the only thing that we're concentrating on, if it we put it above God and we put it above, above, above other stuff, then I believe that's an idol. And that just gets in the way, really messes things up. Matt: Yeah, yeah, no, I'd agree. And I've just put that verse actually upon the screen. The love of money is root of all evil is, um, from one Timothy chapter six, verse 10, if you wanna know where that's from. Um, and Paul talks about that. But it's interesting, isn't it? This whole idea, this concept of money being an idol, something that we worship. Um, and this is not terminology I think we would use in modern day vernacular. Uh, but actually it, it is what people are doing and it's, and I, running my own business, it actually, it becomes very tempting. I have to be honest with you, to put money as the be all and end all, you know, you run a business to make profit. It's what you do. Um, at least that's what I was told at school. You know, uh, in economics you run a business to make a profit. Um, but actually [00:36:00] that whole chasing after money, this is a thing that the Bible says is not great. And, and like you say, the love of money is a root of all evil. So what do you think Hannah and James make? 'cause again, another word they used a lot was this word steward. Which I thought was a really interesting word. I was on your list as well. Was it? Dan: It was, yeah. On the same wave fund. Yeah. Um, it's a word that I suppose we're used to hearing, aren't we? Mm-hmm. Um, perhaps in church it always gets said, oh, steward your money. Um, but yeah, we've got money. You know, we are here, we're in a western society, we have money and we can spend it on pretty much anything. And so to me, to be a good steward is where am I di directing that money? Is it for our basic necessities? Is it for fun? Um, is it for going eating out friends? Is it forgiven away? Um, where, where are our priorities with the money? I suppose that would [00:37:00] be my, yeah. Matt: Yeah. Take on it. No, I agree. And it's a lot like the idea, um, when you steward something, you in your head, you don't own it, you are looking after it. And I think, yeah, I think that's an, the important principle here, isn't it? Like, um, I steward my kids is, is, you know, parenting is about stewarding your kids. I don't own them, they're not my property, but I, there's a period of time where I have to steward them well, uh, and I have to get them from, you know, birth to being able to be at least a competent human being in life, really. And so, um, and that whole process of stewardship, it's like God has entrusted them to me and I have to look after them for this period of time. And it's the same with money, isn't it? That, um, that God entrusts things to you and you have to steward them well. Uh, and I think, um, I wonder sometimes how much, uh, how much God looks at how we do steward what has been [00:38:00] given to us and whether that has any implications on whether he gives more stuff to us, if we steward it well, if he can trust us with it. Do you see what I mean? Dan: Yeah. It's an interesting one. One, isn't it? Yeah, it's, yeah. It's that parable parable isn't there, where um, he gives the money to um, a son and the son just goes and buries it and thinks, well at least I've kept it safe. I'm just gonna give it back later on. But then other sons go out and actually do something with it, which could be risky. They could invest in something, but it's Wheres your heart as well? Yeah. Being given in using that that we've been given. Matt: Yeah, it's interesting isn't it? It is interesting 'cause like running a business, you know, running your own company, you are. Um, you are investing, you are stewarding the gifts that God has given you to create the income and to pay the mortgage and Do you know what I mean? All that sort of stuff. Mm-hmm. And it actually doesn't sound very holy to pay the mortgage, but actually it, it's a very godly thing to buy a house. And it's [00:39:00] just, you know, we, it is just nice. Uh, we talked about it in Frontline this morning. You know, it's, it's a beautiful thing. So the other phrase that Hannah used that I just wanted to, um, clarify 'cause I think these are important things. She said, if you perceive or if you believe that God is Jehovah Gyre. Now Jehovah Gyre means the God who provides, um, so Jehovah just means God. It's God's name. Um, jarah means the provision. So Jehovah JH is the God who provides, in other words, one of the names of God is. And one of the promises of God is that he will provide for us and that he doesn't necessarily provide everything that we want. Which I've discovered because I really want an Aston Martin for no apparent reason other than I just want one. I don't have one. Uh, my wife won't let me buy one. I don't even have the money to buy one if I did. But anyway, um, so God doesn't necessarily give you everything that you want, but um, he does meet all of our needs, uh, doesn't he? And, [00:40:00] um, I don't know, Dan, have you, have you found that throughout your Christian life that actually when it comes to having your needs met, God's always been faithful? Dan: Yeah. Or all the time. And I went from left school and then worked for a big company, Ford you might have heard of. They're quite large. Yeah. I've got Matt: Ford to be fair. Dan: Yeah. Then went to uni and worked for another big company. BT also quite big. Um, and so I just got a salary and sometimes you think, oh, this is, is God providing, you know, BT Ford they're providing, um. And then I worked for myself and it was a bit more nitty gritty. I need to get in there and, um, I dunno what's gonna come in next week, but, you know, when I look back on it, sometimes it's easier being self-employed to trust God because I have to, I've got nothing else to fall back on. Um, but God provided [00:41:00] through BT just as much as he did through work, working for myself, he always has, um, with provision for, I know I, I bought a house a few years ago, well, quite a few years ago, 15 years ago. And, um, I needed lodges and it was actually Matt said to me, ah, there's a guy called Pete, he needs somewhere to live. So he came, I remember it well, and he was one, one of my lodgers. So yeah. Various different ways he's always provided. Matt: Mm-hmm. And I, I think that's, um. I think the more you walk with God, the more that becomes your story. Actually. You see God doing what can only be described as a miraculous in terms of provision for you. Yeah. Um, there's a wonderful verse in the Bible. It says, I've never seen the righteous forsaken. And, um, I think that in effect is God's promise that he won't leave you, he won't forsake you. Um, one of the comments that go on, Dan: hold on. Here's, [00:42:00] here's a strange one that, um, so it's not always money. So I love tech. Uh, my job is tech. I love gadgets and things like that, and they, they come. Nothing wrong with that, Matt: Dan. Nothing wrong with Dan: that. Um, but I got a job where I get to play with amazing tech. I get to put in home cinemas and fancy lights and see nice cars and all that kind of stuff. Is that, you know, it might not be money provided to me, but it still gives me that buzz. It was a provision from God. So, yeah. He, he answers our prayers in different ways. Matt: He does. And it's to be able, I think, uh, the ability to see that is quite, uh, quite interesting. Jenna, Gemma Orange, who, uh, is a relation to you? Uh, yes. My lovely sister-in-law geeks. She's just called us geeks, uh, in the comment. That's fine. I'll take that. I'll take that Gemma. That's not a problem. Uh, so one of the questions that we put up, how do you feel about the concept of work? Is it positive or [00:43:00] negative, a gift from God or a chore? That's a really great question. Yeah. So how do you, how do you perceive work? I mean, Dan, what do you think about work? Do you en let, let's get the, the standard question outta the way. Yeah. Is it exciting and fun all of the time? Dan: No, but it can be exciting and fun. Mm-hmm. Um, sometimes it is a slog. Um, sometimes when, like tomorrow I'll be on a building site. It's cold. My feet are cold, my head's cold. And like, Matt: Hmm. Dan: But it, it, you know, it's still fun. It's still, it's work. And I know work is a purpose as well, isn't it? Matt: Mm-hmm. Dan: Um, without that, what do we, um, what we're about? I think God made us to work. I think it's part of who we are. It drives our minds, drives our, our [00:44:00] bodies yeahinteresting, but very interesting, also interesting how much the talk, Hannah and James talked about rest, even though it was about work. Matt: Yeah. And there's this really interesting contrast, isn't there? And it's the same with money. You can have money, uh, but you need to give it away. That's God's principle, right? And we need to be generous with the money and not hold onto it. Like our life depends on it, right? And if we feel like God's telling us to give it, we need to be able to do that with a generous and free heart. Conversely, we have work and we're supposed to work, but at the same time, we're supposed to rest. So we have money, we give it away, we're supposed to work, but we have rest. And there are these really interesting tensions in scripture, um, in the Bible that God talks about, uh, when it comes to these principles. And, um, yeah, I I, one of my favorite scriptures that I sort of think about on a regular basis is what is in Colossians. And it says, whatever you do, talking about your job, whatever your job is, do it [00:45:00] as unto the Lord, right? In other words, um, when I worked for people in the past, you know, before I worked for myself, uh. You talked about working for bt and, and it's like, yes, BT paid your salary, but you, you have to, you have to see it as working unto the law, not just working for the general Absolutely. Manager at bt, right? Mm-hmm. And did you, but what does that mean to you? As in, you know, when, when we talk about working as unto the law, what do you, how do you understand that? Dan: Um, for me, it was working, working as if God was my boss. So if my, could I do something half-heartedly? Could I do something? Wow, there we go. That's enough. That'll do. Um, or can I do it to the best of my abilities? Uh, even my, if my boss wasn't great, or to be honest, all my bosses were just, if anyone for BT is listening, they were all pretty good. Um, [00:46:00] but yeah, it didn't really matter. I, I wasn't working. I wasn't actually working for them. I was working for God to do my best, um, to do a great job. Um, Hannah, I think it was Hannah mentioned about skills that God has given us. Um, skills. So let's use those and increase them. Um, yeah. Matt: Yeah, that's really interesting. And I think that, and you can work as unto the Lord, whether you do voluntary work. Um, you can work as unto the Lord, whether you pay work, whether you're self-employed. And I think that is such an important thing. The thing that you said, that you're working for God, and that's a good way to think about it. God sees what's going on and you are, you are to do this as you are working unto the Lord, right? Mm-hmm. Don't shirk, don't flat. And that actually comes back to this whole idea of working hard. And, um, do you, if I was to ask you, Dan, do you feel like you work hard? [00:47:00] Maybe I should ask Lisa actually. Yes. Yes. If Lisa's watching, answering the comments. Does Dan work hard? Question number two, does Dan work too hard? Uh, but do you think you work hard? Dan: No, I do think I work hard. Yeah. And I was just thinking as you were talking then, is you mentioned before about, um, who was it, KPMG or something like that? Working like 80 hours. A 80 hours a week. Matt: Yeah. Dan: Um, is that, is that working hard? What about their lives? Um, outside of work? What about their family? That's work. Hannah talked about, you know, getting all the, um, dishes done and getting the clothes, clothes washed and stuff ready for school and things like that. That's, that's work. Can we, yeah. Can we iron. As if to God, you know? Um, yeah. Matt: Yeah. [00:48:00] It's interesting, isn't it? As in, um, so working as unto the Lord or working hard, I think what we're saying is doesn't mean working 80 hour weeks. Um, no. And uh, in fact, I think it's, James called it, I liked it, he changed it from the work life balance to the work rest balance, which we're gonna get into. I see Lisa's in the comments, uh, and she said good questions. Um, he works very hard with a smiley face, I'm sure. I'm sure he does. Um, uh, and Gemma has just written an eye and smiley face. Yeah. Oh, she called us Lovely gees as well. Yeah. Yeah. I can't imagine you do any iron I, to be honest with you, Dan. Yeah. Very good. So we work hard, we work as unto the Lord. Um, and work is a godly thing, right? Uh, just as money is good, but also money can be bad. Work is good. Work can also be bad. It can cause good things in life. It can cause bad things in life. I think work and money both come from God. I think God provides for us. Um, and I think, you know, if you read the story of Adam and Eve before the fall, before there was [00:49:00] sin, before the whole world plunged into utter chaos, there was work. Uh, and they had to work hard and tend the garden. That's what they did. That was their role, their responsibility. So, uh, I often say I think there's gonna be work in heaven. Um, and uh, I'm quick to point out to my kids if they're watching. That doesn't mean there'll be homework in heaven, but there will be work in heaven. Um, so this idea of rest, let's talk about that a little bit. Do you do the whole Sabbath thing? Dan: Um. Yes, but not in a, not in a formal way, but consciously, probably two, three years ago, I felt that I was working too much. Mm. I put it down to, well, it's a new business. Things have got to do this, got to do that, and work just went through every day. Um, so there wasn't really a weekend, um, not that I didn't do stuff with family and I, um, but it was always there in the back of my mind. So conscious consciously. Now, the [00:50:00] weekend, it is a, um, as much as possible turn off all the different contacts of, you know, how people can contact food business. Um, I have a job where I do get emergency call outs, so things like that have to be there. But yeah, consciously over the weekend it is, it is off. Mm-hmm. Um. And, and then it'd be more family focused work. Mm. It'd be interesting. James mentioned, you know, he likes to do DIY 'cause that's different to work. Whereas my DDIY is getting the tools out of the, out of the van into the house. You like not always. It's like a Busman's holiday. Matt: Yeah. Yeah. It's one of those, isn't it? It's always the, always the last house to work on. Yeah. Uh, but yeah, it's a funny one, isn't it? I, I think the whole idea I of Sabbath, I think we. The Sharon put it in the comments. Um, earlier on, there's two great books to read. One by Tim Keller, um, and one by chap called Mon, uh, John [00:51:00] Mark kr. And John Mark KR wrote a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. And this is a book all about the biblical mandate of Sabbath. In other words, what the Bible talks about and why you should rest and what really you should rest from. And it is a phenomenal book to read. And we read that a few years ago, and I was greatly challenged by that book. Um, and so we, uh, we have been a little bit more structured about Sabbath in our house. Um, I don't think we've got it right yet at all by any stretch of imagination. 'cause we, I felt, well Sharon, uh, is, is probably better to say the voice of my conscience, also known as Sharon, um, felt that we needed to be a bit more structured. And I think she was right actually, um, in our Sabbath. So I'm aware of time. Let me just run through a quick fire round. Um, I want to answer some of the questions that have been sent in, um, because I think it's, it's, uh, it's worth going through [00:52:00] is wealth. So what does, what does God say about financial blessing? Is wealth a sign of God's favor? Now, I want to get into this because there is something called in Christian circles the prosperity gospel. And it is the belief that if you give 10% of your money, uh, then you can take certain Bible verses and you can, uh. Pray and believe God that he will return to you a hundred fold, right? In other words, I give uh, 10 pounds and God is, or $10 and God is gonna restore that back to me a hundred fold. So I'm gonna get back a thousand, right? And this whole idea of giving to get so I can create massive amounts of wealth for myself so I can live in a bigger house and drive a fancier car. Um, I'm not convinced that is the purpose of money. Uh, and I'm convinced it seems slightly Dan: skewed with other verses in there. Matt: It does a little bit, doesn't it? Yeah. It seems slightly skewed [00:53:00] with my understanding of God. I think God does provide for us, and I think wealth can come from God. Um, and do Deuteronomy eight, eight says, remember the Lord your God for it's he that gives you the power to get wealth. Uh, but for me, I think that's how worked through my business. Same with you, Dan. You know, that's the power to get wealth. Um. So I, I don't think wealth is a right of a Christian, and I don't think that money is a sign of God's blessing. I, in other words, if I have more money than you, Dan, or Dang you have more money than me, that's probably more accurate. Say you've got more money than me. Um, I don't think that means God has blessed you more than he has blessed me. Do you see what I mean? I don't think the size of our bank account is the, is the size of God's, God's blessing. Absolutely. No, no. Are you, are you, you're in agreement? I'm very much in agreement, yeah. Awesome. That's the main thing, especially when we think about our friends over in the Congo with work that James does with Imagine if, [00:54:00] man, some of the stories coming out of there, you can definitely, one thing you can say is God is working amongst the people, but financial wealth compared to what we have in the west man alive, you know, I think, um, I, I think it's very, very, uh. I think it's hard to say things and I think as Christians we can default to this, you know, this whole idea of, oh, I've got money, therefore I'm blessed. I feel well, therefore I'm blessed. You know, we look at these things. Hashtag blessed sign of hashtag Blessed. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and we did a talk on that actually in Crowd a few, uh, a few months ago. If you want to go check it out. I don't think these things are a sign of God's blessing. Um, I think they may come from God. They may not, but God blesses it anyway, so it's worth pointing out. Uh, does the Bible promise wealth? No, but the Bible does promise that God will meet all of our needs. Uh, Philippians four. Uh, he meets all of our needs according to his riches and glory. Gems put in the comments. Hashtag Blessed. Brilliant. You beat me. Uh, so, um, [00:55:00] what are some of the biblical principles for how we can use our money wisely? Um, so number one would be what then? Giving. Giving. Absolutely giving. Dan: Yeah. Matt: That's what James and Hannah focused on, isn't it? Yeah. Become generous. Dan: Yeah. Best thing about having money is to be able to give it away. Matt: Mm-hmm. Dan: It is. Yeah. Is that a, I was just about to say, is that a, a Western prosperity thing? I don't think so. I think if you've got nothing and someone can come for tea and share, you know, what little you have with you, it's just, yeah. It's, it's, it is a blessing to be able to, to give to others. Matt: It really is. And I think that's such an important point. It's not just about giving away money. It's about giving away and being generous with what God has given to you. So that includes your money, but it includes your house. Having people around for dinner. It includes, um, time, time, jinx, as my daughter would say, [00:56:00] I always, I always remember the talk. Uh, be generous with your time, your treasure, your talent. Uh. Your tongue. I think there were four. I can't remember. You know, they, they all like these alliterations. So be generous with your time. Be generous with your talent. IE your gifts. Um, be generous with your treasure, IE your money and be generous with your tongue. Encourage people. Just be, just say really nice things to people and you'll be amazed at what happens when you do. Um, so be generous. Anything else on biblical, uh, principles to deal with your money? Dan: Um, I think just don't make it as important. The big thing is don't make it as important as God I've got at the top money and works down the line. Yeah. Matt: Get it balanced. I think. Get it, get it positioned right in your head. Um. Uh, what does the Bible say about borrowing and lending and what does the Bible say about budgeting? I think, you know what, I'm just aware of time. These are very, very, very big questions. Uh, [00:57:00] what I'm gonna suggest you do, uh, maybe we'll look at this actually, uh, in a bit more detail further down the line, so just stay connected with us. Um, but I think just to sort of summarize very quickly, Hannah talked about stewarding, and I think fundamentally budgeting, borrowing money, you've gotta ask yourself a question, how well am I stewarding what God has given me? Um, and you've gotta look at why you want to borrow the money. If I want to, if I wanna borrow money to go buy a brand new car, is that really a be the best way to steward what God's given me? I don't know. I'm not saying it is. I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying. Bring it back to the basic principles of generosity and stewardship and just not putting God, uh, um, not putting money first. Put God first. Um, and you know, not just buying stuff and being caught up into the whole consumer thing just because everybody else is doing it. Um, it's a very hard thing to do to keep it with the Joneses. Uh, and it's not, it's not, it's not fun. So, uh, Sharon's put here in [00:58:00] the comments second Corinthians nine, eight. Lemme add it to the broadcast. Um, and God is able to bless you abundantly so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work that such a great promise to end on right there. Dan, how have you found it, bud? You enjoyed it? I have enjoyed it. Yes. Goes by quick, eh? Great. Yeah, it does. Goes by really quick. So you did all right. You did all right for the first time. Well done Mr. Orange. And I like, I like the fact Lisa was in the comments as well. Uh, so next time you host, and I'm aware that Lisa's, uh, uh, in the comments, I'm gonna ask Lisa some questions about you. Uh, and we'll find out the answers, um, uh, which will be great. So, uh, thank you Dan for joining me. Now, can you tell the beautiful people, uh, watching the live stream, what is coming up next week? Dan: I can, because I wrote it down. We've got the amazing Phil Watson who's gonna talk about, [00:59:00] um, kids. So, um, what does God say about children, which would be pretty awesome. I think, Matt: you know, Phil Watson is just gonna be, is just gonna be a whole. Yes, Phil, Phil spoke a Crowd before. He's hosted a Crowd before. Um, he's, uh, he's one of the loveliest people that I know, real genuine guy, real heart for fostering and adopting. Uh, and just more often, not very funny, um, uh, with it as well. I'm, I'm slightly envi of his, of his humor, uh, abilities. But yeah. Phil is coming next week to talk about what the Bible said about kids, which is gonna be, as Gemma has put here in the comments, what an absolute treat you're gonna need extra time. Yes, that's very, very true. Dan: I dunno how he's gonna slim that down to 20 minutes. Matt: Oh no, he's very good with his talks, Phil, when the past, what Phil does is he sends you five video clips, uh, and they're like two minutes long and he has another thought and he'll record another video clip. And so then we [01:00:00] give it to Josh, um, catch poll, who, who does all the video editing behind the scenes. And he, he, Josh is just, he looks at them for like 20 minutes going, what? How no, how what? Uh, so James and Hannah, they just record in one take. Phil. That would just be too straightforward for Phil. Uh, and so I dare say, yeah, Phil will be out and about and every clip will be in a different location, uh, as his brain is processing, uh, is just brilliant how his, how his mind works. So looking forward to that. Uh, so that's coming up next week? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And the week after I mentioned that to you, let's, did you write that down? Dan: Yeah, we got, yeah. John Harding talking about angels. That's, yeah. I'm looking forward to that. Matt: That's gonna be a good one, isn't it? What does the Bible say about angels, which is very apt around Christmas? Mm-hmm. Uh, and so we're gonna get into that, which I'm, I'm really stoked about actually. It's one of the big questions we keep getting asked. Um, what does the Bible say about angels? So, uh, I'm sorry if we didn't get to all of your questions today. The comments were busy. The, the [01:01:00] questions that had come in were full and fast. Um, and we tried our best then we did our best. We did. And so, yes. Um, Gemma says here, Dan, you were amazing. Um, Lisa says it's gonna be fun next time when I ask her lots of questions, uh, which it will be. I have absolutely no doubt. So yes, so do stay with us. Make sure you subscribe to us on either YouTube or Facebook. Uh, and you'll be notified every time we go live, especially if you hit that little notification button. Um, and if you go to our website, www dot Crowd Church, you'll be able to sign up to the email and we just email out literally once a week letting you know what's coming up. And when we go live, do please sign up to that. One of the really interesting little reports, Dan, is um, this week we went over a hundred thousand views on YouTube. Dan: That's pretty good, isn't it? Matt: That's Dan: all right. Matt: That's all right. Yeah. For, for a little online church as we are. So if you are watching us on catch up on YouTube, uh, it's been great that you've connected with us. Thanks for [01:02:00] joining. Thanks for subscribing. Uh, we are gonna close out the live stream here. The way we do this is we're gonna play another worship song again, feel the freedom to join along singing. Uh, Dan and I will be in the comments if you just want to hang around and chat. Uh, we'll be there for a few more minutes. Uh, but we are closing with, and I'm desperately trying to remember the name of the song and it's, uh, God Be Our Guide. Yeah, yeah. Sorry. No, no. I, I got it. Uh, God Be Our Guide, which is actually a song, an original song by John Farrington talking about how God just lead us and guide us in life. And it's top and banana when you do. I don't think he put those lyrics in there, but that's, he should have put those lyrics in there, I think. Uh, so, uh, Dan, anything else from you, bud? No, thank you very much for having me and uh, that'd be great. Dan: Yeah. Great. Looking Matt: forward to next week. Yeah. We'll have you back soon. Alright. Bless you everybody. Have a fantastic week, uh, and join. Do join us next week, uh, as we start to enter the Christmas season. I'm very excited. Uh, we had [01:03:00] snow, we had snow in Liverpool today, and I just feel all kinds of Christmas, e. So do come and join us. God bless you. Uh, and bye for now.