1. Please Turn in Your Bible

2. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

3. "Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

4. “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

5. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

6. “…for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica…”

7. “Then Samuel said to the people…do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.”

8. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…”

9. “Rather than being driven from the truth by hardship, this person is lured away from the truth by promises of something better. Of course, these promises will never be fulfilled, because these competing gods or masters are deceitful.” Weber, S. K. (2000). Vol. 1: Matthew. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (196–197). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

10. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him…”

11. “The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety.” “A rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own imagination.”

12. “Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

13. "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

14. "You shall have no other gods before Me…"You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…”

15. “…If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.”

16. “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have…”

17. Please Turn In Your Bibles

18. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

19. Please Turn In Your Bibles

20. “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the first fruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” “If God does not have a man’s wallet, He doesn’t have the man” (D.L.Moody)

21. Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways! "You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.“ Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways!”

22. Please Turn In Your Bibles

23. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”