Does the question of money keep you up at night? Or do you ever wonder why — no matter how much you have — it never quite feels enough? Pete Farrington opens a new five-part series at Crowd Church with a question that gets to the heart of it all: is money your servant, or your master?

This is a refreshingly honest conversation about something Jesus talked about more than almost any other subject. Pete draws on Matthew 6, 1 Timothy 6, Psalm 24, and Psalm 49 to build a picture of money that challenges both the prosperity gospel and the poverty gospel — and points instead to something genuinely good.

[03:36] Why the Bible Talks So Much About Money

Pete opens by noting that Jesus spoke about money more than he spoke about heaven and hell combined. But the reason, he suggests, is that we're never really just talking about money. We're talking about longing, desire, hope, safety, and fear.

"It only took me about two minutes to realise we're not really talking about money. We're talking about something far deeper than that."

What we discover:

• Why the Bible's teaching on money is as relevant now as it was 2,000 years ago
• John D. Rockefeller's famous answer to "how much is enough?" — and why we all recognise it
• Why money is never a neutral topic

Key takeaway: Our relationship with money reveals far more about us than we might be comfortable with.

[05:48] God vs Mammon: Matthew 6:24

Pete walks through Jesus' startling statement in the Sermon on the Mount — that we cannot serve both God and mammon. The Greek word mammon, he explains, means treasure or riches, and Jesus is personifying wealth as a rival master competing for our allegiance.

"Money isn't neutral. It's an excellent servant, but it's a terrible master."

What we explore:

• What it actually means to "serve" money — and how it mirrors what it means to serve God
• Why you don't have to be rich to serve mammon
• John Piper's framework: both money and God demand that you arrange your whole life around what they promise to give you

Key takeaway: The question isn't how much you have. It's where you've placed your trust.

[12:05] The Love of Money — and the Misquote We All Know

1 Timothy 6 is one of the most frequently misquoted passages in the Bible. Pete clears up the confusion: it's not money that is the root of all evil. It's the love of money.

"If you love money, you will dash the system of your heart to pieces so that all you have left are broken shards with which to scoop up sewage water that will only poison and kill and never satisfy. And all the while, the waterfall of God's love stands behind you, just waiting to quench your thirst."

What we discover:

• Why you can be broke and still love money
• Why you can be wealthy and hold it with an open hand
• The difference between desiring to be rich and desiring to fund God's work in the world

Key takeaway: Godliness with contentment is great gain. The problem is never the money — it's what we trust it to do for us.

[14:52] Stewards, Not Owners

Psalm 24:1 makes a radical claim: the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. Pete unpacks what this means for how we think about the things we own — drawing on King David's response when he handed over a vast fortune to build the temple.

"Everything comes from you, and we have only given you what comes from your hand." — 1 Chronicles 29

Practical questions Pete raises:

• When you give, do you feel like you are losing something — or returning something?
• How would you manage your finances differently if you genuinely believed you were managing someone else's money?
• What does tithing actually mean — and why does the other 90% matter just as much?

Key takeaway: We are stewards, not owners. That changes everything about how we hold what we have.

[18:58] The Rich Young Ruler

A young man with great wealth comes to Jesus asking what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. He's done everything right. Jesus looks at him and says: sell everything, give to the poor, and come follow me. The man walks away sad.

"His problem was not that he had great possessions. His problem was that he was unwilling to give them up — because he viewed them as a surer source of satisfaction than Jesus."

Key takeaway: Too many of us are planning for retirement but not for eternity.

[24:36] Conversation StreetIs debt the same as serving mammon — even when you haven't got much?

Matt Edmundson and Dan Orange explore Pete's point that a poor person can serve mammon by obsessing over getting it just as easily as a rich person can serve it by obsessing over keeping it. The love of money is not dependent on wealth levels — you don't need money to be mastered by it.

How do you actually live contentedly? Is it possible to enjoy money without being mastered by it?

This is the real tension — and the hosts sit with it honestly. God gives good gifts and intends us to enjoy them. But the same gifts can become gods. Ade Birkby shares how health challenges in his household over recent years have unexpectedly clarified what actually matters. Matt reflects on the boat he nearly justified as a ministry tool. Dan wrestles with holidays, home repairs, and where priorities really lie. Ade sums it up: "Who's the tool?" — are you using money, or is money using you?

Can you share a personal example of trusting God with money?

Three stories — each worth hearing. Ade on a difficult season early in his marriage when he couldn't find work, and what that time built in his relationship with his stepdaughter. Dan on leaving a secure job at BT without a clear plan and finding freedom on the other side. Matt on praying for Duracell batteries as a student — specifically Duracell — and finding a pack of four on his doorstep the next morning, two already removed.

Key takeaway: Very often the things we pray for deliverance from turn out to be some of the greatest areas of God's grace in our lives.

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For more info, please visit https://crowd.church/talks/when-enough-is-never-enough