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Pastor Doug Fields shares humorous stories about his own parenting journey, and offers nuts-and-bolts ideas on how to raise children who display confidence, good moral character and convictions, compassion, and competence. 

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How many times have you said to yourself, “If I only had this one thing, then I would be happy”? It’s an exhausting and relentless pattern. So how can we achieve contentment? Dr. Robert Jeffress teaches that happiness has nothing to do with our circumstances—and everything to do with our hearts.

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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:3

In the final episode of our Financial Ethics series, we’re tackling a message that promises health and wealth—but often leads to heartache: the prosperity gospel. Dr. David W. Jones joins us to unpack its dangers and point us back to a truly biblical view of blessing and provision.

Dr. David W. Jones is Senior Professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Christian Financial Ethics and is the co-author of Health, Wealth, and Happiness: How the Prosperity Gospel Overshadows the Gospel of Christ by Dr. W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge.

One of the most dangerous ideas in the prosperity gospel is that faith guarantees financial prosperity. It treats faith like a force—a tool believers can wield to compel God’s blessings.

But biblical faith isn’t self-generated or transactional. It is a gift from God, a response to His revealed grace, and a means by which we trust Him, not a lever to gain wealth. Faith is “the eyesight of the soul”—deeply rational and rooted in the truth of who God is, not in wishful thinking or material expectations.

Prosperity theology often preaches a “faith formula”: believe hard enough, and you’ll be rewarded. But this distorts faith into a mechanism for personal gain. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It’s not irrational optimism—it’s a reasoned trust in the unseen promises of God.

We should view faith not as a way to escape hardship or secure abundance but as a path of trusting God in all things, including suffering.

One hallmark of the prosperity gospel is its aversion to suffering. But as Jones points out, suffering is part of living in a fallen world—and it’s not something Scripture tells us to avoid at all costs. In fact, passages like 1 Peter 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:12 remind us that suffering is to be expected for faithful followers of Christ.

Rather than hinder our faith, suffering refines it. Suffering is the crucible of character. It’s often through trials that we grow closest to Christ and are shaped into His likeness.

Another distortion in prosperity teaching is the expectation of windfalls—blessings that come without effort. But God’s design for provision is through work. From the beginning, humans were created to labor and create, reflecting the image of God.

Working, creating, and flourishing through effort honors our design and brings fulfillment. Attempts to bypass God’s design through get-rich-quick schemes ultimately violate our dignity and God’s intended path for flourishing.

Prosperity preachers often misuse Scripture to back their claims. One example is 2 Corinthians 8:9: “That though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Taken out of context, it may sound like a promise of material wealth. But in its context, Paul is referring to our spiritual poverty and Christ’s sacrifice to make us spiritually rich—context matters. Misreading Scripture to fit a materialistic theology distorts the gospel’s central message.

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How is value determined? Whose opinion matters? Let’s say someone says their car is worth...$15,000. Is it worth that much? It’s only really worth that much if some PAYS $15,000. What’s our worth? There might be different opinions. But Jesus gave His life for us – that’s the price He paid. That’s what we’re worth! Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us see ourselves through God’s eyes . . . we’ll see our worth.

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A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

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Today on Bold Steps with Pastor Mark Jobe … we’re learning to obey authority in our study in Ephesians. We have arrived at chapter 6, and we’re going to be talking about the incredibly crucial characteristic of respecting authority. Today, more than ever, I think we’re seeing the results of people who grew up not learning how to humble themselves and submit to authority. The bible has a lot to say about this and hopefully, we’ll encourage you to see that God gives us clear instruction on how and when we should obey authority … and how we should honor our parents.

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Stealing of any kind violates the Ten Commandments. It’s time we stopped relying on money more than on God. In this message, Pastor Lutzer points out four ways we break the eighth commandment: by what we take, do, win, or keep. How do we repay all that we’ve stolen?

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