Key points
- 1
1The eighth wonder of the world is the chance to join God in what He's doing, not compound interest.
Pastor Linn walks through how compound interest works with a step-by-step thousand-dollar example, building up the picture of exponential growth. He then pivots to say that as impressive as that is, the real eighth wonder is our opportunity to partner with God in kingdom work that changes eternity and comes with a promised reward.
“the eighth wonder of the world is actually your and my opportunity to join God in what he is doing in this world”
- 2
2The heart of God moves in two directions: people coming to Jesus, and believers becoming like Jesus — and church ministries are the church joining Him in both.
He tells the story of inviting 'Tom' at Christmas and Tom standing up to receive Christ, describing it as heaven giving a standing ovation. He connects a camp scholarship illustration to believers helping others mature, wondering aloud if a sponsored teen could be 'the next Billy Graham.'
- 3
3The church is already deeply joined to God's kingdom work, from children's and youth ministries to missions in Zambia and India, church planting, recovery ministry, and Harvest Festival.
He rattles off a long list of ministries — Adventure Port, Kaboom, the singles ministry, interns and residents, 1,300 first-time decisions this year, the Zambia school expansion, 23 orphanages and leprosy colonies in India, 38 planted churches through Vision Arizona, Celebrate Recovery's 90 percent-plus freedom rate, Harvest Festival's 15,000 attendees, and the S2 conference training 1,200 pastors. He frames each as evidence the church is collaborating with what God is doing.
- 4
4Despite all this, only about 17 percent of the church volunteers and 12 percent tithes, because we get focused on the cost rather than the opportunity.
He voices the excuses people make about not having time or money, using a personal story about a bank manager suggesting an IRA at age 20 that he dismissed, only to calculate later he forfeited $423,000 by not adjusting small spending habits like eating out or buying Calvin Klein instead of Levi's.
“we spend too much time looking at the cost and not looking at what we're giving away, not looking at what we forfeit when we don't join God”
A story from life
Story of declining a bank manager's IRA advice at age 20 and the retirement savings forfeited
- 5
5Investing in others now pays off in eternal reward, illustrated by men who invested time in Pastor Linn as a boy and a church that funded his youth pastor, Wayne Bauer.
He recalls being a nine-year-old boy in despair after his father left, and men who chose to spend time with him, saying they 'own shares in Cornerstone' because of what grew from that investment. He tells how a small EV Free church stretched its budget to fund youth pastor Wayne Bauer, under whom he surrendered his life to ministry, framing that congregation as also owning stock in everything Cornerstone is doing now.
A story from life
Story of men who mentored him as a lonely nine-year-old boy after his father left
A story from life
Story of youth pastor Wayne Bauer, funded by a small EV Free church, who led him to full-time ministry
- 6
6Scripture promises real reward for what is built on Jesus and invested in the kingdom, not for what is done for self.
He walks through 1 Corinthians 3 on works being tested by fire, Revelation 22 on Jesus rewarding each person according to what they've done, Matthew's teaching that anyone who sacrifices for the kingdom receives a hundred times as much, and Paul's crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy, explaining that a crown represents position and authority given in heaven for faithfulness on earth.
“you guys gotta stop looking at the sacrifice and turn around and look at the investment that God is offering for you and me to have a life that has real meaning and is worth living”
- 7
7Jesus tells us to store treasure in heaven rather than on earth, treating earthly time and money as zero-sum and kingdom investment as eternal.
Reading Matthew 6:19-21, he explains that work, TV, houses, and cars are not sinful but are 'zero sum' — they don't carry eternal value and get left behind. He closes with the story of pushing his son Joshua to stop renting and become a homeowner, using it as a picture of choosing to be an owner rather than a renter in the kingdom, investing sacrificially instead of just watching from the sidelines.
“Some of us are living our Christian lives as renters”
“it's not about what we can spare. It's about what we're willing to sacrifice”
A story from life
Story of his son Josh renting versus buying a house in Downtown Tempe
Application
Pastor Linn's challenge is simple: stop measuring the cost of serving and giving, and start seeing what God is offering in return. Time spent at work, on shows, on houses and cars isn't wrong, but it's "zero sum" — it doesn't carry into eternity. What we invest in the kingdom — our time serving, our money given — is the only part of our lives that echoes forever, and Jesus Himself promises it will be rewarded far beyond what it cost us. The goal isn't to feel guilty about busy schedules or tight budgets, but to make an adjustment: to move from being a renter who just shows up and watches to being an owner who has skin in the game. Look at what could happen if more of the church volunteered and gave. The invitation is to trade a "hard no" fixated on cost for a "yes" fixated on what God can do with a life fully joined to His.
