A Year in the Wheelbarrow | Doug Wekenman | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

A Year in the Wheelbarrow

Red Rocks Church • Dec 2, 2025 • 51 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

Pastor Doug Wekenman challenges believers to move from mental belief to active trust by giving God a "year in the wheelbarrow" with their lives and finances. Using the famous illustration of tightrope walker Charles Blondin, he demonstrates that while belief acknowledges what God can do, trust actually steps out into action. By practicing biblical generosity and tithing, we release the heavy burden of financial worry, step into God's faithful provision, and play an active role in making heaven more crowded.

Themes

Faith vs. TrustGenerosity & TithingGod's ProvisionStewardshipKingdom Impact

Pastor's Points

1.

Get in the Wheelbarrow (Start Somewhere)

2.

Stay in the Wheelbarrow (Make It Consistent and Grow Over Time)

3.

See It Through to the End (Give Above and Beyond)

Key Points

1.
Get in the Wheelbarrow: Faith requires taking the first step to start somewhere in your giving journey.
2.
Stay in the Wheelbarrow: True generosity is not just a single moment, but a consistent lifestyle that grows over time.
3.
See It Through to the End: Biblical generosity goes above and beyond, trusting God with open hands rather than holding back out of fear.
4.
Belief is a mindset, but trust is the practical action of putting your weight on God's promises and letting Him lead.
5.
Faith acts as the delivery system that makes God's invisible kingdom tangible and visible to the world.
6.
Tithing in Malachi 3:10 is the only place in Scripture where God explicitly invites His people to test Him and experience His overflowing provision.
7.
Financial giving works like planting seeds: sowing generously yields a generous harvest, and faith multiplies rather than merely maintains.
8.

Sermon Moments

“Belief is the mindset, but trust is the action that gets in the wheelbarrow with God.”

“Malachi 3:10 is the one place in Scripture where God invites us to test Him with our treasure.”

“Doing money God's way feels like taking off a heavy weight vest you've worn your whole adult life.”

“Faith does not maintain; faith multiplies what God has entrusted to us.”

“To plant a seed is to believe in tomorrow and trust God for the future.”

“God wants to know if you are a vessel through which His blessings flow or a vault where they get stored.”

“King David's lifelong observation in Psalm 37: God never forsakes the righteous or leaves their generous children begging for bread.”

“Kingdom Builders is not about building buildings; it's about building stories and making heaven more crowded.”

This Week

Ask God in prayer: "Based on all the ways You have blessed me, what can I give to build Your kingdom and not just mine?"

Take a practical first step in giving by starting somewhere, even if it is a small percentage of your paycheck.

Set up recurring giving so you can consistently "stay in the wheelbarrow" without battling the same financial anxiety every pay period.

Plan to gradually increase your percentage of giving over time as you grow in faith and stewardship.

Shift your mindset from being a "vault" that stores wealth to a "vessel" through which God's generosity can flow.

Release the heavy weight of financial worry by surrendering financial outcomes to God and trusting His promises.

Practice daily postures of surrender and gratitude, remembering that God's presence—not financial certainty—is your ultimate promised land.

Remember This

Real faith goes beyond believing God can work; it trusts Him enough to step into the wheelbarrow and manage our lives and finances His way.

A Challenge for You

"Give God a year in the wheelbarrow. Start somewhere. Make it consistent. Grow over time and see it through to the end and go above and beyond. Trust him. Try him. Test him and see that he isn't a very good father who knows everything that you need."

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.