Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 25:14-30

"For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' <sup>21</sup> His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, `Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' <sup>23</sup> His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, `Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; <sup>25</sup> so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' <sup>26</sup> But his master answered him, `You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'

FOCUS and FUNCTION

Focus: No matter how rich we become. No matter how many gifts, abilities or time we

have. None of it belongs to us. It all belongs to God. We are stewards of what

God has entrusted us with. God expects us to use whatever He has entrusted us

with to demonstrate His love for the world. In other words, God wants us to use

our time, talents and treasures to expand His kingdom here on earth. How well

are we doing on this? God can use us to build His kingdom here on earth if we

are willing to commit our 3 Ts: time, talents and treasure.

Function: To encourage the congregation to use their time, talents and treasure to further

the Kingdom of God here on earth.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: UPS Store Clerk

A. Started off w/ just 1 or 2 responsibilities.

B. As I learned and demonstrated maturity, I gained more responsibility – Owners soon left me alone in store – In fact, owners went off to Hawaii for a week

C. While alone in store:

- Made decisions but had to make decisions in accordance with the owner's guidelines

- I was responsible for everything in the store but didn't own any of it

- I was a steward but not an owner

D. In same way we are stewards of our time, talents (abilities/skills) and treasures (money).

- God owns all the time, talents and treasures we may have control over

- God entrusts us with these time, talents and treasures and expects us to use them in accordance with His guidance.

II. Matthew 25:14-30 (The Parable of the Talents)

A. When the king goes away on a long trip, he leaves some talents w/ three servants

- Talents, as used in this parable, can refer to the time, talents and treasures given to us by God.

- In this parable, the king entrusts 3 people with varying amounts of talents. The king doesn't give them the talents to do whatever they want with them. He gives them responsibility for the talents to use them in accordance with his wishes.

1. God entrusts us with time and expects us to use it to further His Kingdom. He doesn't give us time just so we can use it to do whatever we want.

2. God entrusts us with our talents and expects us to use them to further His Kingdom. He doesn't give us talents just so we can use them to get whatever we want.

3. God entrusts us with treasure (money) and expects us to use it to further His Kingdom. He doesn't give us money just so we can get whatever we want.

B. When the king returns

- To the two who rightly uses their talents, he gives more: Matthew 25:21 & 23. In same way, God will bless us if we rightly use our time, talents and treasures

- To the one who doesn't rightly use his talents, he takes the talent away: Matthew 25:26-28. In same way, God may not continue to bless us with time, talent and treasure if we do not use them to further His kingdom here on earth.

- We are blessed to be a blessing

C. Three points from the parable

- God entrusts us with time, talents and treasure and expects us to use them to further His kingdom here on earth

- God will bless us with more time, talents and treasures if we rightly use them

- God may stop blessing us with time, talents and treasures if we don't rightly use them.

III. Conclusion: Stewardship Campaign

A. Glynlea Grace Mission: We commit ourselves to the mission of the church to make disciples for Jesus for the transformation of the world

B. During our last prayer retreat, God gave us five revelations:

- God will provide us whatever we need to accomplish whatever He wants us to accomplish

- We have a great piece of property with a good location. We need to take care of what we already have

- We are to become a beacon of hope for the community

- We must reach out to children and youth and strengthen our children and youth ministry

- We must have unity and revival. We must become unified in reaching out into the community.

C. God will enable us to do all this. We can count on it, but we must do our part by committing our time, talents and treasure