Parable of the Talents....Matthew 25:14-30

Monday evening we had a Finance Committee Meeting, always the highlight of the month.  Church finance meetings usually start off on the right foot...we are here to serve the Lord and His church, but somewhere along the way, the meeting morphs into a business meeting not unlike those of the corporate world.  Income is deficient, expenses are too high, and planning for the future is depressing.

This morning I was listening to Moody Radio and Dr. David Jeremiah was giving a message on the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30).  It was so relevant as I thought back to the previous night's meeting.  The Master entrusts us with money and talents and asks us to use what he gives us with an understanding that one day he will return and we will make an accounting of what he has given us.  As the parable shows, some of us will invest and put the gifts to work, multiplying and growing while others of us will put the gifts in a hole (a reserve account) so that they are safely preserved for that day the Master returns.

I think that by safely preserving what God gives us, we miss the joy and satisfaction of watching His gifts grow.  We can put Him out of our minds and just wait for that day of accountability or we can live each day looking for new ways to invest what He has given us.

Last night in the Finance meeting I am pleased to report  that we looked for ways to invest and the discussions included not only money, but also time and talents of our church family.  Pastor David Pawls and his wife Michele were with us for the first time and he made a couple of points that I would like to share.  He wants Crystal River United Methodist Church to be "relevant" in our community.  That caused me to pause because to be relevant is to have significance and bearing on matters at hand.  To be Christ's church in a relevant way, we need to care for and about those things Christ cares about...the salvation and caring for the least, the lost, and the last.

Pastor Rawls also stated that he wants worship to be at the center of Crystal River United Methodist Church....the center of our ministries, our fellowship, and our serving.  Dr. Jeremiah made the same point regarding the parable.  How we handle our talents is a reflection of our worship.  If we invest for the Lord, it is measure of our faith, trust, and belief.  If we bury our talents it is reveals our fears that we  don't trust God to provide, to carry, to enable.

Pastor Rawls made one more point that I believe shows how we can keep worship in the center of all we do.  He wants a church full of "Servants" not "Volunteers".  The Bible tells us a lot about being a servant while the world tells us never to volunteer.  We Serve (worship) A Mighty God!