Everyone wants their life to count. Whether you say it out loud or quietly wonder late at night, the question is there. How do I make a real difference? What actually makes a life matter?
This past Sunday, Pastor Chip opened up Matthew 25 to walk us through one of Jesus’s most practical and powerful parables. The answer he found there might surprise you.
Jesus tells the story of a wealthy man who goes on a long journey. Before he leaves, he hands his money over to three servants. One gets five talents. One gets two. One gets one. Then the man leaves and expects them to put it to work.
The point of the story is not about money. It’s about ownership.
Everything you have came from God. Your time. Your abilities. Your relationships. Your income. None of it belongs to you. You are a steward, not an owner. A steward manages what belongs to someone else.
That’s not a burden. It’s actually a relief. You didn’t earn it. You don’t have to hoard it. You just have to use it well for the one who gave it to you.
Your Time Is Your Life
The first resource God has given you to invest is your time. And time is not just time. Time is your life.
The average American spends 13 years looking at screens and less than one year on anything spiritually meaningful. That’s not a judgment. It’s a wake-up call.
Ephesians 5 says to make the best use of your time because the days are evil. Jesus himself leveraged every moment of his life on earth for the sake of others. He’s calling us to do the same.
That starts with daily time in God’s Word and prayer. It grows through Sunday worship and community with other believers. It shows up when you pour yourself into the people around you. The question worth asking is simple: How is God calling me to invest my time into his kingdom?
Your Talent Was Made for More Than You
God didn’t make you good at things just for your own benefit. Every ability, skill, and spiritual gift you have was given to you to build up the church and bless the people around you.
First Peter 4:10 says each of us has received a gift and should use it to serve others as good stewards of God’s grace. When every person in the church uses their gifts, the whole body grows. Ministry multiplies. Lives are changed.
Maybe you can sing or play an instrument. Maybe you love kids or teenagers. Maybe you’re great with technology or you have a gift for hospitality. There is a place for you here. The question is whether you’ll step into it.
When you serve, God saves. That’s the promise.
Your Treasure Belongs to His Kingdom
Jesus talked about money more than almost any other topic. That’s not an accident. Matthew 6:21 says where your treasure is, your heart will be also.
Money is not evil. Loving money more than God is. The difference matters.
Malachi 3:10 contains the only place in the entire Bible where God invites you to test him. He says bring the full tithe and see if he doesn’t pour out blessing in return. Not because giving earns favor, but because generosity is an act of trust. It’s saying, God, I believe your kingdom matters more than my comfort.
Pastor Chip shared the story of James and Nancy Dunn, a couple who spent decades trying to build something on their own terms. It took illness, surgeries, and a long stay in the ICU for James to finally stop looking sideways and start looking up. His message to us was simple. Don’t wait for God to knock you down. Put him first now. He’ll lead you where you need to go.
Well Done Is the Goal
When the master in Jesus’s parable returns, two servants hear the words every one of us longs to hear. Well done, good and faithful servant.
They heard those words not because they were perfect. They heard them because they were faithful with what they were given. They invested their time, their talent, and their treasure for someone they loved.
That’s the Christian life. Not striving to earn something. Just responding to someone who gave you everything.
The servant who buried his talent was not just lazy. He had gotten God wrong. He saw the master as harsh instead of generous. When you truly know how good God is, you want to give your whole life back to him.
There’s a Seat for You
If this message stirred something in you, we’d love for you to come experience it in person. Whether you’re new to faith or you’ve been following Jesus for years, there is a place for you here.
Come visit us on a Sunday and see what God is doing in our community. And when you’re ready to take a next step, we’d love to help you get connected to a group, a serve team, or a ministry that fits the gifts God has given you.
Your life was made for more. Come find out what that looks like.