Storyteller Week 1

This past Sunday we started a new series called "Storyteller." It is going to be a four week series where each week we study a Parable told by Jesus. You can listen to this and previous messages by clicking here.

Parable of the Ten Minas

(Not to be confused with the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Minas has the same initial amount with different rewards while the talents have different initial amounts with the same reward).

Luke 19:11-26

One mina = about 3 months of wages

The story essentially retold the story of Archelaus' kingship (son of Herod) which probably caused an emotional connection with the audience due to the situational familiarity.

Every servant was given the exact same thing (as are we - the gospel message of salvation).

The reward was determined by what the servants did with what they were given (as is ours - we may receive more responsibility or more opportunities to serve if we are faithful in using what God has given us).

1. Expectations are made Evident
>Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

2. Excellent Efforts are Rewarded
>the focus was on the master ("your mina")
>Don't worry about what you don't have. Concentrate on what you do have (your talents and resources).

3. Evil "I" Ends in Rebuke
>The faithful servants focused on obedience. The unfaithful servant focused on his own hardship of his assignment. The master pointed out the servant's laziness/lack of action.

Our service to God should be out of a loving respect rather than the fear of punishment.

God will not buy our week excuses for our lack of obedience.

Mina Offering Challenge: Take the $10 provided by the church and use it faithfully for God. On October 11th, a special offering will be taken up from the challenge. The money will be used to help cover the cost of the Day of Service we perform on October 4th.


Personal Application: I am doing the Mina Offering Challenge. It's interesting to try to think of what I have and what I can use/do to grow what I've been given. I'm excited to see what happens!

To Those Who Ask Him

God is sooooo incredible! In yesterday's blog, Waiting in Expectation, I shared some from my prayer journal. The beginning of the excerpt was a prayer for a friend who was going to have to do something difficult and stressful today. Well, I spoke with her last night and she had found out that the situation that she was stressed about having to be a part of had been resolved and so she was off the hook. Praise God! I thought back to what I had prayed and was humbled. I had prayed that He had the ability to make the tense situation easy for her but He did even more than that. God eliminated the situation altogether! He blew my mind! "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" ( Matthew 7:11) Talk about a faith boost. Not only am I excited for her, but I am thankful that God was gracious enough to show His love for me as well.

I'm reading Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey and it deals a lot with faith and doubt. I realize that in my prayer yesterday I acknowledged that I do sometimes doubt the effectiveness of my prayers. The book talks about how doubt is generally present with faith because faith requires believing despite concrete and irrefutable evidence. This obviously leaves room for questioning and doubt. But doubt has the ability to draw you closer to or away from God. I love that God still answers prayers despite my doubts. I think what He likes is honesty about our doubts, fears, and struggles. Only when we're completely open can He do what is needed because we are acknowledging our lack and admitting our need for Him. And God is so faithful. "O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you" Psalm 89:8.