Select a link below to view recent past videos of worship services. For all past worship services go to https://vimeo.com/chainoflakes/videos Don’t forget to also check out Pastor Paul’s blog
April 21, 2024
“Why do Bad THings Happen to Good People”, part two
April 14, 2024
Celebrating Volunteers
April 7, 2024
“Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People”
March 31, 2024
Easter Sunday
Comments about the devotion can be emailed to pastor@colpres.org
Monday, April 29
Matthew 27:55-56
Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
Yesterday Pastor Paul began a new series called, “Women of Faith.” In connection with yesterday’s sermon this week in the devotion we will look at the stories of the women of the cross with a special focus on Mary Magdalene.
The fact that many women had watched Jesus die was significant. The male disciples had fled for fear of their lives. It’s unclear if the women who watched Jesus died experienced this fear.
It’s also interesting that Matthew noted that many women had watched Jesus die. Most likely the number of women who were there exceeded the names of the women at the cross that Matthew acknowledged. Matthew listed the names of three women. Most likely more than three women had watched Jesus die.
The first woman listed was Mary Magdalene. In the other gospel stories of the women at the cross—Mark 15:40-41 & John 19:25b-27—Mary Magdalene was also listed. In fact she was the only woman who was part of each of these three lists.
Men didn’t know what to do with strong female leaders when Jesus was alive. Much confusion has been communicated about Mary Magdalene. She was not a prostitute, and she was not physically attracted to Jesus. She was a female leader.
Who are some female leaders who have been role models for you in your personal faith. Please share.
Tuesday, April 30
Luke 8:1-3
Some Women Accompany Jesus
Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them out of their own resources.
It’s important to know that Jesus had an entourage that traveled with him which was made up of more than the twelve Apostles. Women traveled with Jesus and the twelve Apostles and these women provided for them out of their resources. Mary Magdalene was one of the women.
The name Magdalene comes from Mary’s hometown, Magdala. That village was locate don the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. “Mary” was the most popular name given to women when Jesus was alive. Mary Magdalene needed to be identified in some way, so she was identified by the name of the village in which she grew up.
Luke wrote that Mary Magdalene had been cured of seven demons. Most likely Mary Magdalene lived with Mental illness. To be described this way was quite an acknowledgement for Mary.
If you weren’t described by your last name, how would you want to be named? Would you want to have your second name be the hometown where you went to elementary school or would you want your second name to be described as a passion you have. If your passion was playing the piano it could be first name piano.
This exercise might seem a bit silly, but it was a way to distinguish people from others. Being distinguished when Jesus alive was important for a person with the name of Mary. “Mary” was a very common name.
If you weren’t described by your last name, what would you want your second name to be? Please share.
Wednesday, May 1
Luke 23:26-28
The Crucifixion of Jesus
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Luke didn’t write down the women who were at the cross in his gospel. But he did share this story of Jesus addressing the people who followed him as he walked to the place of his execution.
Many women followed him who were beating their breasts in sorrow about the fate of Jesus. Most likely these were women who lived in Jerusalem, meaning that Mary Magdalene and the other women listed in other gospels as being at the cross, were not part of this group.
These verses foreshadowed the destruction of Jerusalem that happened in the year 66. When Luke wrote his gospel he knew that this destruction had taken place.
What are your thoughts about the daughters of Jerusalem? Please share.
Thursday, May 2
John 20:11-18
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them that he had said these things to her.
John’s gospel is the only one in which Mary Magdalene and Jesus were alone after Jesus had been raised from the dead.
Initially Mary Magdalene thought that the person with her was the gardener. Only when Jesus revealed himself to her, did Mary know that the person was Jesus. And he had been raised from the dead!
Jesus told Mary Magdalene to go and tell the other male disciples that Jesus was alive. This encouragement by Jesus was very significant. Mary Magdalene became the first person who shared the story of the resurrection of Jesus. She could be seen as the first preacher of the resurrection.
Many churches don’t allow women to preach or don’t allow them to be pastors. This teaching is inconsistent with the encouragement of Jesus.
Jesus had no qualms about Mary Magdalene being a preacher.
What are your thoughts about Mary Magdalene being the first preacher of the resurrection? Please share.
Friday, May 3
John 12:1-8
Mary Anoints Jesus
Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
Some people have mistakenly thought that the Mary in this story was Mary Magdalene.
However, John was quite clear that the Mary who anointed the feet of Jesus was Mary the sister to Martha and Lazarus.
The act of Mary in this story was beautiful. She was anointing the feet of Jesus and helping to prepare his body for his murder that would soon happen.
It’s important to know that the Mary in this story was not Mary Magdalene.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.
Saturday, May 4
Luke 7:36-50
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and when he went into the Pharisee’s house he reclined to dine. And a woman in the city who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” But he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Like yesterday’s story, some people have mistakenly thought that the woman in this story was Mary Magdalene.
This is not factually correct. Nowhere in this story is the woman identified as Mary Magdalene.
This misinformation is important to clarify. People have always been tempted to look at Mary Magdalene through the lens of sex instead of seeing her as a leader. It’s easier to bring Mary Magdalene down if she is seen as a prostitute.
However, it’s important to know that Mary Magdalene was not this person. She was not a prostitute.
Did you grow up or ever remember being taught that the woman in this story was Mary Magdalene? Please share.
Monday, April 22
Romans 8:1-8
Life in the Spirit
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
This week we have the opportunity to read and study one of the most important chapters in the Bible—Romans 8. Each day we’ll have the opportunity to reflect on a reading. Among other things, the entire chapter delves into the relationship of suffering and sin and God’s love.
In Romans 7:24, the Apostle Paul had asked the question, “who will rescue me from this body?” He might not have been thinking about a particular ailment, but he was asking the general question of how to reconcile the deterioration of the body with God.
He claims right away that God or Christ does not condemn people. The suffering that happens in our body is not punishment from God. The task is to focus our minds on the Spirit as this brings life and peace (verse 6).
This is a high calling. Often the pain and suffering of our bodies can bring our own spirits down and tarnish the thoughts of the mind.
We most likely know of people who have lived through a severe ailment of the body and still kept a cheerful spirit. They might not have been happy about what was happening, but they stayed connected to God. Who are one or two people that you know who have done this? Please share.
Tuesday, April 23
Romans 8:9-11
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
The Apostle Paul shared in verse nine that “the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
This is a basic fact for all people of faith. Each carries the Spirit. When a person is baptized, the faith community recognizes that the Holy Spirit is sealed within a person for all eternity.
We often don’t think that the Spirit is inside of us. Most often we don’t feel the Spirit or don’t see the Spirit. We accept on faith that we carry the Spirit.
Sometimes that Spirit forms our insides in ways that we can not imagine. We didn’t think that we would respond in such a beautiful way to a situation. We can only come to the conclusion that God was leading us.
Staying aware of the Spirit’s presence inside of us is an important part of our faith journey.
What are some ways that you remind yourself or celebrate that you carry the Holy Spirit? Please share.
Wednesday, April 24
Romans 8:12-17
So then, brothers and sisters, we are obligated, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
The Holy Spirit animates and activates us as followers of Christ. Through this animation and activation, we live our being children of God.
God has adopted us, and this adoption takes place through the animation and activation of the Holy Spirit.
Each of us live by the Holy Spirit in different ways. Some of us might hardly spend any time thinking about how the Holy Spirit animates and activates us. Some of us might go through seasons when we experience being led by the Spirit and then fall back. Some of us might be frequently looking for the direction of the Holy Spirit.
It’s rare—perhaps not heard of—for anyone to say, “I think I have this Holy Spirit issue worked out.”
This is why a faith community is so important. We can learn from each other how to allow the Holy Spirit to animate and activate us.
What are some practices that help you consciously stay connected to the Spirit? Or share a season when you felt especially attuned to the Spirit. Please share.
Thursday, April 25
Romans 8:18-25
Future Glory
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning together as it suffers together the pains of labor, and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, for who hopes for what one already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
The Apostle Paul knew that the sufferings he was currently experiencing were nothing compared to the glory that he would experience in the next life. Pastor Paul has talked about how when we are in heaven, most likely we will look back on the sufferings of earthly life and come to terms with it. Even if we have a hard time coming to terms with our physical suffering in this life, Paul believed we could do this in the life to come.
This is a tricky message as the promise of salvation doesn’t justify our current suffering. We needn’t just accept our lot in life because of the promise of what will happen. But we can understand our current lot based on the promise of what will happen. Knowing that salvation is ahead of us does not mean we can’t do everything we can think of to alleviate our suffering, including the suffering of our body.
The promise of what is to come gives us hope—hope in what will eventually happen and hope for our current reality.
How has this hope helped you in this current life? Please share.
Friday, April 26
Romans 8:26-30
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
The Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we could. If we do not know how to pray, we can let the Spirit pray for us.
The following can be a beautiful prayer—“Lord, I do not know how to pray in this situation. May your Spirit pray for me.”
Verses 28-30 have been badly misinterpreted by some people of faith. This doesn’t mean that loving God is an insurance policy from suffering or that our lives are predestined to happen in a certain way from the beginning. Each of us has free will.
Have you taken the opportunity to let the Spirit pray for us when we had a hard time praying? What are your experiences in letting the Spirit intercede for you?
Please share.
Saturday, April 27
Romans 8:31-39
God’s Love in Christ Jesus
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
These nine verses are some of the most important verses in the Bible. They are often read at funerals as a way to comfort those who are hurting.
The message that nothing can separate us from the love of God is a message that we always need to hear. It’s a message that we can remind ourselves of every day. Consider waking up and saying to God, “that you won’t separate yourself from me today!”
It’s easy to think that God is punishing us when we experience hardship, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, peril, or violence. But this thought would not be consistent with this message from Paul. No matter what our circumstance God’s love is available to us.
At the end of this reading Paul went on to describe other circumstances that might lead us to think that God has stopped loving us. And he answered this question that God will never stop loving us. Bad things are not a punishment from God! Yay, God!
Monday, April 15
Ephesians 4:1-7, 10-16
Unity in the Body of Christ
I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
Pastor Paul has shared that a calling is not something that only a person with a “Rev.” in front of his or her name receives. A calling is given by God to everyone. Often religious people will talk about their calling, that is, a particular time when they experienced a summons from God to go into religious life.
The reality is everyone receives a call. Even if we have not received or heard the visible voice of God, God is still calling us. Our task is to discern that calling.
A calling is not necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime summons from God. Our calling can change based on the season in which we find ourselves. Our calling can be to a vocation or job, but it is much more than that. A calling can be to our family, or friends, or an approach to life that we’ve consciously decided to take. Verses two and three share a beautiful calling to character that each of us could follow.
We discern our calling by using our gifts. This means that the first part of our calling is to look at ourselves and identify our own gifts or strengths. The writer of Ephesians shared five gifts—but really these are more vocations than gifts.
On Sunday Pastor Paul made a list of spiritual gifts. To look at the whole list today, watch the sermon. The link to worship is at colpres.org.
Can you remember a season of your life that you were using your gifts? Please share your experience? Share also the impact that you made by using your gifts.
Tuesday, April 16
Romans 12:1-8
The New Life in Christ
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Personal transformation can happen for us when we use our gifts.
Pastor Paul has shared an idea called the Inspirational Intersection. The Inspirational Intersection is the intersection between what God wants us to do and be and what we want to do and be. When a person discovers this intersection the person will experience tremendous energy, imagination, and love. And ultimately the person will make a significant impact.
God works through our gifts. God might ask us to do something where we are compelled to use a gift that we don’t identify in ourselves. But this normally won’t take a long time.
When we identify and use our gifts we are connected to God as God is the source of our gifts.
Our connection to God is more than saying a prayer. When we use our gifts to help, we are following what God wants for us.
Would you identify yourself right now as living from your Inspirational Intersection? Please share.
Wednesday, April 17
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
The Apostle Paul identified gifts, services, and activities in verses four through six. Each is different.
A gift comes from the Greek word, “charisma.” We know of charisma as a magnetic force that draws in others. When we use our gifts a force comes from us that is very natural.
A service comes from the Greek word, “diakonos.” It means service. There are different ways that people can serve God. Last Thursday night, April 11 a large number of people from Chain of Lakes served or exhibited diakonos at Feed My Starving Children.
An activity comes from the Greek word, “energema.” It means effects or results. Activities is probably not the best translation of this word. We can think of the results of using our gifts. This is the energema. The Message translates the verse this way, “God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.”
Gift and serving and results are all very important. What are your thoughts about this. Please share.
Thursday, April 18
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
One Body with Many Members
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect, whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Pastor Paul has described a congregation as a network of volunteers. In these verses the Apostle Paul shares a metaphor to describe a congregation. The metaphor is a body.
It’s important that each part of the body sees others as important parts of the body. Each part of the body has a need for others. We are called to use our gifts in a community. When we do this we see that our gifts are part of a large and wider whole. An arm cannot live by itself, but an arm can be effective when it is connected to an entire body.
This metaphor is a significant contrast to the individualism that we often see in our culture. When we use our gifts in a community we are not looking to make money, receive attention or overpower others. We are looking to be part of a larger team.
Can you remember a time when you were part of a faith community when people’s gifts were being used like Paul described them in this passage? Please share.
Friday, April 19
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. At once the one who had received the five talents went off and traded with them and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
In this fairly long reading, Jesus shared a beautiful story of people sharing their talents. Because Jesus is such a masterful teacher, we can identify quickly an important part of our story. Jesus wanted people to use their talents and not hide them.
What we might miss is the attitude of the two people who used their talents versus the attitude of the person who didn’t use their talents. The people who used them were courageous. They weren’t worried about making mistakes or worried about the consequences of taking risks. The person who hid his talent was afraid. He shared that his fear and timidity caused him to hide his talent.
Another lesson from this story is to use our talents courageously and without fear. We don’t need to worry about the results. Be courageous and fearless!
Can you think of a person you know who uses their gifts courageously and without fear. Their life is consistent with the first two people of this story. Please share!
Saturday, April 20
1 Peter 4:9-11
Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Verse ten is significant. “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.”
How beautiful to read again that the gifts or charisms that we have come from God. They are a gift, so we don’t have to do anything to have them. God gives them to us freely as an expression of grace.
When we hide our gifts—like the third person in yesterday’s story—we are hiding what God has given to us. When we use our gifts the light shines freely out of us.
What are some ways you would like to use your gifts in the next six months. As you share your desire, the rest of the group can pray for you as you use your gifts. Please share!
Some highlights from recent events in the community! Click on image for clear, entire picture