Do Business With This Until I Come Back

In one paragraph

The pastor preached from Luke 19:11-28, the parable of the ten minas, set just before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He spent considerable time on the historical background of the Herodian dynasty before turning to what the parable was actually saying and why Jesus told it when He did. To understand why Jesus told this parable, the pastor walked through the world His first hearers lived in....

Read together

1. Psalm 107 opening encouragement read before worship, about God satisfying the longing soul
2. Psalm 29 read as word of encouragement, the Lord reigns as king and gives strength and peace
3. Psalm 23 partial quote about walking through the darkest valley, the Lord as stronghold
4. 1 John 3:1 cited before offering, about God calling us his children
5. Luke 19:11-28 the main sermon passage, the parable of the minas told near Jerusalem
6. Matthew 2 referenced in connection with the Magi visiting Herod and Joseph fearing Archelaus
7. 1 Peter 4:10 spoken as benediction, about using the gifts we have been given to serve others as stewards of God's grace

Talk about it

1. Pastor John spent a long time on the history of the Herodian dynasty before reading a single verse. Why do you think that background mattered for understanding what Jesus was saying, and was there anything in that history that surprised you?
2. Jesus told this parable specifically because the people around him thought the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. Have you ever expected God to act on your timeline, and what happened when He did not?
3. The servant who hid his mina said he was afraid because the master was a demanding man. Pastor John said that description does not fit Jesus as he has shown himself throughout Luke. How would you describe what Jesus has actually been like toward people in the chapters leading up to this passage?
4. Pastor John said that receiving forgiveness, mercy and grace is the mina that believers have been given, and that holding on to it without extending it to others is wrapping it in a handkerchief. Where in your own life is it hardest to put that gift into practice rather than hold on to it?
5. The sermon closed with 1 Peter 4:10, calling believers faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. What specific gift or form of grace do you think God has given you, and what would it look like to do business with it this week?