A Sermon on the Parable of the Talents in Five Sentences

This sermon by Pastor Ken Jones was preached for the commissioning service for Grand View University's first ten Peer Ministers on November 15, 2011. It is based on the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.

1. The world of Jesus’ parable is an upside-down one, where people who are responsible and safe get condemned and cast out, left to weep and gnash their teeth.
2. But extravagant, foolish risk-taking behavior is praised to the point that the master responds by giving even more to take a chance on.
3. The safe investors can’t risk a thing, because they can only see a God who is stingy and legalistic, but the foolish risk-takers can step out in faith, because they’ve come to trust God as patient, long-suffering and abounding in love.
4. Our ten Peer Ministers today are being set apart, in no small measure because they’re people whose God is so big that they can risk serving others, including you.
5. And in the end, it’s the guy who tells our parable, Jesus Christ, who gives them, and you, a God big enough and loving enough that you can risk it all. Amen.