Sermon Challenge
Matthew 20:1-16
Workers in the Vineyard

Jesus tells an interesting story here in the 20th Chapter of Matthew. A Vineyard owner hires some help for his Vineyard. He hires a few guys bright and early in the morning, promising them a full days wage. Later on in the morning he hires a few more, promising them a fair wage, later on he hires a few more, and even hires a few guys just before quitting time. At the end of the day, he begins to pay those who had arrived latest (who had only worked for one hour). He pays them a full denarius (one days wage), the others expect to be paid more, naturally. Yet, the land owner pays each and everyone of the workers the same exact wage.

Yesterday we looked a few different aspects to this story. It is a story about grace, each and every one of us does not deserve grace, yet God gives it to us, not based upon how we live or who we are, but based upon who we follow. There are some warnings that God gives:

1. Be careful of comparison: Those who had put in a full day expected more, they compared themselves to the others who had not worked a full day. There will always be someone more holy than you are, and there will always be someone far less holy than you too. Don't worry about it. You need to be concerned about you. Are you giving all that you have to God?
   
2. Be careful of complaining: The first thing the guys who had worked a full day did when they received their pay was to complain. The felt they deserved better. They probably had a pretty good beef, it doesn't seem fair to me from a worldly standard. Yet, God makes it quite clear that we are not to be focused on the things of this world. God's ways are far better than ours, we need to trust his judgment in the things happening around us.

God is sure mysterious. Isaiah 55:8 says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." We certainly saw evidence of that on Sunday with the snow. What incredible beauty the snow brings, and consider the power of the weather, knocking down trees and power lines. I don't remember hearing about that kind of storm in the weather on Saturday night.

Our lives with God in control, are built to handle the storms of life. We serve God with an eternity in mind. Let's keep from complaining, from comparing, let's focus on what matters. How is your relationship with God? It matters not if you are 10 or 100, we work, we serve, we follow our God until the end.

This week, strive to be a follower of God!

aaron

Sermon Challenge
Luke 16:1-9
Using our Treasure

Today, is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year (according to people who know that sort of thing). It is the day that people's lives come crashing down. Monday's are generally no fun at all anyway, combine that with an unmet New Year resolution, the reality of over spending during the holiday, and the average January full of cold, cloudy blah. Today is a reality check day for most of America.

Yesterday we talked about being wise with our treasure, being smart about how we share our faith and how we use the hope God has given us. Today is a pretty good day to use that schrewdness. How many people do you know that have over spent during this holiday season? How can you be an encouragement to a friend or neighbor on these dreary days? Who can you talk to about your faith?

As sermon challenges go, this is not an easy one. It takes fore thought, planning and the usual follow through. Let's start with this. . . write down the name, maybe two names of people in your life that need to know Jesus. A friend a neighbor, maybe a co-worker. Then, pray! Pray that God will give you the right words to say, the right circumstances to say them under. Last of all, I pray that you will share this person you are praying for with another believer who will help you pray for him/her. Share it with your small group, or close friend.

We need to work together on this one! Let's ALL accept the challenge.

ae

Sermon Challenge
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:1-14

Are you ready? That is the questions we posed yesterday. Well, are you? Jesus is very clear that his return is pending and that when he does come back, he will return without warning, like a "thief in the night." Many people speculate the return of Jesus and the type of things that will go on before his return. Recently, a man in northern Idaho chopped his hand off and put it in the microwave, truly believing that he had the mark of the beast.*

We can either live in fear of the Lord's coming, or we can stand confidently knowing that as followers of Jesus we have a glorious reunion to be preparing for. In the parable of the 10 virgins, there were 5 who were prepared and 5 who were not. The bridegrooms return was delayed and 5 were not prepared for the long haul. Are you prepared to stick it out? The prepared virgins had enough to last, they were fueled up, and though the bridegroom's return was delayed, when he arrived they were ready!

This week take some time apply this passage and ask yourself that hard question. Are you ready? Maybe we should ask this question in another way: Are you excited about the return of Jesus? If you can answer yes, than most likely you are ready. If you are not ready, it's time to get ready. Make a plan, a decision to know your creator and be ready for his return.

*read more about it: here
**The best thing to remember about the return of Jesus, is that Jesus wins!

Applying Scripture

Application: The step between knowing and doing what scripture tells us.

Often times we talk about "living out our faith", or being "doers of the Word," but do we really understand what we are talking about, or even how to do that? I believe there are some very important steps that we as readers of God's Word need to know and to understand so that we to can apply God's Word to the way that we live. Each time you open your Bible, or dig into your devotions there are a few things to consider:

1. What is the Challenge? In trying to understand what God is challenging you with, you may want to consider why and to who was this section of scripture originally intended. What then are you being challenged with today through this passage. It may be challenging the way you treat others, the way you parent, the way you manage, your attitude, etc. So, what is that?
   
   
2. What is your plan to change? How are you going to apply this scripture? If you are being challenged to be a better father, how are you going to do it? Maybe God is encouraging you to have a better attitude, how do you pull it off? Make a plan, put legs to the idea. This is action required stuff, what is the action going to be.
   
   
3. Seek accountability. Who is going to encourage you to follow through with your plan? Many times we make a plan and never tell a soul about it. Then it is easy to simply not follow through. If you really want to follow through with the plan, tell someone who will bug you until it gets done!
   
   
4. Do it. Don't talk about it, do it!
   

I hope these thoughts help you as you dig into God's Word this year. The Bible is soooo full of awesome ideas, lets work on putting some action; some application, to our reading this year. In all things God will receive the glory.

Sermon Challenge
The Parable of the Treasure
Matthew 13:44-46

The last couple of weeks we have focused on the parable of the Treasure. Jesus gives us an awesome picture of the importance of the Gospel and our relationship with God. He equates the Gospel and this relationship that we have with Jesus to a treasure, a treasure you would give anything to have.

The best part of this treasure, is no matter how much you give away, you will never lose any of it. God does not want us to be stingy with this treasure, he wants, he needs us to give it away. Our treasure is not to be buried or hidden, it is to be shown and shared. Make sure you are sharing your treasure.

My challenge to you this week is to take your treasure and share it. This can be as simple as telling someone about how excited about you are about your small group, or church family that you are. Sometimes it's that simple, we don't have to know all the answers, we just need to be excited about our Savior.

Have a great week!

aaron