Excerpt from April 2, 2006 Sermon

Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

I found out a long time ago that if I don't please God, I have failed in my service to Him. Jesus said, “If any man serve me, him will my Father honor.” I want God to value me. One day, I will face Him, and I want to be one of His prized vessels.

God chose me to serve Him. In order to serve Him well, I must be a good servant. In order to be a good servant--I must serve people with whatever their need may be. God gives us things to use for His glory. If I have more than my brother, I should share my goods with him. To be a good servant, I must first serve my family; I must let them see Jesus in me. As a pastor I must serve my Church; not because I'm paid to. It is what's in the heart, not what's in the pocket that leads me to serve people. To show up only when I feel like it does not make me a good servant. I must be available whenever and for whatever God needs me to be. We must all serve our Church well, not just a once-in-a-while thing but everyday.

Every person in this church is blessed more than we deserve. There are people in the world with far less than we have, but God gives us these things to use--not to keep. Just as in the parable of the five talents, we must use what God gives us for His glory. God gave one man five talents, another He gave two talents and to yet another, he gave him only one talent. To the man who received five talents, God gave him five more because he used the first five well. Likewise, with the man who received two talents, his were doubled also.

God told them, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

But the one who received only the one talent went out and dug a hole and buried it. He said, “Lord I was afraid so I hid thy talent in the earth.” The Lord said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant …” (Read the story in Matthew 25:14-28).

We can't be lazy in serving God. We must never cease working for Him. How long do we serve Him? Until He says, “Well done my Child, come on Home.” Serving God is a privilege. There is nothing forced upon you. But if you love Him, you will serve Him. You will let Him be the Pilot--He won't be the Co-pilot. If God is your co-pilot, you need to swap seats. It takes more than one person to run a church. It takes every member using the talents God gives them, doing their part to keep the church afloat. What a treasure is waiting for us when we finish this journey called life and hear Jesus say, “Well done, faithful servant, come on home.” What a blessing!