Matthew 25:1-14

Illustration of Matthew 25:1-13 NLT -- "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten girls that went to wait for the bridegroom. They brought their lamps with them. Five of the girls were foolish. And five of the girls were wise. The five foolish girls brought their lamps, but they did not bring more oil for the lamps to burn. The wise girls brought their lamps and more oil in jars. The bridegroom was very late. All the girls became tired and began sleeping. "At midnight someone announced, 'The bridegroom is coming! Come and meet him!' "Then all the girls woke up. The girls made their lamps ready. But the foolish girls said to the wise girls, 'Give us some of your oil. The oil in our lamps is all gone.' "The wise girls answered, 'No! The oil we have might not be enough for all of us. But go to the people that sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' "So the five foolish girls went to buy oil. While they were gone, the bridegroom came. The girls that were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Then the door was closed and locked. "Later the other girls came. The girls said, 'Sir, sir, open the door to let us in.' "But the bridegroom answered, 'I tell you the truth. I don't know you.' "So always be ready. You don't know the day or the time {when the Son of Man will come}."

Illustration of Matthew 25:14-23 NLT -- "{The kingdom of heaven is} like a man leaving home to travel to another place for a visit. Before the man left, he talked with his servants. The man told his servants to take care of the things he owned while he was gone. He decided how much each servant would be able to care for. The man gave one servant five bags of money. He gave another servant two bags of money. And he gave a third servant one bag of money. Then that man left. The servant that got five bags of money went quickly to invest the money. Those five bags of money earned five more. It was the same with the servant that had two bags of money. That servant invested the money and earned two more. But the servant that got one bag of money went away and dug a hole in the ground. Then the servant hid his master's money in that hole. "After a long time the master came home. The master asked the servants what they did with his money. The servant that got five bags of money brought five more bags of money to the master. The servant said, 'Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of money. So I used your five bags of money to earn five more.' "The master answered, 'You did right. You are a good servant that can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.' "Then the servant that got two bags of money came to the master. The servant said, 'Master, you gave me two bags of money to care for. So I used your two bags of money to earn two more.' "The master answered, 'You did right. You are a good servant that can be trusted. You did well with a small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.'"