Matthew 25:19-33

Illustration of Matthew 25:24-27 NLT -- "Then the servant that got one bag of money came to the master. The servant said, 'Master, I knew that you were a very hard man. You harvest things you did not plant. You gather crops where you did not put any seed. So I was afraid. I went and hid your money in the ground. Here is the one bag of money you gave me.' "The master answered, 'You are a bad and lazy servant! You say you knew that I harvest things I did not plant, and that I gather crops where I did not put any seed. So you should have put my money in the bank. Then, when I came home, I would get my money back. And I would also get the interest that my money earned.'"

Illustration of Matthew 25:28-30 NLT -- "{So the master told his other servants,} 'Take the one bag of money from that servant and give it to the servant that has ten bags of money. Every person that uses what he has will get more. That person will have much more than he needs. But the person that does not use what he has will have everything taken away from him.' Then the master said, 'Throw that useless servant outside, into the darkness! In that place people will cry and grind their teeth {with pain}.'"

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.'"

Illustration of Matthew 25:31-32 NLT -- "The Son of Man will come again. He will come with great glory. All his angels will come with him. He will be king and sit on his great throne. All the people of the world will be gathered before the Son of Man. Then the Son of Man will separate all people into two groups. This is like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."

Illustration of Matthew 25:21 -- His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Inspirational illustration of Matthew 25:21 -- "His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"

Illustration of Matthew 25:33-40 NLT -- "The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. "Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' "Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.'"