God has intentionally, not equally, entrusted talents and resources to each one of us. But it’s important to act promptly and faithfully with what we’ve been given. Pastor Kyle encourages us to let go of our fears and excuses and build with faith a legacy that will impact generations to come!
Notes 📓✏️:
Gold In The Ground: Discovering the life God’s planned for you and me while seeing His dreams come alive for us.
What you do with what God gave you reveals what you believe about Him.
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.”– Matthew 25:14
It’s the 3rd story of a trilogy where Jesus refers to Faithfulness, Preparedness, and Stewardship as a part of the end times/return
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.– Matthew 25:15
One talent was worth 10–20 years of wages, weighing 15–18 pounds
Even the servant with “one” talent had been given something substantial
God doesn’t distribute equally, He distributes intentionally.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.– Matthew 25:16-17
But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.– Matthew 25:18
He was busy without being productive.
Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.– Matthew 25:19
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’– Matthew 25:20-23
He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’– Matthew 25:24-25
He worked hard at doing nothing. He put effort into burying what was meant to build something.
Fear made him dig and fear still makes us bury:
We bury our potential under “someday.”
We bury our obedience under “when I’m ready.”
We bury our impact under “what if I fail?”
Faith builds what fear tries to bury.
So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.– Matthew 25:28
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.– Matthew 25:29
The question isn’t “Why didn’t I get more?” but “What will I do with what I got?”
Stop measuring your calling by someone else’s capacity. You’ve got more gold than you think.
Week 2 Discussion Questions 📝❓:
BIG IDEA: YOUR VIEW OF THE VALLEY SHAPES HOW YOU WLAK THROUGH IT.
QUESTION 1: SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT STORY
Two people can stand in the same place, see the same problem, and walk away with two completely different stories. Where in your life have you noticed that your perspective changed the way you experienced a situation?
FOLLOW-UP PROMPTS:
- What emotions or thoughts did you have when you faced that situation?
- Did your outlook change over time – and what caused that shift?
- How might God be inviting you to see your current challenges differently?
SCRIPTURE TIE-IN:
Numbers 13:30-33 – “The twelve spies saw the same land, but only Joshua and Caleb saw it through faith.”
QUESTION 2: WHAT LENS ARE YOU LOOKING THROUGH?
We often see life through one of three lenses – fear-based, flesh-based, or faith-based. Which lens do you most often slip into when things get difficult, and how can you begin to shift towards a faith-based perspective?
FOLLOW-UP PROMPTS
- What triggers fear or self-reliance for you?
- How do you recognize when you’re relying on your own strength instead of God’s
- What helps you refocus on God’s power rather than your limitations?
SCRIPTURE TIE-IN:
2 Corinthians 5:7 – “We live by faith, not by sight.”
QUESTION 3: MAGNIFY GOD, NOT GIANTS
You heard Pastor Jeremy say, “What you magnify determines what you move towards.” What “Giants” in your life have been stealing focus, and how can you choose to magnify God instead?
FOLLOW-UP PROMPTS:
- How does focusing on the problem affect your peace or faith?
- What practices help you magnify God – worship, prayer, community, Scripture?
- Can you recall a time when shifting your focus back to God changed your outlook?
SCRIPTURE TIE-IN:
Psalms 34:3 – “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
QUESTION 4: REFRAMING THE VALLEY
Michelle Williams shared that her valley wasn’t proof of God’s absence – it was an invitation to walk closer with Him. How can a “valley season” actually draw you nearer to God instead of pushing you away?
FOLLOW-UP PROMPTS:
- What lessons or growth have come from past valley season?
- How does remembering God’s faithfulness in the past give you strength now?
- What does it look like for you to walk with God in your current valley?
SCRIPTURE TIE-IN:
Psalms 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
QUESTION 5: THE PROMISE STILL STANDS
“The territory may change, but the promise doesn’t.” Where in your life do you need to be reminded that God’s promise still stands, even when the path looks different than you expected?
FOLLOW-UP PROMPTS:
- How can you hold on to faith when life doesn’t match your plan?
- What past examples remind you that God has always been faithful?
- How can our group encourage each other to keep believing when things get tough?
SCRIPTURE TIE-IN:
Hebrews 10:23 – “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.”