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• This message is about one of the kingdom parables of Christ.
• The foundational kingdom parable is the Parable of the Builders on Rock and on Sand.
• That parable teaches that we're to be anchored in the rock to withstand the storms we'll face.
  - Illustration: Palmer tells of learning at driving school what to do if you're at a stop sign and see a car careening toward you: You step on the brakes as hard as you can, for when you're solid, you can better withstand the impact.

• Much of the parable is the same in both accounts.
• In Matthew 25, it's called the Parable of the Talents and in Luke 19 it's the Parable of the Pounds.
• These parables tell us something of what God's kingdom will be like.
• The first two servants are praised, the third is chastised.

• The king is coming back.
• God entrusts different gifts to different workers.
• All the workers are judged, and the one judged most sternly is, surprise, not the one who did something wild or profligate but the one who, out of fear, did nothing.
• Faithfulness is rewarded with greater responsibility, irresponsibility with punishment.
  - Illustration: College football players work hard to make the first team so they'll be able to work harder during games on Saturdays.
• God will hold us accountable for what we do with our talents, our abilities, our opportunities, our lives.

• We must examine how we are investing our talents, our time and our lives.