Motive Matters
When reading the Parable of the Talents, it’s easy to applaud the first two servants for their wise investments and frown upon the third servant for the misuse of his gift. However, upon examining his motive, we can see that his actions are understandable—and even relatable.
In Matthew 25:24-25, the third servant explained, “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.”
He buried what was entrusted to him because he was afraid. His motive was fear. He bought into fear because it was convenient ("...hid your talent in the ground") and safe ("Here, you have what is yours"). But in reality, it cost him everything and delivered the toughest punishment ("...throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" [v. 30]).
Where did this fear come from? The fault lies in the servant’s perception of the master. The Message paraphrase provides a detailed account of this viewpoint: “Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent’ (v. 24-25).
Oftentimes, we view God the same way. We don’t want to disappoint God, so we take on the day ourselves and play it safe. But just as the master gave one thousand talents to the fearful servant—the amount dependent on his work ethic (v. 15)—God still calls us in His love to partner with Him in building His Kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:9).
God is love, and with love, there is no room for fear. God's perfect love casts out all fear because fear deals with punishment (1 John 4:18). And God is not quick to punish (Psalms 145:8). In fact, He sacrificed His Son so He won’t have to punish us, washing away our sins with Jesus’ sinless blood (1 Peter 2:24).
For the next few minutes, sit in a quiet place and close your eyes or write in a journal to reflect on your perception of God. Invite God to show you how it ties to any fears you have. Then surrender those fears to God and allow Him to wash you over in His perfect love—your new motive to use the skills, possessions, and opportunities He has entrusted to you for His Kingdom (Philippians 1:6).
Christina Chaiban
EFCC Attender
Show me your Faith
Jesus began his ministry with these words, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)
My oldest son went to graduate school, so he’s smarter than me, I guess. He taught me a term I wasn’t familiar with but have come to appreciate—“Throughline” and it means a common element, theme or idea, consistently found from beginning to end of a person’s writings or teachings.
It seems, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”, is Jesus’ throughline—the thread woven throughout his ministry years on earth. It was as if he was saying, “I am King. I’m building my Kingdom. I want you in it! Repentance is step one”.
When we get to Matthew 25 and the parable of the talents, Rabbi Jesus has been teaching for many many months. He begins with a word I don’t want you to miss. “Again….” As if to say, I’ve taught this before, you’ve heard this before, I’ll say the same thing another way to make sure you understand.
“A Man” had “servants” he trusted with “talents”—something of great value, and then he went away. When the man returned a long time later, his only concern was, “what did you do with what I entrusted to you?” He then judged the servants as either “good and faithful” or “wicked, lazy and worthless”. Ouch.
It reminds me of a letter written to the early church by Jesus’ little brother, James.
…Someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.
“You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did….. a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”
Jesus came preaching the Kingdom and Jesus came seeking faith-filled followers. At the close of another parable, in Luke 18 Jesus is spurring his disciples on to faith in prayer. He says, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Brothers and sisters, servants of the King, may we be faithful with Jesus—the gift God has entrusted to us. Your Savior is your greatest treasure. Will you speak of Him today? Will you share this precious possession with others? When “the Man” returns will he call us “good and faithful”?
Donielle Winter
EFCC Member
Her Story: She Did What She Could
(Mark 14:3–9)
On the inside cover of my grandfather’s Bible, which sits in my office, it reads: “Presented to Philip S. Barker Jr. by Emmanuel Faith Community Church Sunday School, July 1941.”
That inscription tells a story — a story of faith rooted in a young man’s life before he joined the Navy in World War II. I keep that Bible as a reminder of my Grandpa, but also of the heritage of faith I come from, which is something deeply special to me. His faith and his Bible are part of my own story, helping me take step after step with Jesus. Every time I see it, I’m reminded to hold on to God’s Word, to obey even when it’s tough, and to honor Jesus above all else.
In Mark 14:3–9, we see another story of faith — one that has inspired generations of believers to honor and prioritize Jesus, even when it’s costly. Imagine being in that room. You hear the sound of the jar breaking, smell the perfume filling the air, and sense the tension as voices begin to rise. Some people are shocked. Others are angry. But one woman quietly does something unforgettable — she anoints Jesus with expensive perfume. Whether she fully understood what she was doing or not, her act became part of the greater Gospel story. A simple act of devotion turned into something eternal.
In verse 8, Jesus says something simple and profound:
“She did what she could.”
We aren’t told much about her. We don’t know her background or how long she had followed Jesus. But what we do see is a heart that loves Him. She wasn’t worried about what others thought. She wasn’t counting the cost. She didn’t hesitate to honor her Savior.
This is what stands out to me — a simple story reminding us that faithfulness isn’t about doing everything, it’s about doing what we can with love and devotion. Are we willing to honor Jesus even when others might not understand? Even when it costs us something — time, comfort, reputation, or resources? Her story has been told for thousands of years because she placed honoring Jesus above all else.
Will you let that be part of your story too?
Jeremy Johnson
It Broke
My parents gave me a Pentax 35 mm SLR camera with two lenses as a High School graduation present. At that time, it was the nicest thing I’d ever owned. Emotionally, it's still the most precious gift I've ever received. I really got into photography. I brought my camera on a short-term mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico in order to document the trip and the VBS activities our group was doing. One day we visited a park, and a boy was fascinated by my camera. I felt a longing to let him take some photos with it, but I hesitated because he was little, maybe only seven or eight years old. I had a choice to make: do what was prudent or give something precious away. At that moment, I decided that my mission was more precious than my stuff. I didn’t actually give my camera away, but I placed it in another’s hands, which risked it getting wrecked. I put the strap over the boy’s shoulders, showed him how to look through the lens, helped his fingers find the button to snap photos, and then I watched him walk away and start taking pictures. I got my camera back from him a few minutes later, and it was not damaged. This moment forever made an impression on my priorities in life, and I remembered it when reflecting on this passage.
And while he (Jesus) was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.” – Mark 14:3
Unlike my camera story, where I got it back after sharing, the woman who blessed Jesus gave her whole gift away. The Scripture says she “broke the flask”. The alabaster jar or box was sealed to keep the ointment from evaporating or crystallizing when exposed to air. The author does not use the Greek word for “open”; he uses the word “broke,” which usually means to crush, break, or shatter.
She gave Jesus a precious gift and gave it all. I offer some of what is precious to me, some of the time, and I had to think back thirty years to find a story of only moderately similar risk and sacrifice. What about you? Let’s pray about the gifts we can give and the risks we can take to demonstrate our love and trust in the Lord.
Pastor John Riley
“Waste”
Mark 14:3-5
Recently, a friend of mine moved out of state. As the week leading up to his move was concluding, I realized I’d been so busy I’d hardly spent any time with him. Before I even knew it, he was on his flight. The regret of my wasted time slowly started to creep up on me in the past few days and I wish that I’d recognized that I wouldn’t get that time back, before it was too late.
This passage and the move both have me thinking a lot about waste. After this woman broke her bottle of costly oil over Jesus — it’s labeled as a waste by the people around her. Their justification being that she should’ve sold it to benefit the poor. This reaction reveals the dichotomy between performance and posture. Her intentional offering wasn’t wasted because she beheld the living Christ and poured out her oil on Him. What mattered in this moment was not the good deed itself, it was where it came from. She was not concerned with what would make her look good or holy, she was concerned with worshipping her Savior. Her posture was one of surrender, sacrifice, and obedience.
The response from the others speaks with performative undertones and a holier-than-thou attitude. They’re convinced that this oil had a better use than being poured on Jesus. The real waste was not the broken flask, it was that these men were sitting across the table from the King of Kings and they treated it as casual. A waste of time to be in the room with Jesus, focused on the wrong things.
Sometimes, we may get so caught up in trying to be like Jesus, that we forget to behold Him. If we spend our time trying our best to serve, treat people well, and do good things, we’ve wasted our time because we missed the crucial step of beholding Jesus. If we say that we want to spend an eternity in the presence of the Lord, praising Him, do our lives on this side of heaven reflect that claim?
Lord, would you slow us down enough to sit at your feet today?
Kassie Lowe
YA Women’s Intern & Worship Leader
Love is Costly
Mark 14: 3-9
Today is Veteran’s Day. November 11th is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL who have served in the military, living or deceased, but in particular the living veterans among us. My husband is a veteran who served in the Army for twenty years. He was deployed for nine months, jointly assigned with the Navy on a ship during the Persian Gulf War. I remember putting the boys to bed and turning on CNN, the only source of news at the time, to glean some idea of where my husband was and what was happening. It was weeks before I got a handwritten letter, as he was busy coordinating all of the helicopter flights for the group of ships, and flying some himself.
Thankfully it wasn’t a long war, but lives were lost. The war claimed the lives of the first enlisted women to be killed in action, during a Scud missile attack. But Since World War I, hundreds of thousands of men and women have bravely served and lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more were injured, because they loved our country and the freedom it represented.
Familiar to all is John 15: 12-14, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you . . . “
The point is, there is a cost involved in serving to maintain our freedoms, law and order, and national security. Whether you are a fireman running into the fire on 9/11, a law enforcement officer putting their life on the line every day, or a military service member defending our country, you know the risk, but the cost is worth it.
Why did Mary pour the most expensive oil on Jesus' head and feet? Because she loved Him so much she would give Him anything to show it, and she was preparing Jesus for His sacrifice for everyone on the cross (even if she didn't realize it at the time).
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Jesus Christ was tortured and died on the cross for the sins of us ALL.
How can we practically show our love for Jesus as Mary did?
What does sacrificial love mean to you?
Father, thank you for sending your son to die for us.
Deb Hill
EFCC Member
The Gaze
Mark 14:3-9
It might have been the most awkward dinner of all time. Jesus was sitting at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a man once ostracized, now hosting a meal for Jesus the Christ. Around Him were His closest followers. I imagine that they were trying to make sense of everything He’d been saying about suffering and dying, and also trying to figure out what to do about the people who wanted to arrest him (Mk 14:1-2). Conversation buzzed, food was passed, and then suddenly, the door opened. A woman stepped in who wasn’t invited. She didn’t greet anyone, didn’t ask permission, she simply walked straight to Jesus, broke open a flask of perfume worth a year’s wages, and poured it over His head.
The room fell silent. The sweet smell of nard filled the air. Every eye turned toward her. You could feel the tension thicken, and the hum in the room was filled with whispers, judgment, and shock.
What would make someone give like that? She wasn’t pressured, guilted, or manipulated. There wasn’t a campaign, a pledge card, or a ten-step stewardship plan. This woman gave because her heart was captured. She had experienced the grace and goodness of Jesus, and once she did, her only natural response was to give Him her best. We don’t become generous people by becoming wealthy. We become generous people when Jesus captures our hearts.
Jesus once said, “A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in their heart” (Luke 6:45). In other words, whatever fills your heart eventually flows out into your life. The woman who poured perfume on Jesus didn’t give because someone told her to, she gave because love was overflowing inside her. Generosity wasn’t something she decided to do; it was something she couldn’t hold back. That’s how it works with us, too. When grace fills the heart, generosity flows from our lives. What’s stored up inside us, gratitude, love, awe, spills over in how we live, speak, and give. The heart is the spring; our hands simply carry what’s already been poured in.
When you love Jesus,
Giving becomes a joy.
Serving becomes an honor.
Sharing your faith becomes natural.
Generosity isn’t isn’t driven by guilt, it’s love in motion. It begins with a gaze… seeing Jesus, and then responding to Him.
Maybe today, ask yourself the question: has my devotion to Jesus translated into generosity to others? If not, ask Jesus to open your heart and eyes to ways to be generous today.
Pastor Ryan Paulson
Who Will Tell Them?
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)
In a small village in India, a team of believers gathered in the humble home of a Hindu family. The room was simple — made of mud walls, with a few chairs, and the smell of cooking fires drifting in from outside. As the team shared the story of Jesus — of His love, His sacrifice, and the gift of salvation — an elderly man sat quietly, listening intently.
When the message ended, he leaned forward, his voice trembling with both wonder and grief. “I’m 85 years old,” he said softly. “If you have known this truth all this time, why hasn’t anybody come to our village and shared with us until now?”
His question pierced the heart. Eighty-five years of life, and this was the first time he had ever heard the name of Jesus. His question echoes the words of Paul in Romans 10:14-15: “How can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?... As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
More than 3.5 billion people don’t have access to the gospel message. Jesus died for all people, every tribe, every nation. Yet so many still haven’t heard.
In that small house, the truth became clear — someone must go. If we don't go, who will tell them? There are countless people, like that elderly man, waiting to hear that they are loved, forgiven, and known by the living God.
Every follower of Jesus carries this good news. Maybe God is calling you to step out — to go, to speak, to bring the message of hope to those who’ve never heard. Maybe He is calling you to help send others. The first step is prayer. Pray for those who don’t know Him. Pray for more workers for the harvest. (Luke 10:2) Pray for Him to reveal what He is calling you into.
May we each have “beautiful feet” that carry the good news to the ends of the earth.
Questions for Reflection:
(1) Who first brought the good news of Jesus to you?
(2) How might God be calling you to help others hear it for the first time?
(3) What step can you take today — whether through prayer, giving, or going — to be part of bringing the gospel to those still waiting to hear?
Alli S.
Outreach Team
Unified in Worship
Easter at Emmanuel Faith in 2017 was a celebration to remember. The choir lifted their voices, the orchestra swelled, and the band played. Across four services, thousands of people gathered to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. Every note, every harmony, every hand raised was an expression of praise to the God who conquered death.
Just a week later, I found myself in Ethiopia for their Easter services, celebrated according to the Julian calendar. The setting was entirely different, yet the heart of the celebration was the same. In a small gathering of about 100 believers from two villages, the “band” consisted of a single woman banging a water jug as a drum. They sang with all their hearts, their voices rising in unity and joy to honor the risen Savior. We, the Ethiopians and the team of 18 North Americans, joined hands together and jumped and praised our Lord.
The contrast was striking. Yet in both places, the same God was being glorified. Across nations, across cultures, across languages, our Creator draws us together. Despite differences in traditions, instruments, or worship styles, we are all made in His image and called to proclaim His victory over sin and death. This is the God we serve — the God who unifies, who breaks barriers, and who invites every heart to join in celebration.
In a culture where worship often becomes more about personal preference, may the joy of believers from across the world dancing and singing to the beat of a water jug remind us that who we worship is more important than how we worship. The condition of our hearts as we come before Him matters far more than instruments, style, or production. From our global family, we can learn that worship is a response of love, gratitude, and awe — expressed in countless ways, yet always pointing to the same Savior. Their wholehearted praise challenges us to focus on the essence of worship: surrendering our hearts to God and celebrating His goodness, power, and faithfulness.
Reflection Questions:
(1) In what ways are you united with the global church in worship and mission?
(2) How can you cultivate more wholehearted, God-centered worship in your daily life?
Alli S.
Outreach Team
The Family of God
In June 2024, I was in Africa in a room packed with over 300 people from more than 50 countries. Chairs were squeezed close together, the sound system crackled, and few in the room shared a common language. The speakers alternated between English and Swahili, while groups around the room translated for one another — Egyptians in Arabic, Ethiopians in Amharic, Ugandans in Lugandan. Even if you understood the main speaker, it was nearly impossible to hear over the sea of voices. From the outside, it looked chaotic — and honestly, at times it felt that way.
But everything changed on prayer night. We entered that same crowded room, with the same broken sound system, but this time, people came together as one. Representatives processed down the aisle carrying flags from every nation present. Together, we prayed over each African country, then spread throughout the room to pray for any nation on our hearts.
What happened next was deeply moving. Men and women from across cultures prayed passionately for countries not their own. Many gathered around the American flag, asking God to bring revival to my homeland. In that moment, the flags no longer represented nationality but a shared longing for God’s Kingdom to come in every nation. Our unity wasn’t in language, culture, or homeland, but in Christ. No barrier could stand in the way of God’s family uniting in prayer.
I’ve experienced plenty of awkward cultural moments over the years, but they’re nothing compared to the warmth of meeting brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. Wherever I go, I’m reminded of this truth:
“So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household.” (Ephesians 2:19)
Reflection Questions:
(1) When have you experienced the unity of God’s family across differences in language, culture, or background?
(2) How does knowing you belong to God’s household change the way you see people who are different from you?
Anna N.
Outreach Team