IDEA: "Talents" aren't talents. TEXT: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents beside them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' " (Matthew 25:14-23).

PURPOSE: To help listeners think about what Jesus means when He talks about "talents."

Have you ever been in a talent show? Where? What was it like? For some of us, it was always part of being at summer camp.

When people think of a "talent," what comes to their minds?

In Matthew 25:14-23, Jesus has a great deal to say in a parable about talents. Do you think our camp experiences could lead us astray?

I. What is a talent?

In Palestine, the talent wasn't a skill or a coin. It was a weight.

For example, in Revelation 16:21, we read of hailstones measuring a "talent." That was about 100 pounds.

The value of a "talent" depended on the kind of metal that was weighed: copper, silver or gold. It came to be used as a unit of coinage backed by precious metal.

It would take an ordinary worker more than 20 years to earn one talent. In today's money, a talent would be worth about half a million dollars.

The word talent today has come to mean "mental or artistic aptitude."

Our word developed out of the way the word was used in the ancient world and in this parable in the Bible.

II. Why do you think, when Jesus made up His story, He used money as a symbol for what these men invested?

We talk about money as a living thing: "money talks."

We talk about investing money in order to see it grow.

Whatever Jesus is talking about, it's something that is vital to us