2020 SERMON OUTLINEchapter in the book of Matthew is found the parable of the talents. In that parable the recipients of talents are judged by what they did with what they were given.

2020 SERMON OUTLINE

Going ….To The Least of These…. Through EBO

Matthew 25:40 CSB, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

To The Least of These is the 2020 theme for the Kentucky Missions Emphasis which is comprised of two components: Season of Prayer for Kentucky Missions and the Eli-za Broadus Offering. During this special season, Kentucky WMU, Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC), KBC Missionaries and unique ministries involved in spreading the spreading the gospel and compassion ministries across the commonwealth are since-rely grateful for your leadership and support.

As a pastor, we recognize you as the lead missions mobilizer and guide to your members in leading them make disciples of Jesus in Kentucky and throughout the world. As you highlight the needs of and advocate for engagement in missions, more people will be led to follow this call to pray, learn, to give and to go.

To help organize the content for your sermon on Kentucky Missions, you’re invited to: 1. Visit kywmu.org/ebo to understand how you and your church can join the missions.

2. Familiarize yourself with the Eliza Broadus Offering resources for information about the ministries and work supported by the offering.

3. Select videos to show during worship that will demonstrate the mission work and add support to your sermon. Go to kywmu.org/ebo to download your videos.

4. Use the following outline as a guide in preparing your sermon for this year’s missions emphasis. Incorporate personal illustrations from your church’s missions experience and stories from this year’s featured ministry areas.

Note to Pastors

Dear Kentucky Baptist Pastor, Thank you for your faithful ministry and thank you for considering collecting the Eliza Broadus Offering for State Missions (EBO) this year under the theme of, “The Least of These”. The Eliza Broadus Offering focuses on ministry and missions in Kentucky.When your church gives to the Eliza Broadus Offering you are touching thousands and thousands of lives in Jesus’ name:

• You are funding church planting in some of the most rural parts of our state

• You are helping international college students hear the gospel and become disciples

of Jesus

• You are helping our state organize for evangelism effectiveness

• You are ministering to folks through the Louisville Rescue Mission

• You are helping fund ethnic ministry

• You are also helping Kentucky Baptists minister to our bi-vocational pastors and their spouse

• And much, much more

Jesus told us in Matthew 25:40 that when we minister to the least of these brothers and sister of His that we are actually ministering to Him. Thank you once again for your faithful service to Christ by serving His church. Thank you also for considering the Eliza Broadus Offering for State Missions.

Blessings to you,

Todd Gray, Executive Director-Treasurer for The Kentucky Baptist [email protected], (270) 889-4276

Sermon Emphasis and Outline

2020 Theme: To the Least of These

Scripture Reference: Matthew 25:40 CSB, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Scripture Context: The verse above comes from the larger passage of Scripture, Mat-thew 25:31-46, where Jesus is instructing His disciple concerning His second coming. When Jesus returns there will be a judgement in which He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Our verse depicts the identifying mark of those who will inherit the kingdom prepared for them.

Sermon Title: The Bottom Line

Introduction:

I love bottom line statements. I also like to give direction which means I am often direct and sometimes too direct. The Kentucky Baptist Convention Mission Board Staff members annually complete a personal performance evaluation document each year and then schedule a meeting for an annual performance review with their direct su-pervisor. One year, when Dr. Paul Chitwood was my supervisor, I was enjoying my

annual performance review meeting with him. We had gone through the parts where he complemented my work, asked questions about future goals and objectives, and it was time for him to give some critique of my performance. He only said one thing; “sometimes you are too harsh.” He then went on to say, “surely your wife and children have told you this before.” I had to laugh when he told me because I am aware that I am often direct, and sometimes too direct, and that practice can seem harsh. His bo-ttom-line statement helped me recognize this sometime unappreciated tendency and curbed that unfortunate practice – at least a little.

In Matthew 25:40 Jesus is giving a bottom-line statement. He is telling his disciples who will and will not inherit the kingdom. Notice three things about this statement:

I. Jesus Sees Our Work: Every child wants their work to be seen by the adults they love. Whether it is a three year old who has stacked blocks to form a tower, a seven year old who has drawn a picture of the family, or a ten year old mastering a free-throw shot, every child wants someone to look at and notice their work. Adults are no different. I recently built a decorative fence around a portion of our home’s patio. I did this for my wife and when finished I wanted her to see it. While I did not say the words out loud, I did act them out in my heart. I was saying, “Look at my work.”

In Mathew 25:40, Jesus is acknowledging that He sees the work of His people. No-tice two things about what Jesus sees. Jesus sees what was done to serve His people. He acknowledges in verse 40 that the work in question of clothing, visiting, feeding, and more was work done for His brothers and sisters. While all good work matters Jesus is specifically referencing good work that was done for His people. Jesus also sees that this work was done for him. He says that when we do acts of Christian ser-vice for His people, we are doing it for him.

Hence the question: What are you doing to serve Christ by serving His people? Are you leading in worship or singing in the choir or praise team to help God’s people worship Him? Are you preaching the sermon that will feed and encourage the flock? Are you visiting the aging saints at the nursing home, or caring for persecuted Chris-tians in other countries, or helping believing refugees with basic physical needs? If so, this is work that Jesus sees.

One way we can serve Jesus by caring, “for the least of these brothers and sisters” of His is by giving to ministry and missions through the Eliza Broadus Offering (EBO). Proceeds from the EBO are used to serve God’s people in a multitude of ways. These funds help church planters plant churches in rural parts of our state, they help interna-tional college students hear the gospel, and among other things, they help fund mer-cy ministry across Kentucky. So, Jesus sees our work. But not only does Jesus see our work, He also evaluates our work.

II. Jesus Evaluates Our Work: I never really liked school. I enjoyed the so-cial aspects but not the work part. However, due to God’s calling on my life, I have gone on after high school to complete three additional degree programs. During my

time in school I have written lots of papers. I usually think they are pretty good, at least decent, pieces of work. The problem with that thinking is that my judgement is not the evaluation that counts. The only voice that really matters is that of the professor. His evaluation determines not only my grade for the class but whether I need to do addi-tional work on the assignment in question.

In Matthew 25:40 the reader quickly discovers that the only evaluation of their work that really matters is that of the King, Jesus. Jesus evaluates our work. First, He evaluates it fairly. Jesus will not judge your work based on the way another person would have or could have completed the same assignment. He evaluates our work in a way that is fair. He will also evaluate it finally. His verdict is the final verdict about your work. Others may have an opinion about your service to God but the only voice that matters is that of Christ. He will also evaluate your work based on faithfulness. Did you do what God asked you to do? Did you do it by faith? Did you do it faithfully? In the same chapter in the book of Matthew is found the parable of the talents. In that parable the recipients of talents are judged by what they did with what they were given. In verse 23 we hear the words that every true follower of Jesus long to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23b). Jesus will evaluate whether we were faithful with what we were given.

Based on this truth every Christian must ask themselves the following questions: Am I faithful with my spiritual gifts? Am I being faithful with my time? Am I being faithful with my finances? Am I being faithful with my friends and family? Am I being faithful with my assignment? Jesus wants me to serve the body of Christ. This is indicated in the use of the phrase, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren” (Matthew 25:40b). Therefore, every true follower of Jesus must ask and answer, before it is too late to make a change, am I using all that God has given me to serve the least in the body of Christ?

III. Jesus Identifies His People by Their Work: One of the most interes-ting parts about this verse is the implication it holds. While our works themselves do not save us, they do identify those who are saved. In verse 34 Jesus invites a group of people to enter the kingdom prepared for them by His Father. In verse 40 He explains that the ones who have done the things mentioned in verses 35-39 are the ones who will receive the kingdom. Again, we are not saved by our works. Ephesians 2:8-10 makes that fact abundantly clear. But while we are not saved by our works, we are saved for works and those works identify who belongs to him and who does not. This is no small matter.

Just as DNA identifies who is and who is not of a family, service to the body of Christ is the DNA of the people of God. Those who are born again through faith in Christ will be identified by the service they provide, “for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine”, says Jesus.

Conclusion: So, what about you; are you one of His people? It is not a profes-sion of faith that saves us but the possession of saving faith. The faith that saves is a

faith that reveals itself in service to others, especially the least of these fellow followers of Christ. Is yours a faith in the finished work of Christ that cares for the least of these? If it is then you can anticipate hearing Jesus identify you as one of His own people.

As a pastor, and now working with a state convention of churches, I have witnessed extraordinary acts of Christian service. Why do people give generously, serve faithfu-lly, and live sacrificially? They do it not for the applause of man, or the glory that may accompany the act, or even the feeling of doing good for another. They do it because of who they are – followers of the risen Savior. Until He returns may He find each of us daily living out the Christian faith that has us serving the least of these brothers and sisters of His.

About the Author

Todd Gray, Executive Director-Treasurer for The Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Todd is the youngest son of Sidney and Cookie Gray. He was born and raised in Lyon County, Kentucky and graduated from Lyon County High School in 1982. He went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in marketing at Murray State University in 1987. After graduation, Todd went to work as a salesman in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was while living in Indianapolis he received the Lord and surrendered to the Gos-pel Ministry. Todd served as senior pastor of three separate churches over a period of twenty years in Kentucky and Indiana, most recently at First Baptist Church of Oak Grove. He has completed both Masters of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.

In July of 2012, he began work with the Kentucky Baptist Convention as a Regional Consultant in the West Kentucky region. In October of 2016 he transitioned to the role of Team Leader for Evangelism, Church Planting, and Collegiate Ministry for KBC. In July of 2019, Todd was elected by the KBC Mission Board to become the Executive Director-Treasurer.

Todd is married to Connie, his wife of twenty-five years, and is the father of two adult daughters.