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 Parables November 12, 2007 |
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Why Do You Speak in Parables?
by Damian Phillips Matthew 13:10-17 Apparently parables were very important storytelling devices to Jesus, for he spoke in them quite frequently in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Fourteen percent of Matthew is composed of parables, Mark contains seven percent, and the parables in Luke comprise 18 percent. How useful are parables in helping one to understand the truth behind the words that a person speaks? Full Sermon » 
What Parables Reveal About You
by Dean Shriver Matthew 13:1-23 In the Bible Jesus says, “I came to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus came to proclaim good news to the captives. Jesus came to reveal the truth about God. Jesus came to be light in a dark world. But what if I told you that it’s not quite as simple as that? What if I told you that there’s another side to Jesus’ ministry? What if I told you that, in certain situations, Jesus didn’t come to reveal the truth? Instead, he came to hide the truth? What if I told you that at certain times Jesus purposely declared God’s truth in a way He knew most people wouldn’t understand? Full Sermon » 
The Purpose of Parables
by Brian La Croix 1 John 3:11-24 Have you heard the parable about the three athletes? Three athletes are about to be executed. One is a short, dark-haired hockey player; one is a bald-headed tennis player, and the third is a tall blond soccer player. The guard brings the dark-haired hockey player forward and the executioner asks if he has any last-minute requests. He replies “No”, so the executioner sets him up and then turns and shouts to the firing squad: “Ready! Aim…” Full Sermon » 
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
by John Hamby Luke 10:25-37 “At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, 28-year-old …(Kitty) Genovese was returning to her home in a nice middle-class area of Queens, NY…. She parked her ….(car) in a nearby parking lot, turned off the lights and started the walk to her second floor apartment some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. Full Sermon » 
The Parable of the Sower, the Seed and the Soils
by Owen Bourgaize Matthew 13:1-23 The first recorded parable of Jesus is the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), but it’s equally the story of the seed and the soils. Earlier that day he’d had a confrontation with the Pharisees and religious lawyers about his claim to be the Son of Man and the great gulf that separated them from God’s Kingdom. They could not bring themselves to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Full Sermon » |
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A Modern Account of the Persistent Widow
The Associated Press carried an interesting story about a group of post office customers who succeeded in speeding up some slow-moving service. One man said, “It was like watching grass grow.” There were 26 patrons jammed into two lines. They realized they weren’t getting enough attention, so a 73-year-old man organized the group. In an uncommon show of unity, the 26 shouted together, “We want service!” Two minutes later, another clerk ambled out and without cracking a smile said, “Next?” Well, the 26 knew they were on to something, so they tried it again. You guessed it, one more clerk appeared. An amused customer summed up the situation like this: “I got through that line in 4 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it!” In some ways this is a modern version of our parable of the Persistent Widow. Source: Ed Wood
In Need of a Shepherd
There is an Old English shepherd’s term called a "cast" sheep. This is a sheep that has turned over on its back and can’t get back up again. It happens frequently. And when it happens, all the sheep can do is lie on its back, with its feet flaying frantically in the air. Sometimes it will bleat, but usually it will just kick. If the shepherd doesn’t arrive within a short time, the sheep will die. That’s one of the reasons why a shepherd is always looking over his flock, counting them to see if they are all on their feet. If one is missing, he thinks, "One of my sheep is cast and I’ve got to find it." This is the thought behind the parable of the 99 sheep and the one that went astray.
A Parable of the Cheering Spectators
The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire raced through the whole building and the fun-loving audience with it. "And so," concluded Kierkegaard, "will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators." Source: Soren Kierkegaard | Contributed By : Sandra Jean Pathik
Light in the Well
Bible teacher A.T. Pierson tells about a new convert to Christ who had a strange dream in which he was trapped down a very deep well in the night. He looked up and saw a single star shining far above him, and it seemed to let down lines of silver light that took hold upon him and lifted him up. Then he looked down, and he began to go down. He looked up, and he began to go up; he looked down and began to descend again. He found that by simply keeping his eye on that star, he rose out of that well until his foot stood on the firm ground. The dream was a parable, Dr. Pierson said. “Get your eyes off yourself and on your Savior, get them off your disease and on your physician... Now and here, turn your eyes to the Lord Jesus.” Contributed by: Greg Yount
The Parable of the Silver Covering
There’s an old fable about a miserable rich man who went to visit a rabbi. The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see?" asked the rabbi. "I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man. Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror. "Now what do you see?" "Now I see myself," the rich man replied. Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, but you see only yourself. Source: Steven Dow |
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