SERIES SUMMARY
Someone has said that Jesus was not a theologian; he was God who told stories. And what marvelous stories he told, with layer upon layer of meaning. Like other storytellers, Jesus had an agenda, things he wanted us to see: the nature of God, the plot of salvation, the ways of heaven. By couching these things in stories he made it possible for everyone to peer into them, whether children, skeptics or scholars. They are a doorway into the kingdom of God. But they are also the inner chamber, where its deepest secrets are hidden.
The Parable of the Sower | Week 1
Like many who heard the parables for the first time, we can be “ever hearing but never understanding;,” (Matt 13:14) and the surest way to do it is try to understand, for the parables are not something to be merely
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector | Week 2
In this brief story, Jesus shows us how to enter the kingdom of God, not as one who is accomplished or as one who is better than others, but as one seeking mercy. The paradox of the Christian life is
The Parable of the Mustard Seed and Yeast | Week 3
Like a mustard seed, the kingdom of God is small but powerful; like yeast it is hidden but active, causing everything around it to rise. It disrupts. It transforms. It changes whatever it permeates. As people of the kingdom, we
The Parable of the Bridesmaids and Talents | Week 4
In these two parables is the balance between being ready for the next world, while remaining active in this one. While it has always been true that those who thought the most of heaven did the most on earth, we
The Parable of the Sheep and Goats | Week 5
Just as we are to be always compelling more to come into the kingdom, we are to show compassion to those are the least, to the untouchables, to those marked or damaged by life. But how do we serve those
The Parable of the Vineyard Workers | Week 6
This is a troubling story for us because we imagine that we are those who came into the kingdom first. Because of this, we often have an entitlement mentality, assuming that God “owes” us success or favor because of how
The Parable of the Friend at Midnight | Week 7
While we wait for the kingdom of God, we are called to pray for in prayer we build the rails which allow the kingdom to come. In prayer, we learn that there are limits to our work; there are things
The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds | Week 8
In this parable we learn that the kingdom of God, like wheat, grows alongside the world (weeds) it will someday overcome. As people of the kingdom, we are not to (1) disentangle from the world, or to (2) overpower it
The Parable of the Treasure and the Pearl | Week 9
The kingdom of God is so rare, and so valuable, that we should surrender everything we have to possess it. Only those who put everything they have into the kingdom will experience its full value.