Maybe more than any other way, humans understand our reality through story. We just spent 31 weeks journeying together through The Story, an abridged version of the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. The last 7 weeks, we’ve been working our way through the Parables of Jesus; story was his most preferred method of communicating the Kingdom he was ushering in, to the…
After Jesus presented the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, He did something unexpected and rare. He declared the story’s meaning in a clear memorable statement: God humbles the proud and exalts the humble. Have you ever wondered how to grow in humility? In this message you will discover answers to questions like: What is humility? How does God reward the humble? Why does humility rule in the Kingdom of God? and How can we cultivate humble hearts?
Like detours on a trip, redirecting our time to serve someone in need can be frustrating. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus reminds us that, though we cannot serve everyone in need, we each can serve at least one. When we do, we embark on an unknown journey that may get messy. Yet, these types of detours are tangible opportunities to abide in Christ and join in his vision and prayer for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven.
Life is difficult and the closing move in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount reminds us of this sober reality. In this teaching, known as The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders, we discover that while Jesus does not remove the challenges from His students, He does present a way to prevail through them. This way is a lifelong mentoring relationship with our living instructor that includes listening to Him and then doing what He says.
Do you ever wonder how some people are able to gladly sacrifice so much to honor God and love others? If we could discover their fuel for joyful obedience maybe we could do the same. In these twin parables Jesus reveals that there is a treasure available to all of us that is so wonderful that any sacrifices made to get it…
The Prodigal Son just may be the best short story ever told. It’s incredibly concise, yet has both deep sorrow and joy in the midst of scandal and strained relationships. As we look at each of the story’s three characters in succession, it’s obvious that the one thing even more extravagant than the younger son’s self-indulgence, is the Father’s self-sacrificing love. Yet it’s all lost on the older son at the end of the story, and his reaction exposes our tendency to…
Do you ever get frustrated with God because He doesn’t work in ways you think He should? Do you ever wish God would do more to remove evil and darkness as well as violent and evil doers? If so, you are not alone. Apparently Jesus’ first followers felt this way as well. In this 2nd message from the parables of Jesus we discover what Jesus knew about God’s wise, though perplexing, plan as well as His extravagant patience in carrying it out.
Today we begin a new series looking at some of Jesus’ parables. A parable is a story that serves as an analogy for important eternal realities. In this message from the Parable of the Sower we discover that Jesus came to broadcast an eternal kind of life for us now. We also are challenged to both receive Jesus’ offer for life overflowing and to share it with others.
The inventor, Charles Kettering said, “My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.” The Christian’s ultimate hope is in the return of Jesus and the events that will soon follow. In this final message in The Story we celebrate several reasons to long for Christ’s return and a couple of practical ways to fan our anticipation.
As we near the end of our journey through The Story we come to Paul’s final days. Fortunately, as Paul departed he also imparted final words to Timothy and to all who tend to be timid and cautious in sharing the gospel with others. In this message unbelievers receive encouraging words to believe the gospel and believers receive Paul’s final words to help us grow in gospel courage.