Call number
Publication
Chicago : Moody Press, 1983.
Physical description
227 p.; 22 cm
Notes
From the Preface
When I began preaching on the parables of Jesus at Tenth Presbyterian Church in the winter of 1980-81, I had no intention of reducing the sermons to written form. In fact, the opposite was the case. I had gone through a difficult year at the church and was looking for a sermon series that could be prepared and preached without unusual amounts of extra work and could then be forgotten. Instead, I found myself enraptured by the parables and eager to treat them in as comprehensive a manner as possible.
I found that others were being blessed by them. One young man had been sitting through the morning and evening services for years. He had a church background and had joined the church some time before, giving a credible profession of faith. But as he listened to the expositions he began to sense that, in spite of his profession of faith, all was not well with his soul. He knew the right doctrines and could say the right words, but there had been no real changes in his life. One Sunday evening, after the exposition of one of the parables of salvation, the wife of one of my assistants asked him if he had committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ and if he really was born again. When he replied that he had not, and was not, she had the opportunity to lead him to personal faith.
That is what the parables of Jesus do, perhaps more than any comparable portion of Scripture. Other sections of the Bible give us grand theology. Some move us to grateful response to God. But the parables break through mere words and make us ask whether there has indeed been any real difference in our lives. Isn't that what we should expect, since the parables come from the lips of Jesus? No one was ever better than Jesus at getting through pretense to reality.
CONTENTS
.
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
1. The Seed and the Soil (Matthew 13:1-23)
2. The Work of the Enemy (Matthew 13: 24-43)
3. People of the Kingdom (Matthew 13: 44-46)
4. God's Kingdom Consummated (Matthew 13: 47-52)
PARABLES OF SALVATION.
5. A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin, a Lost Son (Luke 15:1-32)
6. Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16)
7. Come to the Banquet (Matthew 22: 1-14)
8. The Narrow Door of Salvation (Luke 13: 22-30)
9. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18: 9-14)
PARABLES OF WISDOM AND FOLLY.
10. Five Foolish Women and Their Friends (Matthew 25: 1-13)
11. The Rich Fool (Luke 12: 13-21)
12. A Shrewd Man of the World (Luke 16:1-9)
13. Wise and Foolish Builders (Luke 6: 46-49)
PARABLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
14. A Tale of Two Sons (Mattew 21: 28-32)
15. Two Stories About Lamps (Luke 8:16-18; 11:33-36)
16. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37)
17. On Not Giving Up (Luke 11: 5-13; 18:1-8)
18. On Being Thankful (Luke 7: 36-50)
PARABLES OF JUDGMENT.
19. A Wretched Man's Wretched End (Matthew 18: 21-35).
20. The Wicked Trustee (Matthew 21: 33-46)
21. Unprofitable Servants and Unprofitable Goats (Matthew 25:14-46)
22. The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31)
When I began preaching on the parables of Jesus at Tenth Presbyterian Church in the winter of 1980-81, I had no intention of reducing the sermons to written form. In fact, the opposite was the case. I had gone through a difficult year at the church and was looking for a sermon series that could be prepared and preached without unusual amounts of extra work and could then be forgotten. Instead, I found myself enraptured by the parables and eager to treat them in as comprehensive a manner as possible.
I found that others were being blessed by them. One young man had been sitting through the morning and evening services for years. He had a church background and had joined the church some time before, giving a credible profession of faith. But as he listened to the expositions he began to sense that, in spite of his profession of faith, all was not well with his soul. He knew the right doctrines and could say the right words, but there had been no real changes in his life. One Sunday evening, after the exposition of one of the parables of salvation, the wife of one of my assistants asked him if he had committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ and if he really was born again. When he replied that he had not, and was not, she had the opportunity to lead him to personal faith.
That is what the parables of Jesus do, perhaps more than any comparable portion of Scripture. Other sections of the Bible give us grand theology. Some move us to grateful response to God. But the parables break through mere words and make us ask whether there has indeed been any real difference in our lives. Isn't that what we should expect, since the parables come from the lips of Jesus? No one was ever better than Jesus at getting through pretense to reality.
CONTENTS
.
PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
1. The Seed and the Soil (Matthew 13:1-23)
2. The Work of the Enemy (Matthew 13: 24-43)
3. People of the Kingdom (Matthew 13: 44-46)
4. God's Kingdom Consummated (Matthew 13: 47-52)
PARABLES OF SALVATION.
5. A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin, a Lost Son (Luke 15:1-32)
6. Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16)
7. Come to the Banquet (Matthew 22: 1-14)
8. The Narrow Door of Salvation (Luke 13: 22-30)
9. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18: 9-14)
PARABLES OF WISDOM AND FOLLY.
10. Five Foolish Women and Their Friends (Matthew 25: 1-13)
11. The Rich Fool (Luke 12: 13-21)
12. A Shrewd Man of the World (Luke 16:1-9)
13. Wise and Foolish Builders (Luke 6: 46-49)
PARABLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
14. A Tale of Two Sons (Mattew 21: 28-32)
15. Two Stories About Lamps (Luke 8:16-18; 11:33-36)
16. The Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37)
17. On Not Giving Up (Luke 11: 5-13; 18:1-8)
18. On Being Thankful (Luke 7: 36-50)
PARABLES OF JUDGMENT.
19. A Wretched Man's Wretched End (Matthew 18: 21-35).
20. The Wicked Trustee (Matthew 21: 33-46)
21. Unprofitable Servants and Unprofitable Goats (Matthew 25:14-46)
22. The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31)