A guide to preaching the parables that shows how to first interpret the parables, then proclaim their significance.

In Proclaiming the Parables, noted preacher and scholar Thomas G. Long moves away from past treatment of the parables primarily as literary devices and moves toward an emphasis on their theological impact as pointers to the kingdom of God. While the parables are indeed significant poetic literary creations that have enchanted readers over the centuries, their main power, he claims, lies in their disclosure of the kingdom of God, which is not merely an idea, nor even just a complex symbol with generative and centrifugal force, but an event: the inbreaking of the life of God into human history and experience. Long sees parables not merely as creative figures of speech but as GPS devices taking hearers to those places where the event of God is happening all around us. This book provides two chapters for each synoptic Gospel. The first focuses on the Gospel as a whole and the parables’ place in it, and the second provides preachers and teachers with detailed exegetical and homiletical commentary for each major parable in that Gospel. Two introductory chapters additionally situate this book in the history and theology of the parables’ interpretation and address questions that preachers have about preaching the parables. Preachers who consult this volume will be informed about each major parable, guided through the controversies regarding interpretation, and stimulated to preach on the parable in fresh, faithful, and creative ways.

James W. MooreParables slip up on us. They flip our values. They turn our world upside down. They surprise us. This is the great thing about the parables of Jesus: They are always relevant and always personal. They speak eloquently to you and me, here and now. In this book, we will examine some of Jesus’ thought-provoking parables, parables about priorities, to see if we can find ourselves and God’s truth for us in these magnificent “truth-stories.” They are, after all, truth-stories from the mind of Jesus that can change our lives as they proclaim God’s truth for you and me. —adapted from the introduction Each of the six chapters features a key passage of Scripture and is centered on a theme from one of Jesus’ parables, including The Priority of Love The Priority of Grace The Priority of Being Prepared The Priority of Courage The Priority of Forgiveness The Priority of Strong Foundations JAMES W. MOORE, popular speaker and preacher, is the author of Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses; God Was Here and I Was Out to Lunch; When Grief Breaks Your Heart; There’s a Hole in Your Soul That Only God Can Fill; and many other books. He and his wife, June, live in Fairview, Texas.

Craig Blomberg surveys the contemporary critical approaches to the parables--including those that have emerged in the twenty years since the first edition. This widely used text has taken a minority perspective and made it mainstream, with Blomberg ably defending a limited allegorical approach and offering brief interpretations of all the major parables.

A comprehensive study of Jesus's parables that emphasizes personal reflection and application Jesus's parables used familiar situations to convey deep spiritual truths in ways that are provocative and subversive of the status quo. Prayerfulness was pictured by a persistent widow. The joy of salvation in the homecoming of a lost son. Love of neighbor by a marginalized Samaritan. If we're not careful, we can easily miss details in the parables that reveal their subtle meanings as well as their contemporary relevance. Drawing on scholarship on the parables as well as theological, pastoral, and practical insights, Douglas Webster guides the reader through each of Jesus's parables, pointing out the important nuances that allow us to understand them and be transformed by them. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter can be used for personal or group study, and an appendix for pastors provides guidance for preaching the parables. Pastors, Bible teachers, and serious students of Scripture will find this tour through Jesus's parabolic teaching to be a feast for both the mind and the soul.

Here in one volume is Robert Farrar Capon's widely praised trilogy on Jesus' parables — The Parables of the Kingdom, The Parables of Grace, and The Parables of Judgment. These studies offer a fresh, adventurous look at all of Jesus' parables, treated according to their major themes. With the same authorial flair and daring insight that have earned him a wide readership, Capon admirably bridges the gap between the biblical world and our own, making clear both the original meaning of the parables and their continuing relevance today.

Timeless and moral economic wisdom for life's choices and changes derived from the parables of the New Testament by famed free market advocate and Catholic priest Robert Sirico. Libraries are filled with books on the parables of Christ, and rightly so. In the words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, “While civilizations have come and gone, these stories continue to teach us anew with their freshness and their humanity.” Two millennia later, the New Testament parables remain ubiquitous, and yet, few have stopped to glean from one of Christ’s most prevalent analogies: money. In The Economics of the Parables, Rev. Robert Sirico pulls back the veil of modernity to reveal the timeless economic wisdom of the parables. Thirteen central stories—including “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” “The Rich Fool,” “The Five Talents,” and “The Faithful Steward”—serve as his guide, revealing practical lessons in caring for the poor, stewarding wealth, distributing inheritances, navigating income disparities, and resolving family tensions. As contemporary as any business manual and sure to outlast them, The Economics of the Parables equips any economically informed reader to uncover the enduring financial truths of the parables in a reasonable, sensible, and life-empowering manner.