Luke 7:36-50
Have You Miscalculated Your Indebtedness? Every one of us likes stories, and Jesus was a storyteller par excellence. It just so happens that the first parable I am going to tackle is a parable about two debtors, but that is where the connection with last Sunday stops. Missionary aviation is a field of service that for the past fifty years has enabled the gospel to penetrate the most remote areas of the third world. About six years ago I left the southernmost…
Luke 12:13-21
The Rich Fool Last Fall we examined a very strange parable from the mouth of Jesus as found in Luke 16:1-9–the story of a man who used his money to buy friends. While the man himself was a scoundrel, Jesus presents him as a positive example of what Christians should do in one area of their lives–invest their money in friends. The particular kind of friends Jesus is concerned about are those who will welcome us into Heaven, i.e., people who have become…
Luke 14:25-35
Come at All Cost, But Count the Cost I love odd-numbered years–because there are no national elections. I never cease to be amazed at the fact that so many politicians in our country, of both major parties, are so willing to tell people whatever they want to hear: lower taxes, inflation, and crime rates; higher Social Security checks, farm prices, and employment. Anyone teetering on the brink of indecision is wooed by grandiose promises of less work, more money, and a happier…
Luke 16:19-31
Rich Man, Poor Man: Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Our Scripture text for today comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verses 19-31. This whole chapter is about money. It opens with the parable about the Shrewd Manager–a parable we studied together last October and which is one of the chapters in the free book we offered you at the Debt Elimination table in June. If you didn’t receive one, it is still available at the Welcome Center. Jesus’ point in…
Luke 11:1-13
God Doesn’t Read Junk Mail: Parable of the Midnight Caller I remember some of the strangest things about my childhood. One clear recollection has to do with my duty of taking out the trash and burning it in the fifty gallon barrel in the back yard of our home in St. Louis. In those days the garbage man only picked up garbage; everything else was burned. On this particular day as I was emptying a wastebasket ,I noticed four or five unopened letters…
Luke 19:11-27
What Is Your Investment Strategy? The Parable of the Ten Minas We are enjoying a very strong economy right now. Incomes are rising, jobs are generally plentiful, and the stock market is strong. No one knows where it all might go in the coming months, but I can promise you one thing–it won’t last forever. The wise person will be investing his resources now, with a view to an uncertain future. What is your investment strategy? In a powerful and convicting parable–His last before the…
Luke 14:1-24
Table Talk: Parables about Banquet Invitations Suppose you invite a couple hundred guests to a sit-down reception at your daughter’s wedding. In the middle of the meal one of them does something really offensive to everyone else, but instead of apologizing he begins to criticize the other guests, then he turns and rebukes you as the host for not inviting the right kind of guests. And suppose he goes even further and tells a story that implies that you and most of your friends are…
Luke 12:54-13:5
What Do You Do When the Good Guys Don’t Win? The Parable of the Weatherman One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Last Lord’s Day I preached to you; today I want to reason with you. Last week we explored the events of 9/11/01 from the perspective…
Matthew 21:28-32
A Supper Parable The parable I have chosen today is best known as The Parable of the Two Sons. I’m not thinking of the Prodigal Son and his Elder Brother. That is undoubtedly Jesus’ most famous story; the parable I want to talk about may be His least known. The Prodigal was Jesus’ longest parable; this is one of the shortest. However, the story I want us to examine today also has some striking similarities to the longer and more famous parable. Both brothers in both of…
Hebrews 1:1-3
The Great Communicator I clearly remember the presidential campaign of 1964, the first time I was able to vote. I was in college and very interested in politics. Lyndon Johnson was from my home state of Texas, but to me he was the epitome of the big-spending, big-government liberal. I became an avid supporter of Barry Goldwater. I read his speeches, watched him on TV, attended a huge rally for him at the War Memorial in Kansas City, and even got to shake his hand. Goldwater was a really good communicator. Who will ever…
Hebrews 1:4-14
Seen Any Angels Lately? We launched a new study series last Lord’s Day on the New Testament book of Hebrews, a book whose goal is to urge believers on to maturity and whose theme is the absolute supremacy of Christ. There is an argument going on in the book of Hebrews, and each week builds on what comes before it. If you have to miss a week, I want to encourage you to go to the website and pick up what you…
Hebrews 1:4-2:4
Angels Are Son Worshipers Last Lord’s Day we read Hebrews 1 and learned that the author’s principal point is that “as great as angels are, Jesus Christ is vastly superior.” We also observed that in order to grasp his argument fully we needed to have a truly biblical understanding of angels. So instead of jumping headlong into the argument, we examined all that the Bible teaches about angels–their existence, their nature, their number and organization, their ministry to God, to Jesus Christ,…