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    Kingdom Parables
    Kingdom Parables
    Kingdom Parables
    Ebook121 pages2 hours

    Kingdom Parables

    By Rick Hoover

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    About this ebook

    Mark 4:30 He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?"

    Jesus used over 30 parables to teach about the Kingdom of Heaven. The images and symbols were often colorful and memorable. Just as often, the disciples were puzzled by them and asked Jesus to explain. Rick Hoover takes a slow, thoughtful tour through the symbols and their themes. You'll find extra insights into the Kingdom of Heaven, and learn where it is like things that are familiar in every day life - and where it is quite different!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPelican Wings
    Release dateMay 13, 2016
    ISBN9781311414939
    Kingdom Parables
    Author

    Rick Hoover

    I'm a retired deacon in the Episcopal Church. I served at a parish in central Florida. I've worked in radio, television and several jobs that included public relation efforts. As a Christian, I have discovered one of the things I enjoy most is spending time in a prayer closet with Jesus, learning to be still so He has space to speak. I shared about my first month as a Smashword author at my blog:https://deaconrick.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/editing-the-author/

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      Book preview

      Kingdom Parables - Rick Hoover

      Psalm 78:1 Hear my teaching, my people.

      Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.

      2 I will open my mouth in a parable.

      I will utter dark sayings of old,

      3 Which we have heard and known,

      and our fathers have told us.

      4 We will not hide them from their children,

      telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,

      his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done.

      Kingdom Parables

      by Rick Hoover

      Copyright © 2016 by Richard Hoover

      Smashwords Edition

      EBOOK ISBN: 9781311414939

      Thank you for downloading this ebook!

      If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy

      for each recipient at Smashwords.com. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Cover design: Rick Hoover

      Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible™,

      a Public Domain translation available at worldenglishbible.org.

      My thanks to the Bible Reading Fellowship. They invited me to write a series of daily

      devotionals on the Parables for their Summer 2017 issue of The Journey.

      When I finished writing these I realized that there was more I wanted to say! Herewith.

      Ezekiel 17:1 Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, tell a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel.

      Matthew 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them.

      Matthew 13:36 His disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable...

      Mark 4: 22 For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. 23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.

      DEDICATION

      While I was working on this manuscript, I saw a picture of two young friends who have been praying for me. I hear they were lighting so many prayer candles for me that their dad was afraid they would burn the church down. Then they entered a walk-a-thon on my behalf. They represent what being part of the Kingdom of Heaven means to me. I trust that, as they grow up, they will want to be permanent residents with Jesus in his Kingdom.

      With thanksgiving for all their prayers, I dedicate this book to

      Mary Clare Spake and Kathryn Spake.

      Deacon Rick

      Pentecost 2016

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      1 Starting Small

      2 Searching For Treasure

      3 God's Generosity

      4 Invitations To A Celebration

      5 Rewards

      6 How To Treat People

      7 Limited Vision

      8 Prayer and Relationships

      9 The Responsibility of Stewards

      10 The Unrevealed Mystery

      About the Author

      Introduction: What Is A Parable?

      I started work writing this book on Christmas Eve, 2015.

      As that day began, I was thinking about the different circumstances in my life on that day over the years. My thoughts quickly turned to a Christmas Eve 42 years earlier, which had been the last Christmas I was still living at home with my parents.

      My parents always had my two younger brothers and me open our Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. This year I had invited my fiancé to join us around the Christmas tree. When Melanie opened her gift from me, she found another gift ribbon and tag. She didn't know what it meant but I took the ribbon and slipped it on her wrist. Then I slipped the engagement ring on her finger. The tag on the ribbon I'd placed on her wrist said, To My Family.

      As I sat down to begin writing this book, I realized I had made Melanie into a parable that night. I was saying she was like a Christmas gift to the rest of my family. She was much more than just that, of course. Over time, we would all learn and add further labels to the rich threads of blessing we would all share in our new relationship. But saying she was like a gift was a truth that held the other blessings in promise right from the beginning.

      Mark 4:30 He was also saying, How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it? (International Standard Version)

      Bookstores carry Bibles in all sorts of translations. For English readers this is necessary because the manuscripts that make up the Bible were originally written in other languages, mostly Hebrew and Greek. Translators who offer an English translation must make a number of decisions. One of the first is whether they want to provide, on one hand, a word for word rendering of the text, or, on the other hand, a thought for thought version. Either approach can be valid. Still there are difficulties a reader needs to be aware of. A translation that is extremely literal may still introduce confusion to those not familiar with the original language. This is because the original language may make use of words in figures of speech that are not intended to be taken literally. There may be poetic images that are familiar to the speakers of the original language but are mysterious to those living in another culture or another time. The translator may need to resort to substitute images and figures of speech in order to convey the thought and message to the new audience.

      Missionaries translating the Bible face this challenge all the time. If the missionary is speaking to people who have never seen a sheep, will it mean anything to these people to say Jesus is a good shepherd?

      Jesus faced this very challenge when he tried to teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven. He wanted to convey an understanding of something that was, in many ways, hidden from us. He chose familiar images framed in parables in order to indirectly draw our attention to important points we could not see or might misunderstand. It was an act of translation for us.

      Parables had already been used by various teachers in the Old Testament. In II Samuel 12, Nathan the priest addressed King David with a parable before accusing him of his sin with Bathsheba. The prophets, including particularly Ezekiel, often used parables in their messages to the people. So the method had been well road-tested as a way to address the nation by the time Jesus appeared.

      When Jesus began his public ministry, his proclamation was that the Kingdom of God is near. (Mark 1:15) When it came time to say more, he resorted to parables. In this book I will look at more than 30 of the parables he told.

      What was Jesus doing by constantly framing these lessons into parables? I have wondered why he didn't speak more plainly. Was he playing games and teasing us? If he had come to make his kingdom known to us, why hide it in these curious stories? Well, as I suggested above, his subject was already hidden from human eyes and understanding. The challenge was to make it understandable by starting with something familiar.

      I have come to believe he chose this way of teaching because it is effective. And it is effective in a way that, at first, surprised me because it initially seems to obscure the subject.

      It is commonly recognized in sales and communications that people don't hear you the first time. They need to hear something several times it before it sinks in. The teasing mystery inherent in a parable almost guarantees a "Huh? Say that again..." response from listeners. And that guarantees greater attention as the teaching gets repeated.

      It is similar in effect to a technique used by Moshe Rosen, the founder of Jews For Jesus. When witnessing to someone about Christ, he would pick a moment to deliberately change the subject and begin talking about something else entirely. If the other person let the conversation wander in the new direction unchallenged, Moishe knew they were not interested or weren't paying attention to what he was saying about Jesus.

      Teaching with parables can produce the same information about the hearers. It is a way for the teacher to directly measure the interest, if any, that the listener has in the subject.

      I wonder if this wasn't also something Jesus was watching for. When he cited Isaiah's prophecy about people who would hear but not understand (Matthew 13:14ff) maybe he was actually recognizing this fact. People who were too wrapped up in their own agendas were not going to want to take the time to understand his. In fact, on one occasion, Jesus rebuked the crowd following him, saying all they were interested in was getting more bread to eat (John 6:26).

      The disciples passed this test. They asked Jesus to explain what he was talking about. They got the extra commentary, the keys to the symbols, so they could unlock the meaning of the parables.

      It will help our understanding of parables is we begin by recognizing what they are and what they are not.

      Let's start with the obvious. Parables are not the subject, the thing itself. They

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