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    Jesus' Parables About Discipleship
    Jesus' Parables About Discipleship
    Jesus' Parables About Discipleship
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    Jesus' Parables About Discipleship

    By Rev. James W. Moore

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    About this ebook

    This six-session short-term study series from Jim Moore is organized around the general theme of Discipleship. This study serves as a sixth volume following Jesus’ Parables of Grace, Jesus' Parables of Life , Jesus' Parables of the Lost and Found, Jesus' Parables About Making Choices, and Jesus' Parables About Priorities. The book also contains a study guide.Each chapter will focus on a particular parable, and will feature the author telling readers what Jesus was saying through the parable, both to listeners of his day and to us today in our own lives. The chapters will focus on key characteristics of discipleship such as unconditional love, humility, service, vision, listening, and action.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateSep 1, 2010
    ISBN9781426722912
    Jesus' Parables About Discipleship
    Author

    Rev. James W. Moore

    James W. Moore (1938–2019) was an acclaimed pastor and ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. He led congregations in Jackson, TN; Shreveport, LA; and Houston, TX. The best-selling author of over 40 books, including Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, But I Have Several Excellent Excuses, he also served as minister-in-residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

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      Book preview

      Jesus' Parables About Discipleship - Rev. James W. Moore

      Jesus' Parables About Discipleship

      James W.Moore

      JESUS'

      Parables About

      Discipleship

      Image1

      ABINGDON PRESS

      NASHVILLE

      JESUS' PARABLES ABOUT DISCIPLESHIP

      Copyright © 2009 by Abingdon Press

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801 or permissions@ abingdonpress.com.

      This book is printed on acid-free paper.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Moore, James W. (James Wendell), 1938–

      Jesus' parables about discipleship / James W. Moore.

         p. cm.

      ISBN 978-0-687-64695-1 (binding: pbk., adhesive, perfect : alk. paper)

      1. Jesus Christ—Parables. 2. Christian life—Methodist authors. I. Title.

      BT375.3.M64 2009

      226.8—dc22

      2008052934

      All scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Chapter 4 is an adaptation of the introductory chapter of James W. Moore, O Say Can You See? © 2000 by Dimensions for Living. Used by permission.

      09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

      For Sarah, Paul, Dawson, Daniel, and Mason

      CONTENTS

      Image2

      INTRODUCTION

      1. Unconditional Love

      What Is the Good News?

      2. Humility

      Presumptuous Religion

      3. Service

      You Want Me to Play Second String?

      4. Vision

      The Parable of the Lighted Candle

      5. Listening

      God Speaks, and the Church Is Our Hearing Aid

      6. Action

      Use It or Lose It

      STUDY GUIDE by John D. Schroeder

      INTRODUCTION

      Image1

      Why did Jesus use parables, and how do we unravel them and discover their timeless and powerful messages? Let me begin by giving you five key ideas that help unlock the truths found in all the parables of Jesus.

      First, Jesus spoke in parables—short stories that teach a faith lesson—to be understood and remembered, to proclaim the good news, and to make people think.

      Second, Jesus saw himself as one who came to serve the needy, and he believed that the kingdom of God existed anywhere kingdom-deeds such as love, mercy, kindness, and compassion were being done.

      Third, God's love for us is unconditional; and God wants us to love one another in the same way— unconditionally.

      Fourth, one way to discover the central truth of a parable is to look for the surprise in it. Look for the moment when you lift your eyebrows, or the moment when the original hearers of the story probably thought or said in surprise—or maybe even shock—Oh, my goodness, did you hear that?

      Fifth, it's important to remember that parables are designed to convey one central truth. Parables (as opposed to allegories, in which everything in the story has a symbolic meaning) make one main point.

      Parables 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' thoughtprovoking parables about discipleship to see if we can find ourselves, and God's truth for us, in these magnificent truth-stories. They are, after all, truthstories for us—truth-stories from the mind of Jesus that can change our lives as they proclaim God's truth for you and me.

      1

      Unconditional Love

      What Is the Good News?

      Image2

      Scripture: Luke 15:11-24

      Let me begin by stringing together three short stories. The thread that links them together will be obvious.

      First, one father said that he had noticed something fascinating about children, namely, that as they develop and grow they pass through some predictable stages, and these stages are characterized by the way they address their fathers. He said that they begin by calling you Da Da, then they call you Daddy, next they call you Dad, and then they call you collect!

      The second story is about a little five-year-old boy who got on his mother's nerves one afternoon.He upset his mother so much that in frustration she grabbed the broom and chased after him. The boy ran into the yard and scrambled under the house. Unable to reach him and unwilling to go under the house, the mother decided to let Dad deal with the five-year-old when he got home.

      A short time later, the father arrived home, heard the story, and went under the house in search of the little boy. Crawling on his hands and knees, searching with a flashlight, he quickly found him.

      When the little boy saw his father, he said it as only a five-year-old little boy could, Hi, Dad. Is she after you, too?

      Now, the third story is found in the Bible. In Luke's Gospel we discover a magnificent story about a father, which has been called,

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