This past weekend I concluded our summer series on the Kingdom of God. The lesson was based on the parable found in Luke 19:11ff concerning the ten minas. I concluded with describing three attitudes that people have concerning God and their resources. The first attitude is that of the consumer. The consumer says “what’s God’s…
Category: Parables
Hidden Treasure
We are unapologetically fascinated by treasure. We attend movies such as The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, the National Treasure Movies, Indiana Jones Series and Pirates of the Caribbean that captivate our imaginations and foster a spirit of discovering treasure of incredible worth. From the archeologist to the modern day treasure hunter to the Saturday…
Taking Over
The twin parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven, found in Matthew 13:31-33, describe the nature of the Kingdom of God. What is the nature of the Kingdom? 1. The Nature of the Kingdom is UnassumingThe initial appearances of the kingdom seem small and insignificant, but result in something large and significant. The seed…
The Wheat and the Weeds
Anyone who has observed lawns and landscaping is well aware of the ongoing turf battle with weeds. When we moved to Arkansas, we bought a house that had been unoccupied for two years. In a cost cutting move, the builder chose to lay sod around the structure of the house and to seed the rest…
Improving Soil Conditions
My wife loves to work in our landscaping. She would consider this one of her hobbies, and she’s very passionate about it. Because she loves working in the flower beds, I get the privilege of helping out. Last week Lisa began working on building another flower bed. Upon its completion we will have completely encircled…
Soil Types
In the Parable of the Sower, one discovers that the farmer is the same and the seed is the same. The soil is the difference, which becomes the focal point of the story. In Jesus’ interpretation of the parable in Matthew 13:18-23, he plainly describes the four soils which are distinguished based on their reception…
The Parable of the Sower
We have a landscaping issue at our house. We have two spots in the flower bed in front of our home that literally won’t grow weeds. Usually the dirt around new construction is not the best, so we thought we needed to simply improve the soil. We did so by adding sand and peat moss,…