More Parables for Plain PeopleObservations of FooFoo the Wise follows in the same vein as Jack Worrills first book, Parables for Plain People, which was well received and, according to some reports, placed him in the top 10 percent of self-published authors. Once again he shares his opinions and insightssome wise and some wittyall with a focus on their possible spiritual significance when applied to ones daily life. Jacks writings are drawn from his experience as an advertising executive, Sunday school teacher, furniture craftsman, music minister, and observer of human nature. In More Parables, he offers ninety-one fresh, new, inspirational readings on topics from The Magic Feather to The Upraised Thumb, with stops in between at such subjects as The Beggar Lice, The Delusionist, and The Sardines and Soda Crackers.

The parables of Jesus Christ are among His best-known and most-loved teachings. After centuries of study, what is yet to be discovered in these lessons from the Lord? For those who search these scriptural accounts seeking personal applications, new discoveries always await. View the parables with fresh eyes in The Parables of Jesus, a unique textual and visual presentation of the familiar narratives woven and interwoven by the Master. Each story is included here in its entirety, alongside in-depth studies of the setting, context, language, and culture in which that parable was originally situated and shared. Above all, each parable is positioned within God the Father's great plan of salvation. Knowing that encompassing doctrine is the key to finding the Savior's love in these treasured instructions, both individually and interactively. To inspire deeper insights and personal connections with the parables, the words of Christ are depicted in an original series of striking paintings by Latter-day Saint artist Jorge Cocco Santángelo. With imagery and inspiring artistic commentary that transcends the ordinary, this visually stunning uniting of word and art paves the way for personal and family applications of the parables as never before.

What Do the Five Points of Calvinism Really Mean? Many have heard of Reformed theology, but may not be certain what it is. Some references to it have been positive, some negative. It appears to be important, and they'd like to know more about it. But they want a full, understandable explanation, not a simplistic one. What Is Reformed Theology? is an accessible introduction to beliefs that have been immensely influential in the evangelical church. In this insightful book, R. C. Sproul walks readers through the foundations of the Reformed doctrine and explains how the Reformed belief is centered on God, based on God's Word, and committed to faith in Jesus Christ. Sproul explains the five points of Reformed theology and makes plain the reality of God's amazing grace.

In this provocative book two authors--one a scientist, the other a biblical scholar and pastor--recount the pilgrimages of understanding that have led them from the young-earth, "scientific creationist" position they were taught in their youths to new perspectives on what it can mean to believe in God as Creator.

Take Care How You Listen is an ebook on listening well. It is comprised of five unedited sermon manuscripts from the preaching ministry of Pastor John. We pray this resource will serve your personal reflection as you heed Jesus' command to "take care how you listen" (Luke 8:18).

The Prophetic Parables of Matthew 13 is a message of meditation based on the Bible and written by Arthur Walkington Pink (1 April 1886 – 15 July 1952) was an English Bible teacher who sparked a renewed interest in the exposition of Calvinism or Reformed Theology. Little known in his own lifetime, Pink became "one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century." Arthur Walkington Pink was born in Nottingham, England, to a corn merchant, a devout non-conformist of uncertain denomination, though probably a Congregationalist. Otherwise, almost nothing is known of Pink's childhood or education except that he had some ability and training in music. As a young man, Pink joined the Theosophical Society and apparently rose to enough prominence within its ranks that Annie Besant, its head, offered to admit him to its leadership circle.[4] In 1908 he renounced Theosophy for evangelical Christianity. Desiring to become a minister but unwilling to attend a liberal theological college in England, Pink very briefly studied at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in 1910 before taking the pastorate of the Congregational church in Silverton, Colorado. In 1912 Pink left Silverton, probably for California, and then took a joint pastorate of churches in rural Burkesville and Albany, Kentucky. In 1916, he married Vera E. Russell (1893–1962), who had been reared in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Pink's next pastorate seems to have been in Scottsville. Then the newlyweds moved in 1917 to Spartanburg, South Carolina, where Pink became pastor of Northside Baptist Church. By this time Pink had become acquainted with prominent dispensationalist Fundamentalists, such as Harry Ironside and Arno C. Gaebelein, and his first two books, published in 1917 and 1918, were in agreement with that theological position. Yet Pink's views were changing, and during these years he also wrote the first edition of The Sovereignty of God (1918), which argued that God did not love sinners and had deliberately created "unto damnation" those who would not accept Christ. Whether because of his Calvinistic views, his nearly incredible studiousness, his weakened health, or his lack of sociability, Pink left Spartanburg in 1919 believing that God would "have me give myself to writing." But Pink then seems next to have taught the Bible with some success in California for a tent evangelist named Thompson while continuing his intense study of Puritan writings.

In opposition to those who would claim that Christian faith embraces God at the expense of the suffering world, Rollins shows how the true believer embraces God only inasmuch as he fully embraces a needy world.

Like yeast, parables are explosive stories of Jesus that invade our lives and transform us into citizens of the kingdom of God. But they are also cryptic, and that's where this book is useful. More than an explanation or interpretation of each parable, this definitive work is primarily an exercise in hermeneutics. In it, readers are taken through a process of discovering which sayings of Jesus are parables, problematic questions related to counting and categorizing them, and Jesus' rationale for speaking in parables. The work then analyzes four distinct ways that parables are structured and three levels at which they do their work in us. The final chapter presents parable-related hermeneutical guidelines, and the book ends with seven extensive Appendices and two Indexes. It is a "must read" for every biblical scholar!

A dazzling presentation of the life and teachings of Jesus by the eminent scholar and translator Stephen Mitchell.

The renowned biblical scholar, author of The Misunderstood Jew, and general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus’ most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers. Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives. In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.