Perplexing Parables

Jesus told lots of parables. These four are hard to understand.

The Parables of the Growing Seeds

Posted: February 26, 2018
You can have confidence in the growth and progress of God’s work (in you and others), even if it seems insignificant at the time.

Talking Points:

  • Jesus told two parables to encourage his people not to give up on God. These parables suggest three ways that we should trust in how God does his work. Mark 4:26-32
  • We can’t always tell how God is at work. In 4:27, the seed grows invisibly. There is a mystery to God’s work! Like the farmer, we have a part to play. In v26, he plants, and in verse v29, he harvests. But whether he is asleep or awake (v27) – no matter what he does – the seed grows. Eventually, there will be a harvest, but it comes in its own time.
  • These parables encourage us that God’s work will progress, but we can’t always make sense of how it happens. Like a seed, God’s work has its own intrinsic power. When you look at what God is doing, it may seem small and insignificant, but like the tiny mustard seed (v31), God’s kingdom will grow (v32).
  • You might feel as puny and unimportant as a tiny mustard seed. But these parables show that God often starts things small. No matter how you feel about yourself, you can trust God to work through you in the lives of others – if you’re available to him.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. How have you seen God’s timing to be right in your own life or in the lives of others?
  3. Why is hard to wait on God’s timing?
  4. Have you been in situations where you prayed earnestly and didn’t see the results you wanted? What happened?
  5. Read Matthew 13:53-58. Jesus didn’t fit people’s expectations. How have you seen that God’s work doesn’t always look how we would expect?
  6. Jesus’s earliest disciples left everything to follow him (Matthew 4). What steps must you take to be available to God for him to work through you?
  7. Read 1 Corinthians 3:6-8. How can you trust God more and more to finish the work he begins?
  8. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

This is part 1 in the Perplexing Parables series. Find this and other pursueGOD.org sermons on YouTube here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Posted: March 9, 2018
The parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-13) is one of the most difficult lessons of Jesus to unpack. It seems like he wants us to root for the dishonest guy in the story, but if we dig a little deeper, we see that there are some important lessons to learn.

Talking Points:

  • The parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-13) is one of the most difficult lessons of Jesus to unpack. It seems like he wants us to root for the dishonest guy in the story, but if we dig a little deeper, we see that there are some important lessons to learn for how we deal with money today.
  • Like the manager in the story, we (1) are stewarding God’s gifts to us, (2) must one day give an account of how we use what he’s given us, and (3) should invest with this future in mind. This is the point of another parable about money, the Parable of the Servants. Matthew 25:14-30
  • When you give to God, you are saying that you desire God above everything else. That’s why Jesus ends the parable with verse thirteen.
  • The condition of our hearts can be gauged by what we desire. If your treasures are in this world, so is your heart, and if your heart is in this world, it can’t be with God in his. Matthew 6:21
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Everything we have is a gift from God. What does this mean about how we should spend our resources, time, and energy?
  3. Read 1 Timothy 6:9. How can seeking wealth and material gain lead us toward destruction? Have you seen this happen in your life or in the lives of people you know?
  4. Read Luke 6:13. Why can’t we serve both God and money at the same time?
  5. Read Matthew 6:21. How does what we desire most (God, family, money, drugs) reflect the spiritual trajectory we are following? Share a real-life example if you have one.
  6. Do your giving and serving habits reflect the truths discussed in this topic? If not, what can you do to be better?
  7. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

This is part 2 in the Perplexing Parables series. Find this and other pursueGOD.org sermons on YouTube here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Parable of the Vineyard Workers

Posted: March 16, 2018
It’s easy to become resentful toward God when your relationship with him is defined by your unfulfilled expectations.

Talking Points:

  • We will not understand God’s generosity as long as we carry false expectations of him. The parable points out three errors in our view of God that, if not corrected, will surely lead to dissatisfaction. Matthew 20:1-16
  • We create expectations of God based on what we think he should do, rather than on what he said. The workers hired early in the day thought the landowner should act a certain way (v10). When he didn’t, they accused him of being unfair (v13). Yet they got everything the owner promised them (v14).
  • Everything God gives us is a result of his generosity. But we often assume that what we get from God is a result of our hard work or worthiness. This “transactional” approach assumes that God is obligated to us because of what we do for him. Like the workers hired early in the day (v11), when God doesn’t give us what we think he owes us, we turn against him.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. Have you ever felt that God is unfair, or have you known someone else obsessed with the idea of God’s fairness (or lack thereof)? What happened?
  3. What are some false expectations of God you once held that have changed?
  4. Read Numbers 23:19. What does this teach us about God’s promises? And if something we think is promised goes differently than we expect, what should be the takeaway?
  5. Read Matthew 20:11-14. Does God give us what we deserve? Explain why or why not.
  6. Read Matthew 20:15-16. The Jews of Jesus’s day believed God’s promises were only for them. What is Jesus teaching here through this parable?
  7. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

This is part 3 in the Perplexing Parables series. Find this and other pursueGOD.org sermons on YouTube here.

Ministry Tools:

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

The Parable of the Great Banquet | Perplexing Parables #4

Posted: March 23, 2018
God presents us with the opportunity of a lifetime. Will we take him up on it?

Talking Points:

  • We’ve all missed out on a big opportunity at one time or another. Even if you’ve squandered a lot of opportunities in life, there is still time to accept God’s invitation. That’s the message of Jesus in the parable of the great banquet. Luke 14:15-24
  • Nothing is more important or a better use of your time than prioritizing God. But if we are honest, many of us don’t prioritize pursuing God.
  • Jesus didn’t just come to help people who have life figured out, the wealthy, or the moral. Jesus came to help everyone (Matthew 11:4-5). Jesus helps those who recognize they need help. And be comforted: you may be an outsider in your family. You may be looked down on by others. But Jesus came to rescue you.
Discussion:
  1. Initial reactions to this topic? What jumped out at you?
  2. What are some big opportunities for you that have gone well?
  3. What are some opportunities that you later saw were missed? Did you regret it? Explain.
  4. What are some excuses you’ve heard people make for not following God? What are some excuses you’ve made for not following God?
  5. Why do you think people make excuses for not following God?
  6. Read Luke 14:21-23. What does it look like for God to invite the “outsiders” today? Who are the “outsiders” you know or interact with?
  7. Read 1 Timothy 2:3-4. God wants to save everyone, but it can look very different depending on who is being saved. How do you think God’s way of saving wealthy, moral, “together” people differs from how he reaches “outsiders?” How should this affect how we seek to reach different types of people?
  8. Read Matthew 28:18-20. What are some steps you can take to better follow Jesus’s “great commission” in your life?
  9. Is there a step you need to take based on today’s topic?

This is part 4 of the Perplexing Parables sermonlink series. Find this and other pursueGOD.org sermons on YouTube here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Print Friendly, PDF & Email