Elm Street Community Church
Sermon - A Summer of Stories - An Introduction
Pastor Steve introduces the summer preaching series on the parables of Jesus.
Locations & Times
Elm Street Community Church
264 Elm St, Fitchburg, MA 01420, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
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https://tithe.ly/give?c=394343In looking at Matt. 13, in the midst of parables and stories Jesus twice speaks of the significance of parables. The first is in Matt. 13:10-17.
Leon Morris, in his commentary, puts it this way, “He (Jesus) is saying that although the people heard the words, they did not understand them and didn’t want to understand them. That was the fault of the people in Isaiah’s day, and is it was the fault of the people in Jesus’ day.”
And I would add that this is the fault of people today.
So parables are stories that can help us to have deeper insight, or allow us to keep from really understanding what is going on if we don’t desire to understand what is there.
So it can be a tool for deeper understanding, or a tool of judgment.
It was also a sign. This we find in today’s passage (read Matt. 13:34-35). This comes from Psalm 78, which was a prophetic psalm.
And I would add that this is the fault of people today.
So parables are stories that can help us to have deeper insight, or allow us to keep from really understanding what is going on if we don’t desire to understand what is there.
So it can be a tool for deeper understanding, or a tool of judgment.
It was also a sign. This we find in today’s passage (read Matt. 13:34-35). This comes from Psalm 78, which was a prophetic psalm.
This is one of the signs they should have been looking for. Jesus was fulfilling prophesy when He spoke in parables. But not only was He fulfilling prophesy, but He was sharing some things that were “from of old.” “Things that were hidden since the creation of the world.”
This should tell us two things. One, Jesus was around at the creation of the world. We can see this as Matthew’s version of John 1:1-2
This should tell us two things. One, Jesus was around at the creation of the world. We can see this as Matthew’s version of John 1:1-2
Jesus is sharing things hidden from the creation of the world because He was there.
But we see more. In the parables, Jesus is sharing things with us that have been hidden. Things He feels are important for us to understand.
And this is where we want to focus on as we move into a Summer of Stories - a trip through the parables of Jesus. We should desire to learn more, to know more, to understand more, so that we leave in a different place than when we came.
in a sense, we have a choice. We can desire to be in one of two places. We can choose to see but not really see, and to hear but not really hear. We can choose to come and listen and sing, but keep deeper meaning at a distance - stopping before our understanding has the potential to get uncomfortable…
or, we can dig in and desire to (like the disciples), learn the meaning behind what is being said, allowing it to permeate our lives, and allowing God to use it to transform us more into the image of Jesus.