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Parables of a 21st-Century Shepherd and Other Farm Stories

Author: Dale Hetherington

Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

Published: 2023-08-08

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13:

In Genesis 46, Jacob calls God his shepherd as he blesses Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim. In the beloved Psalm 23, David sings about what it means that the Lord is his shepherd. In Isaiah 40, God promises to come to His people and tend to them like a shepherd. In John 10, Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd. In Hebrews 13, He is called the Great Shepherd. In 1 Peter 5, He is the Chief Shepherd. This is only a sample of places in the Bible where God’s relationship with His people is equated with that of a shepherd to His sheep. I became a pastor shortly after we started raising sheep, and I began seeing similarities between being a pastor and a shepherd. This makes sense since pastor comes from the Greek word poimen, which means shepherd. Jesus taught in parables, earthly stories with a spiritual meaning. That’s the idea behind this little book. I wrote stories about our dealings with our sheep that illustrate similarities I saw between my relationship with my sheep and my relationship with the people I shepherded in the church. I hope that these stories will entertain you and also give you insight as well. For pastors, maybe it will even help you in your ministry. Being aware of this has helped me in mine.

Tilling God's Land

Author: Scott Skelly

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9781493667871

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What would the Bible be without farmers? Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Job were all farmers. Shepherds came to find Jesus in the manger. Farmers and farming practices were at the center of many of Jesus' parables. And, even though he was the son of a carpenter, Jesus is called the Good Shepherd. Despite a gap of thousands of years, today's farmers face many of the same challenges as farmers in the Bible. Granted, Noah did not have a skid steer to shovel manure off the ark, and Abraham did not have GPS guidance on his oxen. However, those farmers experienced weather problems and crop failures, and also enjoyed successful seasons. Like us, they farmed and lived by faith. The stories of the biblical farmers still have special significance today. The devotions in this book explore the living farmers of the Bible, as well as those who feature in so many of Jesus' parables. They also look at other scriptures and see how farmers of the twenty-first century can apply them to daily life. Author Scott Skelly shares his lifetime of experience as a farmer in this unique devotional collection.

The Parables of Jesus the Galilean

Author: Ernest van Eck

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2016-08-09

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1498233708

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Who do we meet in the stories Jesus told? In The Parables of Jesus the Galilean: Stories of a Social Prophet, a selection of the parables of Jesus is read using a social-scientific approach. The interest of the author is not the parables in their literary contexts, but rather the parables as Jesus told them in a first-century Jewish Galilean sociopolitical, religious, and economic setting. Therefore, this volume is part of the material turn in parable research and offers a reading of the parables that pays special attention to Mediterranean anthropology by stressing key first-century Mediterranean values. Where applicable, available papyri that may be relevant in understanding the parables of Jesus from a fresh perspective are used to assemble solid ancient comparanda for the practices and social realities that the parables presuppose. The picture of Jesus that emerges from these readings is that of a social prophet. The parables of Jesus, as symbols of social transformation, envisioned a transformed and alternative world. This world, for Jesus, was the kingdom of God.

The Sheep of His Hand

Author: Suzanne Davenport Tietjen

Publisher: Monarch Books

Published: 2009-06-16

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 9780825462986

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The Sheep of His Hand is a walk through the Psalms alongside a little band of sheep. Sheep are individuals, and benefit from individualized care. Shepherds have always dealt with primal concerns--birth, death, love, rejection. Technology has changed much in the last millennium but the mud and the blood of shepherding are timeless--and sheep are still sheep. Sharing this ancient occupation with the Psalmist helped Suzanne Tietjen to understand what David had to say about walking with God. "This book is amazing! I not only learned more about sheep than I ever knew, I learned something about The Shepherd, too." Bob Hartman performance storyteller and author, The Lion Storyteller Bible "Brilliant . . . This highly original book breathes fresh life into an old metaphor. It deserves to be read by millions." Dr. Mark Stibbe The Father's House Trust "Beautifully written, refreshingly funny, and spiritually profound. This is the kind of book that sticks with you. Buy it. Read it. Share it with a friend." Dr. Bill Giovannetti author, How to Keep Your Inner Mess from Trashing Your Outer World "The escapades and tragedies of Suzanne's little woolly sheep touched my heart." Karen H. Whiting author, God's Girls

Puzzling the Parables of Jesus

Author: Ruban Zimmermann

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2015-11-02

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 1451465327

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Modern scholarship on the parables has long been preoccupied with asking what Jesus himself said and what he intended to accomplish with his parables. Ruben Zimmermann moves beyond that agenda to explore the dynamics of parabolic speech in all its rich complexity. Introductory chapters address the history of research and distinguish historical from literary and reader-oriented approaches, then set out a postmodern hermeneutic that analyzes narrative elements and context, maps the sociohistorical background, explores stock metaphors and symbols, and opens up contemporary horizons of interpretation. Subsequent chapters then focus on one parable from early Christian sources (Q, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, and the Gospel of Thomas) to explore how parables function in each literary context. Over all reigns the principle that the meaning or theological "message" of a parable cannot be extracted from the parabolic form; thus the parables continue to invite hearers' and readers' involvement to the present day.

Parables for the 21st Century

Author: John Rommel

Publisher: Publishamerica Incorporated

Published: 2002-04

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9781591292272

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When reading the parables we often lose much of the meaning that Jesus intended because we are unfamiliar with the people and society he spoke of. This book re-tells the parables as short stories using modern characters and situations to help us better grasp their message.

Social Justice in the Stories of Jesus

Author: Matthew E. Gordley

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2024-03-11

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 1119884020

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Invites a new generation of readers to apply ethical reasoning to social justice challenges, accessible to people of faith from a broad range of backgrounds Social Justice in the Stories of Jesus introduces readers to the parables of the New Testament while exploring how they relate to social justice, ethics, and key issues of modern society. Centering on themes of mercy, justice, and human dignity, this unique volume invites readers to reflect on the meaning of Jesus's parables both in their original setting and in the context of present-day moral and ethical challenges. The author discusses social justice concepts from various traditions to enable readers to engage with the ethical implications of the parables in a range of different contexts. Each chapter focuses on one parable or set of parables, such as the parable of the Good Samaritan and the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, and includes historical background information and an analysis and interpretation of the parable. Throughout the text, the author highlights the connections between Jesus's parables and racism, violence, poverty, the environment, our obligations to one another, and other timely social justice issues. Blends an accessible overview of the parables of Jesus with an introduction to social justice and ethics Explores New Testament parables as viewed through the lens of contemporary writers, ethicists, and activists Emphasizes the Jewish roots of the parables and the need to guard against anti-Jewish readings of the parables Highlights the ways that Jesus’s parables challenged his first-century listeners to see their world in new ways and recognize the dignity of every person Engages with seminal thinkers in contemporary social justice, such as James Cone, Howard Thurman, Emilie Townes, Bishop Michael Curry, and Pope Francis Includes study and discussion questions for personal and group use Requiring no prior knowledge of the subject, Social Justice in the Stories of Jesus: The Ethical Challenge of the Parables is an ideal textbook for introductory courses on the Bible and New Testament, faith-based courses on ethics, and general Christian readers looking for an excellent resource for personal or congregational study.

Preaching in Place

Author: Mark R. Rigg

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-06-29

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 166673263X

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Why is preaching so often bad? Why is worship so often dull? Why do Sunday mornings so often fail to help the folks in the pews live a faithful life from week to week? And what can be done about it? Many will tell us that there are easy and purchasable fixes. More technology. Less tradition. Virtual worship. Thinking big. The land and the farm model for us a different path. As Mark Rigg shows in this concise introduction to Wendell Berry, the themes that have illuminated the Kentucky farmer’s essays, fiction, and poetry for fifty years have a great deal to say to the church. They offer an agrarian model of church where the focus is on the local, the tangible, and the communal. Out of such a model emerges a new approach to preaching. Both congregation members and preachers themselves will find themselves called to turn away from sermons that echo the promises of an individualistic consumer culture and to proclaim instead Jesus Christ in the midst of the local community.

Reading the New Testament in the Manifold Contexts of a Globalized World

Author: Eve-Marie Becker

Publisher: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag

Published: 2022-12-12

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 3772057659

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This volume gathers the perspectives of teachers in higher education from all over the world on the topic of New Testament scholarship. The goal is to understand and describe the contexts and conditions under which New Testament research is carried out throughout the world. This endeavor should serve as a catalyst for new initiatives and the development of questions that determine the future directions of New Testament scholarship. At the same time, it is intended to raise awareness of the global dimensions of New Testament scholarship, especially in relation to its impact on socio-political debates. The occasion for these reflections are not least the present questions that have been posed with the corona pandemic and have received a focus on the "system relevance" of churches, which is openly questioned by the media. The church and theology must face this challenge. Towards that end, it is important to gather impulses and suggestions for the discipline from a variety of contexts in which different dimensions of context-related New Testament research come to the fore.

The Parables of Jesus

Author: Arland J. Hultgren

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2000-06-22

Total Pages: 556

ISBN-13: 9780802860774

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Outlines the parables of Jesus and discusses how each of the parables can be taught and preached.