PARABLES DISCUSSED IN WEEKLY SERIES.Byline: Holly J. Andres Staff Writer BURBANK - A good Samaritan Good Samaritan man who helped half-dead victim of thieves after a priest and a Levite had “passed by.” [N.T.: Luke 10:33] See : Helpfulness Good Samaritan , a lost sheep, a prodigal son prodigal son, in the New Testament, parable of Jesus about heaven and the sinner who repents. A young man leaves home and becomes a wastrel; repentant, he returns to be received with joyful welcome. , a mustard seed mustard seed kingdom of Heaven thus likened; for phenomenal development. [N.T.: Matthew 13:31–32] See : Growth , an expensive pearl and a weed-covered wheat field are subjects of some of the best-known parables in the New Testament. These and dozens more will be studied during a nine-week class and sermon series on Wednesday evenings at First Lutheran Church of Burbank. ``A parable is an illustration to purvey pur·vey tr.v. pur·veyed, pur·vey·ing, pur·veys 1. To supply (food, for example); furnish. 2. To advertise or circulate. a greater truth,'' said the Rev. Ted Martin, the church's associate pastor. ``We can think of them as illustrations Jesus used to make a point. They weren't meant to be heavy, doctrinal statements A doctrinal statement is a statement of doctrine made by a church or other religious institution which quantifies precisely its core beliefs on certain issues. It is common for doctrinal statements to include positions on lectionary and translations of the Bible, particularly in , but they contain wonderful, great truths.'' Summer might be considered a recess time from the serious Bible study Bible study may refer to:
One of the goals of the study class is to make the parables understandable for the 21st-century person. Martin mainly decided to sweeten sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. the learning process with a food that is mentioned or implied in the parable of the week because people enjoy eating. The opening class last Wednesday, for example, paired the parable of ``The Wedding Feast'' with a homemade wedding cake. ``I like to bake, but I never made a wedding cake,'' said Cora Weiss, who volunteered to make the cake. ``I've studied 1 Peter and the Psalms in the past but never the parables. Even if you think you know them, there's always something you can pick up.'' Martin admitted that he will get creative with the food pairings: mustard on hot dogs for ``The Mustard Seed''; fruit for ``The Workers in the Vineyard''; and lamb-shaped cookies for ``The Lost Sheep.'' ``It's funny - we're very multisensory multisensory /mul·ti·sen·so·ry/ (mul?te-sen´sah-re) capable of responding to more than one kind of sensory input, as certain neurons in the central nervous system. creatures,'' said Jonathan Ruehs, director of Christian education at the church. ``If we hear it, read it, use our taste buds taste buds taste npl → Geschmacksknospen pl and smell something we can really experience something. ``A lot of people think they know the parables, but they may not know the background and the historical setting. The goal is to look at them in the light that Jesus told them, the way he meant them to be and how do we translate them today?'' For the study class, the parable will be read aloud and discussed. Martin or Ruehs will give an introduction and the cultural context and share scholarly interpretations of the parable. ``Is the mustard seed then like we know a mustard seed now? Did they grow in Israel at that time? What was it used for? The people in Jesus' time would have known those things but we don't have a concept,'' said Martin, whose favorite parable, ``The Pharisee Pharisee Member of a Jewish religious party in Palestine that emerged c. 160 BC in opposition to the Sadducees. The Pharisees held that the Jewish oral tradition was as valid as the Torah. and the Tax Collector,'' will be discussed in August. ``Why did Jesus use parables and what would he say today? We are going to look at them in the light of the old and in the light of the new. They are quite powerful, and we want to make them come alive.'' The parable ``The Unforgiving Servant'' will be the message delivered by the Rev. Ted Martin at the 8:30 and 10:15 a.m. Sunday services at First Lutheran Church of Burbank, 1001 S. Glenoaks Blvd. The parable sermon series runs Sundays through Aug. 28. The parable ``Mixing the New and the Old'' will be discussed from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Refreshments at 7 p.m. The parable study class runs Wednesdays through Aug. 31. Call (818) 848-7432. Holly Andres, (818) 713-3708 holly.andres(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ron Hagander, left, the Rev. Red Martin and Cora Weiss prepare to serve a wedding cake - baked by Weiss - as part of a discussion of biblical parables at the First Lutheran Church of Burbank. John McCoy/Staff Photographer |
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