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AUGUST 2014

Watton PentecostalChurch

Jesus Spoke in Parables

Web site:www.wattonchurch.org.uk

Watton Church

© Watton Pentecostal Church

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IntroductionSometimes parables are defined as 'earthly stories with aheavenly meaning'. In other words, Jesus used illustra-tions of things familiar to the hearers in order to explainspiritual truths. But not everyone understood the para-bles. They were understood by those with faith and withopen hearts, but not by those who were hardhearted.Jesus said

He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God hasbeen given to you. But to those on the outside every-thing is said in parables so that, “they may be ever see-ing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but neverunderstanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiv-en!” (Mark 4:11-12)

As we explore some parables during August, please lookat them with an open heart, and with eyes of faith, sothat your knowledge of God may be deepened, and yourlife may be enriched.

Jesus Spoke In Parables

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Week 1 - The Sower

Matthew13:1-15; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15

Matthew, Mark and Luke all recount the parable of theSower. Of these three, only Mark is written chronologically(i.e. in the order things happened), so it is interesting tonote that this is the first parable recorded by Mark. Itserves as a sort of parable about the parables, and howthey will be received. It was important because it helpedthe disciples to understand why the words of Jesus wouldbe received with a variety of responses, and why noteveryone would maintain their initial fervour.

Jesus goes on the explain the parable:

The path represents those whodo not understand the messageof the Kingdom, and the evil onesnatches it away.

The rocky places represents those who receive the word,but it is not rooted in them, so they fall away whentrouble comes.

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The thorns represent in whom the word is unfruitful,because it is choked by worry, but also by thedeceitfulness of wealth.The good soil represents those who receive the wordand understand it, and so it bears fruit in their lives.

So we can see that there is no problem with the Farmer(Jesus, and us as his labourers helping to sow the seed),or the seed itself (the Word of God), rather those whoreceive it. A farmer will do all he can to ensure the bestpossible yield - preparing the soil, irrigating if necessary,and sometimes using pesticides. Our preparation isprayer, our irrigation is getting alongside those who haveheard the word, guiding and encouraging them; ourpesticide is spiritual warfare against the evil one.

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Luke 15:11-32This story is not about one son, but about two sons, bothof whom get it wrong in some way, and about a Fatherwho loves them both equally and unfailingly.

The older son was due to inherit two thirds of his father'sestate, as the eldest received a double portion. He knewthat he should remain with his father, work hard for him,and be a loyal son. Perhaps he felt that this meant thathe had earned his inheritance. The truth is that he wouldhave received his inheritance regardless of whether heworked loyally or not. When his brother returned, andthrew himself on his father's mercy, the older brotherwas furious at the apparent injustice. He had workedhard and faithfully, and (he perceived) had receivednothing. On the other hand, his brother had been selfish,wayward and foolish, and yet was welcomed back with aring, a robe and a party. What he had failed to realisewas that his own reward was greater - the whole estatewould now come to him, and he had a lifetime of securityto look forward to.

Week 2 - The Prodigal Son

Inheritance

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The father showed extraordinary grace. He allowed hisson to go his own way, not because he didn't care whathappened to him, but because he knew that allowing himto exercise his free will was the only way that he wouldeventually come to his senses. If the father had insistedthat his younger son must stay and wait for hisinheritance, the son would have lived his life inresentment against his father, and not learned valuablelessons in life. When the son returned, his father wasfilled with compassion, forgiveness and rejoicing. Hislove for his older son was no less great, but wasapparent in different ways according to his attitudes.

Can you identify with one or other of the two sons? Orperhaps both at different stages of your life? Whicheveris the case, your heavenly Father loves you completely,and delights to call you His child!

The younger son had shown not only greed andimpatience by demanding his share of the inheritancethere and then. He also showed a disregard for his father.In taking his inheritance and leaving, he was implyingthat his father may as well be dead anyway. He soondiscovered that wild living did not bring lasting happiness,and eventually he realised that even his father's hiredmen were better off than him.

He had to hit rockbottom before herealised that heneeded to returnto his father inrepentance.

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○ Friday 5th September - Sunday 7 th September: - Women’s Conference at Letton

Hall, Shipdham, Norfolk. Cost £110.00 please ask for details -places available!

○ Sunday 11th September at 6.00om:.

Watton Pentecostal Church.

○ Sunday 21st September, 10.30am:- This year’s AGM will be

included as part of our Sunday morning service.

○ Sunday 28th September, 10.30am:

We have lots of exciting things to look forward to over the coming months ..

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Throughout August our Sunday Serviceswill be All Age Family Worship. Weshall be looking at different parables,and there will be worship, stories,video clips, and activities focusedaround the theme. The services will lastabout an hour. We shall not be havingSunday School but have fun activitybooklets for the children about eachparable..

All Age Family Worship

Friday mornings 10.00am - 12 noon

A warm and friendly welcome and achance to chat over a cup of tea or coffee.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Tuesday evenings andWednesday mornings by

appointment only.A voluntary organisation

offering a low costprofessional counselling

service

Watton Child Health ClinicTuesday 12th & 26th AugWatton & DistrictDiabetes UK Group

Monday 11th Aug 10.15amWatton Pentecostal Church

Working in partnership

COMMUNITY

Why not invite someone to come along?

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PRAYER

Sunday prayer:9.30am before the Sunday Service

Midweek prayer:11.00am - 12 noon on

Tuesday 5th & 19th August

HOME

GROUPS

We hold several differentHome Groups in the Church

Perhaps there is one that wouldsuit you - they are a great way to

build relationships with others.

ASK FOR MORE INFO!

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Matthew 13:44-46These two stories follow a very similar theme: the treas-ure and the pearl represent the Kingdom of God. Themen in both stories realise that the treasure is so greatthat they sell everything they have in order to gain theprecious items. This reminds us that being in the King-dom of God is of far greater value than any possession orstatus that the world can offer. We should hold nothingback in our pursuit of being a follower of Jesus.

Week 3 - The Hidden Treasureand The Pearl of Great Price

In the story of the hiddentreasure, the 'hidden'aspect is important. Theworld is divided into twotypes of people - thosewho recognise theKingdom of God, andthose who do not. Manypeople live their livescompletely unaware ofthe Kingdom, or ofspiritual matters ingeneral. The man in thestory was like this. Hewas not looking fortreasure, he stumbledupon it. Having found it,he recognisedimmediately his value,and he gave upeverything for it.

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The merchant in the story of the pearl, however, hadbeen on a quest to find a great pearl. It was not an acci-dental discovery, but the result of years of searching.Many people spend much of their lives searching, hopingto find the answer to the meaning of life. They may tryother religions, political ideals, materialism, on so on. Werecognise that ultimately, the true meaning of life isfound in Jesus.

What was yourexperience? Did you'accidentally' stumbleupon Jesus, thoughyou weren't looking?Or was finding Jesusthe climax of a longspiritual search?Either way, myprayer is that youhave found Jesus tobe your everything!

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Week 4 - Parable of the TalentsMatthew 25:14-30This parable comes in the midst of a long section ofteaching about Jesus' return. Immediately before theParable of the Talents is the Parable of the Ten Virgins.Here, ten virgins await the arrival of the bridegroom.Five have brought spare oil for their lamps, and five havenot. When the bridegroom arrived, the five without oilwere caught out, and were not allowed into the weddingbanquet.

So these parables are about the need to be prepared forthe return of Jesus. Matthew 25:13 warns 'Thereforekeep watch, because you do not know the day or thehour'.

In the Parable of the Talents,the Master (who we understandto represent Jesus) is goingaway, to return some time inthe future. The challenge to theservants (who represent us) isto maximise the potential ofwhatever is entrusted to them.

A talent was a unit of silver approximately equal to 20years' worth of a labourer's wages, so we can see thateven the servant who was given one talent was entrust-ed with a huge sum. When the Master returns, he findsthat the servants entrusted with five and two talentshave seen a 100% return on their investments, becausethey have worked diligently. But the third servant buriedhis talent, hoping that when his Master returned hewould be happy enough not to have made a loss. Howwrong he was!

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The third servant knew that his master was hard anddemanding, so he acted out of fear rather than a desireto please him. He may have also thought that his masterwas so wealthy that the little he could have earned fromhis one talent wasn't worth considering anyway. Havingburied the talent, he probably forgot about it, and wentabout his daily life without giving it a thought. But hismaster returned unexpectedly, and he was caught out.

As we go about our daily lives, are we conscious that theMaster, Jesus, could return at any time. When He does,will He find us maximising the gifts and resources he hasentrusted to us, or will He find that we have wasted whatwe have, and not worked with all our hearts for theKingdom of God?

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Week 5 - The Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 18:21-35

This parable is about God's extraordinary capacity toforgive, and about our unwillingness often to do thesame. It unpacks a section of the Lord's Prayer found inMatthew 6:12-15 "And forgive us our debts, as we alsohave forgiven our debtors. And lead us not intotemptation, but deliver us from the evil one” For if youforgive other people when they sin against you, yourheavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do notforgive others their sins, your Father will not forgiveyour sins.

The servant's debt was huge - 10,000 talents! Yet themaster cancelled the debt completely. This was morethan the servant had dared hope for, as he had asked fortime to repay. When the servant found a fellow servantwho owed him a pittance, he showed no mercywhatsoever.

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Are we sometimes guilty of showing a lack of mercy orforgiveness to those around us? We should rememberthat God has cancelled our debts completely, by sendingJesus to the cross. Shouldn't we therefore be ready toforgive those who have wronged us?

The telling of this parable was prompted by Peter askingJesus how many times he should forgive a person -seven times? Jesus' reply, seventy-seven times was afigurative way of saying 'Every time!'

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Sunday 3rd Aug 9.30am - prayer10.30am: The Sower

Sunday 10th Aug 9.30am - prayer10.30am: The Prodigal Son

Sunday 17th Aug 9.30am - prayer10.30am: Hidden Treasure/Pearl

Sunday 24th Aug 9.30am - prayer10.30am: Talents

Sunday 31st Aug 9.30am - prayer10.30am: Unmerciful Servant

Watton Pentecostal Church is part of River Ministries (Norfolk)Registered Charity number 1054419.A member of Evangelical Alliance