One third of the recorded teaching of Jesus consisted of parables. In the parables, Jesus is describing the Kingdom of God in action and telling us something that happens when God is busy re-establishing Himself as King among humankind. Consequently, a person who hears or reads a parable of Jesus is confronted by the necessity of making up his or her mind about Jesus and is challenged to take a position either for or against Jesus as one’s Savior.
In order that we may grow in our knowledge of the Scriptures, and of His plan of salvation in Jesus Christ, a half-day workshop has been developed on the parables of Jesus. Jesus taught His disciples many things in parables so that they could become “wise scribes, trained for the kingdom” – so what were the many things that Jesus taught them in these parables: session 1: the fundamental human condition and God’s response to the human condition (9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m.) -the parable of what defiles a person -the parable of the wheat and the weeds -the parable of the rich fool -the parable of the stronger man -the parable of the doctor to the sick -the parable of the gracious father -the parable of the kingdom growing secretly session 2: humankind’s response to the Gospel of the Kingdom (10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.) -the parable of the sower and the seed -the parable of the wicked tenants -the parable of the marriage feast -the parable of the rich man and Lazarus -the parable of the hidden treasure and the merchant in search of fine pearls session 3: brothers and sisters, what should we do and how should we then live (11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) -the parable of the unknown day and hour -the parable of the unjust steward -the parable of the ten maidens -the parable of the two paths -the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector -the parable of the two foundations -the parable of the two sons -the parable of the talents -the parable of the good Samaritan -the parable of the sheep and the goats -the parable of salt and light Currently this workshop is scheduled to be offered on February 2, 2019 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Point Pleasant NJ and on February 23, 2019 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Hamburg, NJ. To register for this workshop through the New Jersey District office, or if you wanted to schedule a workshop to be held at your congregation in 2019, contact Caren Vogt at 908 233-8111 or vogtc@njdistrict.org To register for this workshop online, visit the New Jersey District Events Listing. Download a poster & bulletin insert to share with your congregation. As we make our entry into 2019, a few thoughts about our life and ministry together. First and foremost are these “not to be missed” District-wide training events scheduled for 2019 that address the topics of leadership and Christian witness and living – a mailing to the congregation will be forthcoming that outlines these training events in greater detail but they are being shared with you now so that you have the dates along with a brief description of the event itself:
A second series of training events will be offered onsite at a requesting congregation when there are at least 10-12 participants who have registered from that congregation (and then circuit congregations will be notified of the event and invited to send participants). These one-day workshops are:
A third series of resources and learning objects will be offered only on the internet for missionary formation, with the presentations videotaped and placed on the Kairos Network website for individuals and congregations to view and download. The focus of these resources are: (1) the mission of God; (2) discipleship; (3) body life; (4) worldview; (5) culture learning; (6) core biblical narratives of an apostolic church; and (7) core ministry practices of an apostolic church. To request an onsite workshop, please contact Caren Vogt at the New Jersey District office at 908-233-8111 or via email at vogtc@njdistrict.org. |