Yesterday I had the privileged to preach for the first time since I have served at Surfside Presbyterian Church. We have been studying an excellent small group study called "Modern Parables" and the sermons have been following the same passages. As fate would have it, the passage that fell to me was the most difficult. I was assigned the parable of the Shrewd Manager.
This text is by far the most difficult sermon I have ever preached. The text was extremely difficult to fully wrap my head around and therefore, difficult to communicate. I would like to share a few thoughts before sharing the link to the sermon.
> This text is part of the same encounter with the Pharisees that began in ch. 15.
> This story is tied very closely to the story of the Prodigal Sons
> Though verses 10-13 are related, they are not a part of the parable. Instead they are a complex poem contrasting Mammon and the Kingdom.
> There are as many opinions on what this text means as there are commentators.
> I do disagree with the narrow application of this parable simply to finances.
So there are some of the complexities of this passage. Feel free to comment below.
2 comments:
Thanks for the sermon yesterday, Justin. You did a great job with a difficult text.
Your message was prepared well, delivered well, and most of all pointed me to Jesus. It stirred my heart to love and serve His kingdom and not the kingdom of this world that is passing away.
Great sermon...although, I think you got to preach on the Shrewd Manager parable b/c Tim, Julian and Shane didn't feel like tackling such a beast of a passage. Am I right, or am I right?
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