Category: Religion

Everything you need to know about The Parable Of The Lost Coin? Jesus wanted the religious leaders to understand how he felt about those who were lost. When we are lost sinners, we are not just “out there” somewhere away from God. God longed for us so much that He took the ultimate action; He offered up His Son as a sacrificial lamb. This He did to cleanse the sinner from sin and restore him to Himself. He would go through any means, any expense to bring them to Himself.

The parable of the lost coin is the story about a woman who loses one of her ten silver coins. She looks through her entire house and rejoices when she finds the coin. After finding this coin, the lady makes it seem like that one coin has become more valuable than all of the other nine coins.

The significance of this story for me was the recurring theme in these parables of judgment. After the woman has found the one coin she lost, it becomes more valuable than all of the other nine coins even though they are of equal value in terms of money. This is similar to the idea that if one were to be a sinner and become lost from God, they would be preferred in the kingdom if they change their ways than nine people who do not repent but claim to be good. A person who has sinned but has begun repentance is much more valued by God then a person who sins and repents but claims not to.

Have you guys ever lost something? I know that I lose things all the time and so does my mom. I remember when I was a little kid, my mom used to lose her glasses every day. Most of the time they’d fall under the bed, sometimes she would put them into a drawer, but I remember there were some times where they would be right on her head the whole time and she never knew. Now when we lose something that has a lot of value, we search for it and we’ll look everywhere for it. And that’s what today’s story is. Today’s story is called the parable of the lost coin. So there was a lady who owned 10 coins. Discover additional information with the The Parable Of The Lost Coin video on YouTube.

This parable teaches us that God is a loving and forgiving person. Although someone may have been lost, they can still be found and repent and be let into the kingdom of heaven. God values those people far more than those who refuse to admit that they have sinned and claim to be followers of him. We learn from this parable that because God is such a loving and forgiving person, it is never too late to clean up our act. There is always an opportunity to repent and become a better person through the eyes of God.

Jesus tells this parable of the lost coin in order to describe redemption. Beginning in Luke 15, tax collectors and sinners have been coming to listen to Jesus and the Pharisees do not like it. The Pharisees were grumbling, saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) In response to this grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus tells them the Parable of the Lost Sheep as well as this parable of the lost coin, in order to explain to them why he eats with sinners and tax collectors.

Let’s talk about The Parable of the Hidden Treasure? Jesus had just finished explaining to the disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, and these two short parables are a continuance of His discussion of the “kingdom of heaven.” He expressed truths about the kingdom in three pairs of parables in Matthew 13: the seed and the sower (vv. 3-23) and the weeds in the field (vv. 24-30); the mustard seed (vv. 31-32) and the leaven (v. 33); and the hidden treasure (v. 44) and the pearl of great price (vv. 45-46).

In the parable, once the man found the treasure, he immediately knew the value and was filled with joy. In the same way, when we find God by seeking Him, we recognize the value of God’s awesomeness immediately. There is no joy that compares to the magnitude of knowing God and being welcomed into his kingdom. (You might find the article on Seeking Jesus helpful.)

The similarities of these two short parables make it clear they teach the same lesson—the kingdom of heaven is of inestimable value. Both parables involve a man who sold all he had to possess the kingdom. The treasure and the pearl represent Jesus Christ and the salvation He offers. And while we cannot pay for salvation by selling all our worldly goods, once we have found the prize, we are willing to give up everything to possess it. But what is attained in exchange is so much more valuable that it is comparable to trading an ounce of trash for a ton of diamonds (Philippians 3:7-9).

In both parables, the treasures are hidden, indicating that spiritual truth is missed by many and cannot be found by intelligence or power or worldly wisdom. Matthew 13:11-17 and 1 Corinthians 2:7-8, 14 make it clear that the mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from some who are unable to hear, see, and comprehend these truths. The disobedient reap the natural consequences of their unbelief—spiritual blindness. Those whose eyes are opened by the Spirit do discern spiritual truth, and they, like the men in the parable, understand its great value.

Notice that the merchant stopped seeking pearls when he found the pearl of great price. Eternal life, the incorruptible inheritance, and the love of God through Christ constitute the pearl which, once found, makes further searching unnecessary. Christ fulfills our greatest needs, satisfies our longings, makes us whole and clean before God, calms and quiets our hearts, and gives us hope for the future. The “great price,” of course, is that which was paid by Christ for our redemption. He emptied Himself of His glory, came to earth in the form of a lowly man and shed His precious blood on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Discover extra details on the The Parable of the Hidden Treasure video on YouTube.

Matthew combines a lot of Jesus’ parables in his Gospel. In Matthew chapter 13, we find eight parables. They begin with a tale about a sower and end with a story about a fisherman’s net. In the middle of all these parables, Jesus drops a couple of parables with similar themes: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44–46).

The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard meaning? When it’s time to pay the workers, the foreman begins with the last workers picked. It’s interesting to note that if he’d paid the early laborers first, he probably wouldn’t have had this problem. But the whole time the foreman is passing out the standard payment for a day’s wages to the late workers, the early workers were probably thinking, “Woah! Look how much money he’s giving them, and they’ve only been here for a few hours!” They probably assumed they were going to receive so much more than the owner originally promised them.

Jesus often uses parables to reveal what the kingdom of heaven is like. He portrays how one enters the kingdom and who the different characters are. In this Parable of the Laborers or Workers in the Vineyard, there are things that He tells the disciples and us about the grace of God and that God is always more than fair. Here is a discussion on this parable and what Jesus means in giving it.

There is also another angle in this parable. When vineyard laborers enter into the harvest, they are entering into a vineyard looking for those who bear fruit which Jesus says that those who are the children of God will be the only ones bearing fruit, showing those who are truly saved and those who are not (John 15). Jesus says in fact “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt 7:16).

But what if the parable was not about salvation but about the gospel? The workers in the parable likely worked and lived day to day, as evidenced by the fact that the owner continually found unemployed workers throughout the day. The one work day depicted in the parable can be interpreted to culminate in death and salvation or to mark the beginning of a new, secure life in Christ; both interpretations work. The first workers were lucky – they found work quickly, with a man who promised them the standard wage for common laborers. On the other hand, imagine what it would be like to be one of the last workers, having fruitlessly waited anxiously all day for some work so that you could feed your family. Then, a landowner offers you work and you go, glad to have at least a chance to earn some money.

He said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard” (Matthew 20:1–7). Jesus’s story begins with a landowner hiring day laborers. Early in the day, the landowner heads out to the location where workers-for-hire wait to be employed for the day. He picks up a handful of laborers and promises them a day’s wages. As the morning progresses, the landowner heads back into town to pick up a few more workers. This time he doesn’t make them a specific promise about payment. He tells them that they shall be paid “whatever is right.” Happy for the work, the laborers head to the vineyard. Twice in the heat of the afternoon, the owner heads back into town. Seeing unhired laborers, he puts them to work. He doesn’t discuss pay in either of these instances. Discover even more information with the The Parable Of The Workers In The Vineyard video on YouTube.

The Prodigal Son meaning? Jesus had his specific audience, a mixture of “sinners” and “righteous,” in mind when he told these three stories. Jesus was prompted to tell these parables because the Pharisees and teachers of the law were accusing him of welcoming sinners and eating with them (verse 2). Clearly, the Pharisees and teachers of the law viewed themselves as righteous and the other half of the audience as sinners. Jesus told the stories of the lost sheep, coin, and son to clear up the matter of who is truly “lost.”

The first parable was about a lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). In this story, the shepherd had 100 sheep. When one became lost, he left the 99 to search for the errant sheep. After finding it and bringing it home, he rejoiced with his friends and neighbors.

In the Gospel of Luke 15:11-32, we are told of a wealthy man who had two sons. The younger son gets up one morning and decides to leave home and go about himself. He asks for and gets his inheritance from his father and he heads off to a strange land. Since he had so much money and possessions, he begins to lavish his substance on vanities – without thinking of his future. He had wine, women, and other pleasures whenever he wanted. Eventually, his profuse and wasteful expenditure costs him all his inherited fortune.

Of all the parables that Jesus spoke, this one featuring the prodigal son may be the most touching and best remembered. Described by Expositor’s Bible Commentary (ed. William Robertson Nicoll, 1889) as “perhaps the crown and flower of all the parables,” this story appears once in the Bible—it is only found in Luke’s Gospel. As we read the account, we can’t help but be captured by the story of a father’s love for his wayward son.

After being hit by difficult living conditions – owing to his foolishness – he decides to humble himself and return home to his father. Instead of being rejected by his father, he gets a warm welcome with gifts and celebration. This gets his big brother crossed and starts a quarrel with his father. His father placates him and reassures him that all that he has belongs to him. Come along with me as we, together, learn the rich lessons in this parable. I divided it into four parts for a much easier understanding. Please do well to open your Bible and read the entire story (Luke 15:11-32). Discover even more details on the The Prodigal Son video on YouTube.

Meanwhile though, the older son had been faithfully working in the fields for his father. Seeing his father celebrating the return of his rebellious brother, he felt angry and refused to join the celebration. His father pleaded with his older son to try to understand his joy over the return of what he had lost. It was like his youngest son had been dead and was alive again. He had been lost and now was found! The story concludes with the father pleading with the oldest son. Many have concluded that this parable is primarily about the oldest son, rather than the prodigal.

The Parable Of The Net explained? The parable of the net is another simple story. However, it is very important. We should understand what it teaches us. Fishermen (men who catch fish) put a net in the water. They catch all kinds of fish, good and bad. At last they pull the net to the shore, and separate the fish. They keep the good ones but they throw away the bad ones. Jesus says that it will be like that at the end of the age. *Angels will separate the *righteous people from the wicked people. Jesus says that there will be severe punishment for the wicked people.

Jesus then interprets the parable for His disciples: “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verses 49-50).

Our Lord would have us consider the consummation of all things, when the great net shall at last be drawn to shore, when there shall be no more sea, no ebb and flow, especially no mingling of bad and good in an obscure and confusing element; but decision and separation, a deliberate sitting down to see what has been made of this world by us all, and a summing up on that eternal shore of all gains and results, and every man’s aim made manifest by his end.

These “bad fish,” or false believers, can be likened to the rocky soil and thorny soil in Matthew 13:5-7 and to the tares in verse 40. They claim to have a relationship with Jesus, saying “Lord, Lord” (Matthew 7:22), and Jesus’ reply will be “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (verse 23). The sobering main point of the parable can be stated thus: “A day of reckoning will come in which God will separate the true believers from mere pretenders, and those found to be false will be cast into hell.” See extra details on the The Parable Of The Net video on YouTube.

Our condition in this respect bears a close resemblance to fish enclosed in a net. At first, while the net is wide, they frisk and leap and seem free, but soon they discover that their advance is but in one direction, and when they halt they feel the pressure of the net. So it is with ourselves. We must go on; we cannot break through into the past; we cannot make time stand still till we resolve how to spend it. The years spent in indecision, in doubt, in self-seclusion, cannot now be filled with service of God and profit to our fellows.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast video and FREE coloring pages for children? Jesus told the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14. This parable is similar in some ways to the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24), but the occasion is different, and it has some important distinctions. To better understand the context of this story, it is important to know some basic facts about weddings in Jesus’ day.

The wedding banquet was one of the most joyous occasions in Jewish life and could last for up to a week. In His parable, Jesus compares heaven to a wedding banquet that a king had prepared for his son (Matthew 22:2). Many people had been invited, but when the time for the banquet came and the table was set, those invited refused to come (verses 4-5). In fact, the king’s servants who brought the joyful message were mistreated and even killed (verse 6).

Nothing is hidden from God. If you are maintaining a façade of righteousness, He knows. If you are trying to hold onto the world and maintain your salvation, it won’t work. You cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Accept God’s free gift of salvation today. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” “The wages of sin is death,” the Bible warns (Romans 6:23). Nothing will save us except the blood of Jesus.

The king is God the Father, and the son who is being honored at the banquet is Jesus Christ, who “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11). Israel held the invitation to the kingdom, but when the time actually came for the kingdom to appear (see Matthew 3:1), they refused to believe it. Many prophets, including John the Baptist, had been murdered (Matthew 14:10). The king’s reprisal against the murderers can be interpreted as a prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70 at the hands of the Romans (cf. Luke 21:5). More broadly, the king’s vengeance speaks of the desolation mentioned in the book of Revelation. God is patient, but He will not tolerate wickedness forever (Obadiah 1:15). His judgment will come upon those who reject His offer of salvation. Considering what that salvation cost Jesus, is not this judgment well deserved (see Hebrews 10:29-31)?

Note that it is not because the invited guests could not come to the wedding feast, but that they would not come (see Luke 13:34). Everyone had an excuse. How tragic, and how indicative of human nature, to be offered the blessings of God and to refuse them because of the draw of mundane things!

The wedding invitation is extended to anyone and everyone, total strangers, both good and bad. This refers to the gospel being taken to the Gentiles. This portion of the parable is a foreshadowing of the Jews’ rejection of the gospel in Acts 13. Paul and Barnabas were in Pisidian Antioch, where the Jewish leaders strongly opposed them. The apostle’s words echo the king’s estimation that those invited to the wedding “did not deserve to come”: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). The gospel message, Jesus taught, would be made available to everyone.

For his crime against the king, the improperly attired guest is thrown out into the darkness. For their crimes against God, there will be many who will be consigned to “outer darkness”—existence without God for eternity. Christ concludes the parable with the sad fact that “many are invited, but few are chosen.” In other words, many people hear the call of God, but only a few heed it.

Who doesn’t enjoy a royal wedding? In Matthew 22:1-14, Christ told an intriguing story of what happened to some reluctant guests. Read the parable below with the commentary in between. “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.’”

To summarize the point of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, God sent His Son into the world, and the very people who should have celebrated His coming rejected Him, bringing judgment upon themselves. As a result, the kingdom of heaven was opened up to anyone who will set aside his own righteousness and by faith accept the righteousness God provides in Christ. Those who spurn the gift of salvation and cling instead to their own “good” works will spend eternity in hell. The self-righteous Pharisees who heard this parable did not miss Jesus’ point. In the very next verse, “the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words” (Matthew 22:15). The Parable of the Wedding Feast is also a warning to us, to make sure we are relying on God’s provision of salvation, not on our own good works or religious service. See additional details on the The Parable of the Wedding Feast video on YouTube.

Just as the king provided wedding garments for his guests, God provides salvation for mankind. Our wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, and unless we have it, we will miss the wedding feast. When the religions of the world are stripped down to their basic tenets, we either find man working his way toward God, or we find the cross of Christ. The cross is the only way to salvation (John 14:6).

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant and other spiritual videos? Christianity has undeniably been one of the greatest cultural influences on the history of Western Civilization. The ideologies, moralities, and even anecdotes found in the Christian Bible have reappeared time and time again. From political decisions to art and literature, these ideas helped shape European lives for millennia. One example is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, a tale found in the Gospel of Matthew, 18:23-35. The story is one of forgiveness, surrounded by other stories of forgiveness, and what it means in the Christian doctrine.

So, in Matthew 18:21, the disciple Peter comes to Jesus and asks how many times he should forgive someone: ”how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Why seven? According to Jewish traditions, you should forgive a person who has sinned against you three times, so Peter thinks he’s being pretty generous. Jesus responds by saying you should forgive someone seventy-seven times, a hyperbole implying there’s no limit to forgiveness.

Therefore, in the Parable of the Unforgiving / Unmerciful / Unjust Servant, Jesus is teaching His disciples, and us by extension, that forgiveness should be in like proportion to the amount forgiven. The first servant had been forgiven all, and he then should have forgiven all. In like manner, a child of God by faith through Christ has had all sins forgiven. Therefore, when someone offends or sins against us we should be willing to forgive him from a heart of gratitude for the grace to which we ourselves are debtors.

{The danger is that there is at least one thing that will keep Him from offering us this act of mercy. It’s our obstinacy in failing to forgive those who have wronged us. This is a serious requirement of God upon us and one we should not take lightly. Jesus told this story for a reason and the reason was that He meant it. We can often just think of Jesus as a very passive and gentle person who will always smile and look the other way when we sin. But don’t forget this parable! Don’t forget that Jesus is serious about obstinate refusal to offer mercy and forgiveness to others.|Why is He so strong on this requirement? Because you cannot receive what you are not willing to give away. Perhaps that doesn’t make sense at first, but it’s a very real fact of the spiritual life. If you want mercy, you must give mercy away. If you want forgiveness, you must offer forgiveness. But if you want harsh judgment and condemnation, then go ahead and offer harsh judgment and condemnation. Jesus will answer that act in kind and severity.|Reflect, today, upon those powerfully piercing words of Jesus. “You wicked servant!” Though they may not be the most “inspiring” words to reflect upon, they may be some of the most useful words to reflect on. We all need to hear them at times because we need to be convinced of the seriousness of our obstinance, judgmentalness and harshness toward others. If that is your struggle, repent of this tendency today and let Jesus lift that heavy burden.

It is a parable of Jesus, which appears in the gospel of Matthew. Make sure you’ll listen right to the end to find out who is this unmerciful servant. You might be surprised we find this parable in Matthew chapter 18 please follow with me on the screen as I will read from the Bible. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven maybe compare to a King who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. And as he could not pay, his Lord ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, Lord, have patience with me. Discover more information on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant video on YouTube.

At that point, Jesus tells Peter the story of a servant and a king. The servant owes the king ten thousand bags of gold, a clearly un-payable debt. Since the servant can’t ever hope to repay the debt, the king orders him and his family sold into slavery. The servant begs for time and patience. The king, being merciful, agrees and cancels the entirety of the servant’s debt.

Baptist churches in Gainesville FL? We exist to help all people discover family in Christ by reaching those far from God and making disciples who build God’s kingdom. Discovering family in Christ means knowing God as Father and His followers as brothers and sisters. It means having a relationship with the Creator of the universe that gives you a purpose on earth. It means finding your place among the people who have committed their lives to share God’s love.

Therefore, in the Parable of the Unforgiving / Unmerciful / Unjust Servant, Jesus is teaching His disciples, and us by extension, that forgiveness should be in like proportion to the amount forgiven. The first servant had been forgiven all, and he then should have forgiven all. In like manner, a child of God by faith through Christ has had all sins forgiven. Therefore, when someone offends or sins against us we should be willing to forgive him from a heart of gratitude for the grace to which we ourselves are debtors.

Most have felt that we have been overlooked, neglected, or abused. Most of us have felt rejected a time or two. Of and by themselves, these feelings are not wrong. But, again, we must beware, because these feelings can begin to generate pride. Such a thing fed Helel’s feelings about himself. They simmered in him and made him angry, and he desired to assert his will to control the governance of all that was happening. “I will ascend to heaven,” he said, and he tried to. We see the pattern here; we can see the process involved from beginning to end.

The Parable Of The Lost Coin video and FREE coloring pages for children? During this time period, most homes only had one room with a lower floor and a slightly raised upper level. Many families would keep one or two livestock (which would be all they owned) in the home with them, in order to prevent theft. The upper level was used for meals, cooking, and sleeping, while the lower level is where the animals were kept; thus, houses were very dirty having all kinds of debris on the floor.

The Parable of the Sower? Meaning of the Parable of the Sower: “But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (Mark 4:8) First, there is the hard heart, the seed that falls along the roadside. This represents people who hear the Word of God, but never really believe. Then there is the shallow heart. That is the seed that falls on stony ground. This signifies the people who hear the Word of God and receive it with joy, but because there is no root to sustain them, they wither.

The best way to find Christian churches in Gainesville FL? If you are searching for a church JOIN FOR FREE to find the right church for you. Churches in Alachua County Florida and zip code 32601 are included with reviews of Baptist churches, Methodist churches, Catholic churches, Pentecostal and Assembly of God churches, Lutheran churches and other Protestant and Catholic Christian churches. See extra info at Churches in Gainesville FL.

A more careful reading of the parable offers an alternate meaning behind Jesus’ words. The eleventh hour workers in the parable represent people who have not heard of Jesus previously. When questioned as to why they are not working, they reply in verse seven that “no one has hired [them]” (Matt. 20:7, NKJV). Even in the “deathbed conversion” interpretation of the parable, the fact that all workers receive the same wages does not indicate that Christians are given a free pass in life as long as they repent before they die. Instead, the parable assures us that there is no advantage to having been born a Christian and that all are likewise saved not by their works but by the goodness of Christ.