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Revisiting the Parables of Jesus: Ancient stories, contemporary audience

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who lost his iPhone at a subway station… 

Not quite the image of the Kingdom you would expect? For audiences in Jesus’ day, his parables sounded just as bizarre—if not shocking and unsettling! It’s sometimes difficult for modern readers to feel the original power of the Jesus’ parables. Two thousand years of history has made us too familiar with them and too far removed from their ancient themes and cultural settings.Lisa López Smith revisits the parables with a modern take to help us feel the emotional impact they had at the moment of their first telling. 

These stories were collected in the gospels because they changed the lives of Jesus’ followers. They can change our lives too. And when lives are changed, the world changes. Get ready to meet Jesus in a whole new way! Hear his parables as if for the first time, and understand why they were meant to turn the world upside down. 

With a discussion of the context and audience, and a creative revisiting of the parable for contemporary readers, each chapter ends with discussion questions that are designed to bring deeper understanding and application of the Scripture passage. Get ready to meet Jesus in new ways through these stories that were meant to turn the world upside down. 

The book takes a closer look at the following parables: the vineyard/day labourers, the wineskins, the talents, the banquet, the two sons/prodigal son, the good Samaritan, and the minas. Now available as the updated version, which includes the parable of the shrewd manager! 

A print version of the book will be available in the summer of 2014. (Find it on Etsy in TheMexicanCorner shop!) 

revisiting the parables of Jesus

Advance praise: 
“Lisa López Smith has accomplished something few authors achieve: she has managed to capture the twinkle in Jesus’ eyes as He told His life-altering stories. While staying true to the Biblical narrative, she does something equally important, she conveys a sense of awe for the One who describes the rawness of life, love, faith and grace. Her portrayal of the Good Samaritan as a transgender outcast says everything about this work that needs saying: it demands that the reader wrestle with the meaning of Jesus’ stories today.” 

Dr. Tim Schroeder 
National Pastor 
The Leadership Centre/Willow Creek Canada 
Teaching Pastor 
Trinity Baptist Church, Kelowna, Canada 

Lisa Lopez Smith is alive, fully alive, and this life bursts into her writing. She does not revisit the parables of Jesus alone, but every visit includes a coterie of scholars, friends, and deep reflection. Obscurities in the parables of Jesus disappear through Lisa’s insight and study. If you are trying to understand the relevance of Jesus’ teaching, this book is for you! 
Dr. Lucas van Boeschoten, Community Pastor, Centre St. Church 
Calgary, Canada 

Due to a successful indiegogo campaign, a revised and expanded version (including a chapter on the parable of the shrewd manager/unjust steward) of this book will be available in print in September 2014!!

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