We investigate the many and varied Biblical images for the judgement and discuss whether we should think that any of those word-pictures and metaphors describe what will actually happen - or are they designed to teach us something else?
Laurence and Dan continue their exploration of the Gospel of Matthew. This time they take a journey into the wilderness and, through the text of Matthew 4, they witness a strange encounter between the newly baptised Jesus and "the devil", the tempter, or satan. Who or what is this character? Is it a person or a being of some sort? As they explore the text they discover a number of 'flags' which indicate that all is not as it may seem at first sight. Intrigued?! Listen in to hear how their enquiries lead to a compelling explanation!
You might know it as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Or perhaps as the Parable of the Lost Son. Or perhaps even “sons”; plural. Or you may not know it at all, nor any of the parables of Jesus. But however much or little you know about this teaching of Jesus in Luke 15, it’s always worth looking afresh at these stories because they reach beyond the characters involved and encourage us to ask questions about ourselves. In fact, that’s exactly the point of parables.
In a two part mini series Paul Davenport talks to Josh Dean about pride and the power of parables. This is all about how human pride is characterised in the Biblical narrative and then also about how the Bible uses stories, or parables, to help us think deeper and challenge ourselves.