The kingdom of heaven is like…

With these words, Jesus would captivate, frustrate, and challenge his listeners. In every gospel, the main way Jesus chose to describe his ministry and kingdom was through parables. Some of the most well known teachings of Jesus, such as the story of the prodigal son or the good Samaritan, are parables. We often approach these teachings from Jesus with uncertainty. How are we supposed to know what the stories mean? Is there anything special that happens when parables are taught? Why did Jesus choose to be so cryptic? How should we respond?

We’ll wrestle with all of these questions as we learn what it means to live as citizens of the kingdom of God.