One walks to the front, sits down….<\/p>\n
Modern day Bible parables\u2026<\/p>\n
Scripture(s): Luke 18:10-14<\/em><\/p>\n Description: Tim<\/strong><\/span> was quite rich, looked nice, was polite & kind & helped people all the time. He was a \u2018good christian\u2019. He went to church & was very thankful for what God had done & who he was.<\/p>\n Philip<\/strong><\/span>, the other guy, was rough & rude – and sometimes stole things. He went to church only occasionally & didn\u2019t talk to anyone.<\/p>\n I talked of the way they prayed and then asked the younger children which one was God happy with\u2026Interesting responses and a good way for the children to interact with heart of the Gospel.<\/p>\n I then asked the older kids what I had been doing – they knew the parable so we read it together:<\/p>\n \u2002\u2002 * Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:10 \u2002 * \u201cTwo men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 \u2002 * The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer:\u2018I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don\u2019t cheat, I don\u2019t sin, and I don\u2019t commit adultery. I\u2019m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 \u2002 * I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income. \u2019<\/em> It’s a great idea to put parables in your own words, your own names and \u2018embellishments\u2019 but be sure to keep true to the Word. I personally always use the actual scriptures afterwards and elevate what they say, so the children get used to the authority of the Bible.<\/p>\n It is easy to throw in our own bits in (as the \u2018poem\u2019 below shows) which can be dangerous for anyone – especially children. Children interpret things and idea continually and I have heard from many. many children who grew up in \u2018christian\u2019 homes that they never heard the gospel. Now obviously there is an element of spiritual significance here (namely that even if the gospel is preached 100 times a day they may never \u2018hear it\u2019 unless God reveals it), however it is vital that we preach \/ teach \/ model the correct thing.<\/p>\n Jesus is clear about what He is addressing in this parable and it\u2019s setting:<\/p>\n Just before the parable we get the context: This is not something that was preached randomly, but to those who \u2018had great confidence in their own righteousness\u2019 and \u2018scorned everyone else\u2019.<\/p>\n For your characters this is what needs to be emphasised. It doesn\u2019t matter about the clothes, the actions during the week, the persons professions (though this helps convey the message) the heart attitudes of the hearers is what is being addressed.<\/p>\n And again the heart of the people as they pray in the Bible is clear: The tax-collector however has no thought or mention of others – just an acute awareness of his own position before God and begs for mercy. The guilty conscience – a vital step before forgiveness!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I attempted a poem along this theme – and it shows my cultural \u2018impressions\u2019 with the position in church, times etc. My unrehearsed rendition to the kids mentioned clothing too\u2026<\/p>\n Two blokes walked into church. One greeted people confidently and walked to the front row. It had been a great week and he had a lot to be thankful for:<\/em> The other guy was polite, but behind the sheepish smile <\/em> At the end of the service they both went on their way, \u201cThank you oh thank you for the time you\u2019ve taken, <\/em> Conclusion: He desires and rewards the humble heart. Forgiveness is for the humble.<\/strong><\/p>\n PRAYER: Lord, please help me to stay humble. No matter how often we fall or how \u2018far\u2019 we come – let us always keep our eyes fixed on your and your perfection. Continue to convict us of our sin and wretchedness. We are nothing and you are everything – thank you for your love and grace. Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One walks to the front, sits down…. Modern day Bible parables\u2026 Scripture(s): Luke 18:10-14 Description:Today for Jesus time I talked of two men, Timothy & Phillip. Tim was quite rich, looked nice, was polite & kind & helped people all the time. He was a \u2018good christian\u2019. He went to church & was very thankful for what God had done & who he was. Philip, the other guy, was rough & rude – and sometimes stole things. He went to church only occasionally & didn\u2019t talk to anyone. I talked of the way they prayed and then asked the younger …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[137,168],"class_list":["post-862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-thought","category-jesus-time-devotionals","tag-forgiveness","tag-pride"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/screenshotMBP_259.jpg?fit=1144%2C728&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pasDCW-dU","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":863,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862\/revisions\/863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wildeden.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Today for Jesus time I talked of two men, Timothy & Phillip. <\/p>\n
13 \u2002 * \u201cBut the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, \u2018O God, be k merciful to me, for I am a sinner. \u2019 14 \u2002 * I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted<\/em>
(Luke 18:9-14 NLTSB)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u2002 * Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else<\/em>
(Luke 18:9 NLTSB)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
One lists his own \u2018good deeds\u2019 and declares his thanks for how sin-free he is. His opinion (blinded) is that he is sin-free comes from the fact he compares himself to others not to the Holy-ness of God.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThank you Lord, for my job, the things that went so well<\/em>
and the success that tasted so swell. <\/em>
It was clear that you had a hand in it all, <\/em>
I am so thankful that I didn\u2019t sin or have a fall. <\/em>
It is so good to be me, I only pray that others could be too – <\/em>
the world would be a better place <\/em>
if they only walked like me they wouldn\u2019t feel such disgrace.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
were things not so nice and he had known for quite a while. <\/em>
He may have seemed quite rude to those around, <\/em>
when they smiled at him he stared right at the ground. <\/em>
His prayer was quite different, for his week was actually quite bleak. <\/em>
\u201cI\u2019m sorry Lord for my many failures – before you I just wreak. <\/em>
If only I could make it just one day <\/em>
and do the things that you say. <\/em>
Please forgive me, though I don\u2019t deserve, <\/em>
You\u2019re so Holy and I am just far too weak.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
those with their hearts in tune, could hear what the Lord did say:<\/p>\n\n
but now it\u2019s time to stop giving yourself a rakin\u2019<\/em>
because you’re no longer God-for-saken. <\/em>
Your confession of sin and humble heart <\/em>
are what I desire from the start.<\/em>
Your prayers to me are like sweet incense <\/em>
and for any Christian, surely common sense. <\/em>
I love your desire to be like me <\/em>
and walk less stained, even sin-free. <\/em>
I know with you that my love is not wasted <\/em>
and your smile, when it comes, is not pasted. <\/em>
Go from here completely forgiven, <\/em>
all because my Son was given. <\/em>
Continue to get up and walk, <\/em>
with me of course you can always talk.<\/em>
Cleansed by my Son\u2019s precious blood, <\/em>
picked up from the dirty, sticky mud. <\/em>
Please challenge, but don\u2019t be blunt, <\/em>
and share my love with that boy, up the front.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n