Posts by Burleson Church of Christ (Page 16)

Luke 16 contains the account of the rich man and Lazarus. You may have noticed that I did not call this a parable. That’s because I do not believe it to be one. This account does not bear the marks of a parable. First, there is a man who is named in the parable. That’s not found in any other parable. Second, the word parable means “to throw beside.” A parable is a real-life illustration or story of something that…

Today’s reading contains three parables concerning those who are lost. In response to criticism that Jesus’ audience, and by extension, Jesus, was somehow tainted by the presence of tax collectors and sinners, Jesus offered three parables to show the value of every soul. Luke 15:4-7 is the Parable of the Lost Sheep. This account pictures those who are lost in ignorance. Sheep are not highly intelligent. Adding to that problem, they have no natural defense. Thus, a sheep might graze…

I remember witnessing my first baptism in Ghana, West Africa. We were all gathered behind the Effiakuma church building where there was a small tank of water. A brother stood outside the tank with a lady and was instructing her about the responsibilities of becoming a Christian (I had to ask since I don’t speak Twi). Before he finished, his voice was raised and he was giving great emphasis to what he was saying. Even though I didn’t understand a…

Because God dealt with a few people directly regarding their sins, many in the Bible believed that personal distress or calamity was always the result of God’s disfavor with an individual. Job’s friends certainly believed this, as Eliphaz first words of “comfort” were to tell Job what a horrible sinner he was by asking, “whoever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? Even as I have seen that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap…

“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). Often, biblical texts wherein the wealthy are condemned are often misconstrued and misunderstood as condemnation for being wealthy, but this is never the case. Many of the Bible’s great characters were men of incredible wealth: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, David, Solomon, etc. The rich but foolish farmer in today’s text is a good case study. The problem was…

So goes the song that is often taught to our small children but that adults would do well to relearn and remember. Jesus said, “the lamp of the body is the eye” (Luke 11:34). This statement is first recorded in the Sermon on the Mount (cf Matt 6:22-23). In that specific context, Jesus warned against the inordinate desire for money and this world’s goods. We know this because in the three preceding verses Jesus admonished us to pursue everlasting heavenly…

Life is filled with choices. The vast majority of these are in the realm of the mundane: What pants or shirt am I going to wear? Will I have a burger or chicken fingers? Plain or peanut M&Ms? Or neither… I’ll have a Snickers bar! Some choices are between what is right and wrong, between good and evil. Will I keep this gossip to myself, or will I give it wings? The cashier gave me too much change. Will I…

When I was a teenager working on the farm, I remember the first time I was allowed to drive the tractor in the field by myself. And “by myself” I mean with no one else in the tractor with me. My job was not difficult. It took 4 tractors to plant soybeans in those days: two discs, a do all, and a planter. I had the easiest job – the first disc through the field. Our fields were square at…

I am an avid gardener and have been for many years. Like most gardeners, I know exactly what vegetables I want, and I know exactly which variety of those vegetables I want. For example, when it comes to sweet corn, I am strictly a Bodacious grower. With indeterminate tomatoes, give me Atkinson. When it comes to peas, nothing but Mississippi Pink Eye #2 Purple Hull will do. I also grow varieties of okra, different types of peppers, squash, cucumber watermelon, cantaloupe,…

“And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John” (Luke 7:29). I have found this to be a most intriguing and helpful phrase. How exactly does one “justify God?” Just a couple of scholarly explanations and I’ll get to the main point of this article… “They considered God righteous in making these demands of them” – A.T. Robertson. “Declaring… that God’s will concerning John’s baptism was right” –…