Customer Reviews

Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Informative, impact-full and easy to read. This is not a theology of the parables or a complete introduction to the parables, but it contains a brief and beneficial introduction. The real benefit comes from the copulation of sermons that Bloomberg puts together on the parables. He is well read and pulls together all the main scholarly points of view to save the reader some time. Some great insight can be gleaned from this work. I highly recommend it as well as his other work on parables and his commentary on Matthew. Very Good.
Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation

I purchased 3 books on Parables for preaching a series this summer. While I found this particular book interesting, it is important to note what it is and is not.

It IS one pastor's perspective on each of several parables.
It does put the parables into a modern-day perspective and helps you look at them in a new way.
It is a way to consider modern controversial subjects and how they might fit the parables.

It IS NOT a commentary or exposition of the parables.

While it is an excellent book to use in considering how you might proclaim the parables in today's world, it should not be your only resource in preaching them, and if you use this book as your only resource, you will most likely only develop one small aspect of the potential included in the parables themselves.

While well-written, it has limited use, thus 3 stars.

In addition to this book I also purchased The Parables: Understanding the Stories Jesus Told which became my primary resource and Parables of Jesus (The Jesus Library) which made an excellent secondary resource.

anyone serious about preaching on the parables needs this tool from a serious and superb NT scholar

No doctrinal errors in it that I could find and it was easy to understand without pretentious wording. Although I personally didn't learn anything new, but I'm sure that this book will certainly help those who truly want to understand certain parables Jesus taught.