Jesus continued, “It is like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went

Jesus continued, “God’s kingdom is like ten young bridesmaids who took oil lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five were smart. The silly bridesmaids took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart bridesmaids took jars of oil to feed their lamps … So stay

Jesus said, “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty”. (Matthew 23: 11 – 12) Politicians, civil servants, and

Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: Love others as well as your love yourself. These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s

The Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So

Jesus continued, “When the king entered and looked over the scene, he spotted a man who wasn’t properly dressed. He said to him, ‘Friend, how dare you come in here looking like that!’ The man was speechless”. (Matthew 22: 11 – 12) People turn down great business opportunities every day

“Here’s another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent

Jesus said, “Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said,  ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard’. The son answered, ‘I don’t want to’. Later on he thought better of it and went.

“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with

At that point Peter had the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?” Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven”. (Matthew 18: 21 – 22) “Do you want to be right or do you want to be in