If you’ve had your eyes checked at an optometrist’s office, you know that certain letters on the Eye Chart look fuzzy until the right lens is put in front of your eyes. What appeared to be a “B” is actually an “E.” What you thought was a “C” is actually a “G.” When Christians study Jesus’s parables in conversation with others, they often experience something similar. Different people read Jesus’s parables through different lenses, which often help improve the focus of our own.
In this series, we will discover new and surprising levels of meaning within seven familiar parables of Jesus that focus on some aspect of Creation to speak of God’s Realm (mustard seeds, fig trees, etc.). Our view of these parables will be augmented through conversations Dr. Elnes has had the prior week not only with Countryside’s Worship Team, but also with our high school COYO group and his Tri-Faith clergy colleagues, who will be attending COYO as well!
Adding to the fun and congregation-wide engagement, Dr. Elnes will be taping a set of podcasts on these same parables with Tri-Faith clergy. They’ll be in conversation with our youth on Sunday nights, then taping the podcast on Wednesday afternoons. Depending on editing time, the podcast will be released during the week following its use in worship.
Listen to podcasts here