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Jesus
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Parables
Do you enjoy stories? People generally like a good tale. It’s part of sharing life and helping us experience the world from different perspectives. Many teachers will tell their pupils stories to help them learn, and as a fun way of sharing knowledge. Often stories are a good way of getting a message across to an audience.
Jesus used stories – called parables – to teach people. They illustrated what he was saying and were designed to make people think about how the teaching applied to them. Sometimes the message of the parables could be quite challenging for people to hear, especially if they were living lives that did not fit with Jesus’ teaching. People sometimes also had difficulty understanding the true meaning of the parables and needed them to be explained.
One of the most famous of Jesus’ parables is the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus used this parable to explain the lives we should live if we want to be part of God’s kingdom. Today charities like The Samaritans and Samaritan’s Purse take their names from this story.
Jesus’ parables continue to inspire people to think about how they are living and to consider the needs of others. In this section you will find versions of some of these stories, and examples of the difference they have made to Christians today. Perhaps you know some already. Can you name the parable that tells the story of a loving Dad who welcomes his son home, even after the son had spent all the Father’s money?
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