Study Group Readings:

“All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; and without a parable spoke He not unto them…” (Matt. 13:34). Why did the Lord speak only in parables? In the Gospels, Jesus explains a few of the parables to His disciples privately, and He promises that the hour is coming when He will no longer speak to us in parables but will announce to us openly concerning the Father (John 16:25). That hour has come with the giving of the Heavenly Doctrine. “[A]fter the end of the Israelitish Church, interior Divine truths were revealed by the Lord for the Christian Church, and now still more interior truths [are revealed] for the church that is to come. These interior truths are such as are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word” (AE 948:3). Come and see some of the beautiful truths and goods wrapped up in the Lord’s parables.

The Sunday church service at the beginning of each week will be on the same topic as the Study group for the week. After Sunday you should be able to find a recording of the service under “Worship Services”, and a link will be placed below with the other information about that week.

Please read or listen to the daily readings before your Study Group meets. You can download them below or pick up printed copies at the church. If you do not have time to read all of the readings, click the “Show highlights” box on each page and read the highlighted portion.

If you need to find a Study Group to join, contact the Pastor’s office.

• Week 1: Why the Lord Taught in Parables
     —Watch the related church service: Why the Lord Teaches in Parables
  Read or listen:

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	Why the Lord Taught in Parables
  Day 2:	The Seed Growing Secretly
  Day 3:	Salt, Light, City, Lamp
  Day 4:	Keep Praying!
  Day 5:	Not what goes into the mouth defiles man.
  Day 6:	The Unjust Steward

  Print the week’s readings: Week 1    (with highlights  )
• Week 2: The Church from Planting to Harvest
     —Watch the related church service: Becoming Good Ground
  Read or listen:

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	The Sower
  Day 2:	Jesus’ Explanation of the Sower
  Day 3:	The Wheat and the Tares
  Day 4:	Jesus’ Explanation of the Wheat and the Tares
  Day 5:	The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
  Day 6:	The Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Net, the Householder

  Print the week’s readings: Week 2    (with highlights  )
• Week 3: The Judgment After Death
     —Watch the related church service: Our Covenant with the Lord
  Read or listen:

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	New cloth, new wineskins
  Day 2:	A kingdom or house divided; binding the strong one
  Day 3:	The Ten Virgins
  Day 4:	The Talents
  Day 5:	The Minas, part one
  Day 6:	The Minas, part two

  Print the week’s readings: Week 3    (with highlights  )
• Week 4: The Judgment, Part Two
     —Watch the related church service: The Good and Evil Servants
  Read or listen

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	Bit of straw vs. beam in one’s eye
  Day 2:	The Wicked Vinedressers
  Day 3:	The Two Sons, and the Barren Fig Tree
  Day 4:	The Wedding Banquet
  Day 5:	The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant
  Day 6:	The Parables of the Flood and of Lot

  Print the week’s readings: Week 4    (with highlights  )
• Week 5: Forgiveness
     —Watch the related church service: Repentance of the Life
  Read or listen

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	The Lost Sheep
  Day 2:	The Lost Coin
  Day 3:	The Lost Son
  Day 4:	The Lost Son, continued
  Day 5:	The Two Debtors
  Day 6:	Pharisee and Publican

  Print the week’s readings: Week 5    (with highlights  )
• Week 6: Love Toward the Neighbor
     —Watch the related church service: The Good Samaritan
  Read or listen:

  	Introduction
  Day 1:	The Good Samaritan
  Day 2:	The Unforgiving Servant
  Day 3:	The Workers in the Vineyard
  Day 4:	Take the Lowest Seat
  Day 5:	The Rich Man and Lazarus
  Day 6:	The House on the Rock

  Print the week’s readings: Week 6    (with highlights  )