Beyond the Weekend: Parables
The stories Jesus told and what they mean for your life today.
Why did Jesus teach in stories? Because the deepest truths about God are often found in the ordinary moments of life.
In the parables, Jesus takes everyday things, a lost sheep, a dinner party, a farmer planting seeds and uses them to show us what God is really like and what it means to follow him.
This summer, we’re spending seven weeks in the parables from Luke’s gospel. Whether you’ve heard these stories a hundred times or this is your first time, you’re invited to come and hear them fresh.
June 27/28–August 8/9
The Return of the King
Read: Luke 12:35-36 | Listen: Luke 12
Like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Luke 12:36
In his parable, Jesus describes a master who returns home, though no one knows exactly when. He points beyond that story to something far bigger: his second coming. Paul later echoes this same promise, teaching that "the Lord himself will come down from heaven" and "we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). It's a hope woven throughout the New Testament, and one longing threads through it all: God’s people are waiting expectantly for Jesus to come back. When Jesus or his followers talk about his return, it is always linked to an action for his believers and how they are to live today.
We, too, can rest in the truth that Jesus will return, and that truth should shape how we live each day. Our hearts long for his return, even when we don't realize it. We feel it when someone we love dies, when pain lingers from what someone else has done to us, or when a wound never seems to fully heal. Every unresolved hurt is a quiet longing for Jesus to come back and make things right. We can live with confidence and trust that he will restore all things, even when we can't see it yet. He has promised to return, and whatever we face until then, we can wait with hope. One day, he "will wipe every tear" from our eyes and make all things new (Revelation 21:4).
TODAY: Bring God whatever is causing you grief, anger, or frustration. Lay it at his feet, name what you're longing for, and ask him for his strength to endure the waiting with hopeful anticipation.
