Life Principles from the New Testament
Parables & Word Pictures
By Cheri Cowell
In this thirteen-week workbook-style Bible study on the New Testament parables, readers will develop an ear for the message these stories convey – that the Kingdom of God is at hand and is in you and me. And one glorious day the Kingdom will come to completion when the Ultimate Parable, Jesus the Christ, returns and takes His throne. Until that time, we are the keepers of the Kingdom, and as subjects of this nation we must live in such a way as to please the King. The parables tell us how to live as Kingdom people.
Of the thirteen weeks, the first nine explore the parables of Jesus in the four gospels; the next three look at the parables in Acts and those from Paul and the apostles. The study culminates in a look at what the author calls living parables, with Jesus as the Parable of all parables.
Through Him we come to know God the Father, and through Jesus we come to live as living parables in a world begging to “see God.” Living story-shaped lives allows others to see God in us – this is Kingdom living.
The workbook includes a chart of parables in chronological order, a chart of parables alphabetically arranged in the four gospels, a chart showing the locations in Israel where the parables were taught, and an index of scriptures to make finding parables quick and easy. A downloadable Group Study Guide is available through the author’s website as well as a photo gallery of pictures from the author’s trip to the Holy Land where these parables were first shared.
Author, speaker, and sidewalk theologian, Cheri Cowell is passionate about discipleship and challenging the body of Christ to holiness of heart and life. As the author of Direction: Discernment for the Decisions of Your Life (Beacon Hill, 2007) and over 300 articles, Cheri’s love of story and the Holy Word shines through in her writing and teaching.
In 2009 Cheri was one of six Christian journalists chosen to tour the Holy Land as a guest of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, a blessing that only deepened her love of the parables Jesus told. In 2011 she earned a Masters in Theological Studies degree from Asbury Seminary, where Cheri studied under Dr. Brian Russell, who apprenticed under Dr. Robert A. Traina. It is his Inductive Bible Study method combined with Dr. Russell’s own Missional Hearmenuetics that has given Cheri a newfound joy in studying the Bible and its Grand Narrative.
From her twenty-years in both professional and lay Christian ministry, Cheri has wrestled with the realities of living a Kingdom life. Through writing and speaking she shares this sidewalk-tested faith to encourage, challenge, and equip the body of Christ to live Story-shaped lives. She and her husband, Randy, both native Floridians, currently live in Orlando, Florida.
