Do you enjoy a good gangster movie? One of the classics like The Godfather or Scarface? What about The Departed or Good Fellas? Did you get into the Sopranos TV series?
It’s kind of a strange phenomenon that’s unique to American audiences…but we have always been fascinated with Mob movies. Why is that? What explains our fascination with organized crime? Shouldn’t we hate these people? They lie, cheat, and steal. They kill when they don’t get their way. How do we account for the way we glamorize organized crime?
Then, we come to the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16:1-13 – a strange parable that has baffled scholars. As strange as it sounds, some could argue that this story would have had similar appeal in Jesus’ day to a gangster movie. Listen as Pastor Phil explores this comparison and brings an odd parable to life, making relevant connections with our world today.