Jesus the Storyteller: Relating His Stories to My Story

In relating Jesus' stories to his own stories, Harbour devotes the majority of space to his own--not necessarily stories about himself but many anecdotes and jokes, which he has collected and related to Jesus' parables, along with applications to everyday life. Each short chapter uses a parable as a jumping-off point. The parable is not reprinted, but the reference is provided, with the apparent assumption that the reader will look it up in his or her own Bible. If these chapters were sermons, a churchgoer would classify them as topical rather than explicatory. For example, the first topic is that wealth can't buy happiness, and refers to the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21). Harbour writes on this topic with occasional references to Jesus' parable, including other stories and anecdotes that also illustrate his point. The book is pleasant, easy to read and can be dipped into at leisure. It will please a Christian reader looking for an edifying book that is not too scholarly; anyone who wants an in-depth study of Jesus' parables should look elsewhere. (Mar.)