Waiting Father

Description

The Waiting Father is a collection of sermons by Helmut Thielicke, the great German preacher and theologian, which offer deep insights into the spiritual message of Jesus's fifteen major parables. These were originally preached in Michaelskirche, Hamburg, in the mid-1950s.Thielicke approaches the parables in novel ways. In treating the prodigal son, for instance, he concentrates more on the loving father than the rebellious son, emphasising the centrality of forgiveness. Similarly on the pharisee and the publican, he shows that the publican is guilty of spiritual pride and arrogance, drawing attention to the dangers for the faithful.Both among expositions of the parables and among books for preachers, The Waiting Father stands in a class of its own. Great scholars are often poor preachers, and great scholars are rarely good preachers, but Thielicke manages to combine distinguished scholarship with fine preaching.Translated and with an Introduction by the American Lutheran theologian John W. Doberstein.