The Sower Sows the Word

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray walked the congregation through the parable of the sower, the first in a series of kingdom parables in the synoptic gospels, and the one Jesus himself explained. The explanation Jesus gave is the key to understanding every parable that follows, because all of them depend on the same underlying question: what is the condition of your heart toward God's word? Pastor Ray set the scene...

Read together

1. Matthew 13 (Parable of the Sower) Primary text for the sermon, quoted at length including the parable and Jesus's explanation
2. Mark 4 (Parable of the Sower) Parallel account quoted alongside Matthew, used as the representative sample for Jesus's explanation
3. Luke 8 (Parable of the Sower) Parallel account referenced for the setting and the disciples asking the meaning of the parable
4. Isaiah (quoted by Jesus in Matthew 13) Quoted by Jesus to explain why he speaks in parables, about hearts grown dull and eyes closed
5. 1 Peter 5:6-11 Referenced when discussing the rocky soil, specifically the adversary the devil as a roaring lion and the command to resist him firm in your faith
6. Ecclesiastes Referenced briefly with the phrase vanity all is vanity to contrast under the sun thinking with the word of God
7. Numbers 6 (Aaronic blessing) Spoken as a closing blessing: may the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you
8. James 4 Mentioned in announcements as the passage Carl would be preaching on Monday night, on what causes quarrels

Talk about it

1. Ray talked about how the disciples, when they didn't understand what Jesus was doing, simply asked him. Where in your own life have you found it hard to bring a question or confusion directly to God in prayer, and what held you back?
2. Ray mentioned that before this sermon series reached the parable of the sower, he had encouraged everyone to take time to cultivate the soil of their hearts. What does that actually look like in practice for you day to day?
3. Jesus names three things that compete with the word of God and choke it out: the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things. Which of those three feels most real and present in your own life right now?
4. Ray brought up the pattern from Amos where God sent famine, war, and plague, each time saying 'you did not return to me.' Have there been hard seasons in your life that God used to turn your heart back toward him, and what did that look like?
5. Ray closed by saying that even hardened or weed-choked soil can be cultivated, and that God can make a fertile plain where there is a well-trodden path. What would it mean for you to open a specific area of your heart to that kind of work right now?