More of the Lesson

Have you ever worked in a garden? What were you growing? What sorts of things do you need to make plants or vegetables grow? What do you have to do to make sure they stay healthy?

Today, we are going to learn about a story - or parable - that Jesus told that compares the Word of God to seed.

What are Parables?

Take this opportunity to teach your children what parables are. They are little stories Jesus told that teach us about the Kingdom of God. They are similar to fables in that they are stories with a deeper meaning. But fables give moral or ethical lessons. For example, the Tortoise and the Hare teaches us not to give up (if you are the tortoise) and not to be too full of yourself (if you are the hare). The Boy Who Cried Wolf teaches us that if we lie repeatedly, people won't believe us even when we are telling the truth. Parables teach us about life in the Kingdom of God, or life as a Christian.

The Parable of the Sower is found in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:3-25 and Luke 8:5-18. This parable is best read directly from the scriptures. Below is an overview of the 4 different types of soil:

Type of Soil

Result

Path

When we don't understand the word, it is like it is snatched up like a bird swoops down and eats a seed he finds on a path.

Rocky Places

When we receive the word and it springs up quickly, but trouble comes and because it doesn't have a good root, it quickly falls away.

Thorns

When we receive the word, but the worries of life and our possessions choke it out.

Good Soil

When we receive the word, understand it, and it changes us. It "produces a crop"

The Kingdom lesson in this parable: Not everyone receives the Word of God. We must be willing to receive it and allow it to be more important than anything else in the world.

Teach the Story

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Questions

• What is a parable? A little story Jesus told that tells us about the Kingdom of God, what life is like as a Christian

• What did Jesus compare the Word of God to? Seed that a farmer plants in the ground

• Did all of the seed in Jesus' story grow? No

• What were the different types of soil the seed fell on? A hard dirt path, rocky soil, among thorns, good soil

• When Jesus explained the parable, what are some of the things that get in the way of the Word of God in our lives? When we don't understand it, when troubles come, when we get too worried about our possessions or money

• What happened to the seed that fell in the good soil? It grew and produced a crop

• What was the Kingdom lesson in this parable? Not everyone receives the Word of God. We must be willing to receive it and allow it to be more important than anything else in the world.

• Jesus helps us understand that the Word of God (what the Bible teaches us) should produce a crop in our lives. It should change us.

• Is your life different as a Christian? How can you let the Word of God change your life?

Directions

Directions

1. Play the game of Four Corners, but instead of each corner of your room being a number 1-4, name each corner: Path, Rocks, Thorns, Soil.

2. Write each word on a sheet of paper and hang them on the wall at each corner.

3. Identify one child to be "it" (or have the teacher be "it")

4. While It closes their eyes and counts to 10, all the other students run to one of the four corners.

5. Then It says one of the four names of the soils.

6. All children in that corner sit down and are out of the game. If no one is in that corner, no one has to sit down.

7. Repeat until there is a winner.

Directions