Bible Memory Verse:
“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop…” Mark 4:20
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by preserving produce a crop.” Luke 8:15
“Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path.” Proverbs 23:19
“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways,” Proverbs 23:26
“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it ith your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:10
Matthew 13:3-9
“…‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. (4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. (6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. (8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (9 He who has ears, let him hear. “
Mark 4:3-9
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. (4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. (5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. (6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (7 Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. (8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times.’
(9 “Then Jesus said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’”
Luke 8:4-8
“While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town to town, he told this parable: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the bird of the air at it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’
When he said this, he called out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’”
* The Parable of the Sower Explained
Matthew 13:18-23
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: (19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart This is the seed sown along the path. (20 What was sown on rocky places is the man who at once receives it with joy. (21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. (22 What was sown among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. (23 But what was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Mark 4:13-20
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Don’t you understand this parable? How then can you understand any parable? (14 The farmer sows the word. (15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. (16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. (17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. (18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; (19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
(20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
Luke 8:11-15
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they cannot believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by preserving produce a crop.”
1. What is a parable? Jesus first tells the parable—then he explains this parable.
2. Who scattered the seed? (v. 3) What does the seed symbolize? (v. 14)
3. What happened to the first seed that was sown by the farmer—the seed that fell along the path? (v. 4) What happen to the word that was sown among the first group of people (v. 15)?
4. What happened to the seed that “fell on rocky places?” (v. 5) What happened to the group of people that is symbolized by “the seed sown on rocky places?” (v. 16-17)
5. What happened to the “seed that fell among thorns?” (v. 7) What happened to the group of people that were symbolized by the “seed among thorns?” (v. 18-19)
6. Can you give any examples of these people who hear the word of God and reject it? Why do they reject it?
7. What happened to the seed that “fell on good soil?” (v. 8) What do the group of people like “seed sown on good soil” produce? (v. 20) What does it mean to produce a crop?
8. What do we have to do to accept the word of God?
Romans 3:21-26
“This righteous from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in Jesus.”
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9-10
“…That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your heart that you confess and are saved.”
Ephesians 2:4-5
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”