Text Version | Afrikaans | Italian
“I want to help!”
“Me, too! Me, too!”
“May I, please?”
The children gathered around excitedly as Mom took the seed packets out of the shopping bag.
“I want the carrots.”
“Then give me the pumpkins.”
“But I don't want to plant onions. Yuck!”
With a laugh, Mom divided the seeds among the children. “This year, each of you will have your own garden. You will get to choose where you want to plant your seeds, and you will be responsible for weeding and watering your own plot. So before you get started, you need to go outside and search carefully for the perfect spot.”
With that, the children went outside. They looked around the front yard and the backyard. They considered things like where the sun would come up in the morning and how far the water hose would reach. Each child chose the perfect place for planting a garden.
Jerry took great care to dig the soil properly. He removed all the weeds and rocks he found and read the back of the package to make sure the seeds were planted deep enough. He faithfully tended his garden all summer long. On the hottest days, when the others didn't want to work in their gardens, he could be found working diligently outside.
Sally started off right. She also made sure her garden was planted in good soil and removed the weeds and rocks. However, as time went on, she lost interest in her plants. Other things became more important to her. Instead of working in the garden on those hot summer days, she preferred to spend her time talking on the telephone to her friends. It didn't take long for weeds to grow up and take over her garden. Soon it became difficult to tell exactly which were weeds and which were the plants.
Billy didn't think he needed to go to all the trouble. He didn't realize how important it was to have good soil. He didn't want to dig deep because the rocks were in the way, and it was hard to dig them out. So he just left them there and tried planting his seeds around the rocks.
Then there was Jill. She took her seeds and just scattered them around on the top of the ground. She quickly lost interest and didn't bother to even try to take care of her garden the rest of the summer.
Now take a few minutes to think about what kind of harvest each of the children was able to get from his garden when summer was over and it was time to pick the ripe vegetables.
If you guessed that Jerry had a good harvest, you are absolutely right. He had plenty of vegetables. In fact, he was able to set up a table in front of his house and sell some to the neighbors.
Sally had some good vegetables, but most of them were small because the weeds grew up and took the nutrition out of the ground. She wasn't able to sell any of her vegetables because people were buying Jerry's.
Billy didn't have much to pick. His plants had a little soil around them, and at first they looked like they were going to grow, but when the really hot days came, the poor plants just couldn't live. They wilted and died.
Unfortunately, Jill didn't have any plants by the end of the summer. Remember how she scattered her seeds on the top of the ground? Well, the birds came along and had themselves quite a good lunch. They didn't leave any seeds to grow into plants.
Jesus told a story called a parable about four kinds of soil. A farmer went out to his fields to plant seeds. Some of the seeds fell on top of the ground, and the birds came along and ate them up. Some of the seeds grew in the rocky soil, and they sprouted up quickly but died in the heat of the sun. Some of the seeds tried to grow where there were weeds, and, of course, they didn't grow very well. Then there were some seeds that fell in the good soil, and they grew strong and tall, and there was a lot of grain that came from them.
Jesus told what the parable means. He said that the different types of soil are like different types of people, and the seed is like the Bible or the Word of God.
When some people hear the Word of God, they don't even try to listen or understand. The devil takes the Word of God away from them and makes them forget, just like the birds ate the seed that fell on the top of the ground.
Some people are like the rocky soil. They hear the Word of God and want to do right, but they soon give up.
Other people want to listen to the Word of God, and they try to remember to obey the Bible and do the right things, but other things are more interesting to them. Like weeds growing in the garden, they have too many other activities to take their time. So, they learn a little about God and His Word, but they don't grow very strong.
Then there are the people who are like the good soil. They hear God's Word, and they work hard to understand it. They want to obey God, and they keep on trying to learn more so they can grow strong enough to tell other people all about Him.
THINK!
1. What happened to the seeds that fell on top of the soil?
2. What happened to the seeds that were planted in rocky, shallow soil?
3. What happened to the seeds that grew into plants but were not weeded and tended to?
4. What happened to the seeds that were planted in good soil and tended to?
REMEMBER
It is very important to hear God's Word and to obey Him.
A VERSE TO LEARN
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
So, what kind of dirt are you? In other words, what do you do with the Word of God that you hear or read? Do you listen to it and then forget all about it? Or do you do what it says for a little while and then stop? Or do other things become more important than obeying the Word of God? Or do you continue to learn more from the Bible, and obey it? Does it change you to become a better person?
What kind of dirt do you want to be? What would you need to do to become good dirt?
[After discussion:] If you really want to obey God, you will make an effort to set aside time to pray, read the Bible, get to know God’s will and do what He says. Then God will help you become more like Him and give you a desire and wisdom to tell others about Him so that they, too, can get to know Him.
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Dear God, I thank You for giving me the Bible.
Please help me to learn more about You by reading
and listening to your Word. I want to grow to be
strong so I can help other people learn to love You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Matthew 13:3-8; 18-23
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************
Unscramble the Memory Verse:But grace, and in grow of Lord in Savior the
Jesus and Christ. our 2 Peter 3:18 knowledge
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