Parable of the Sower

Spring Planting

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

Spring Planting – The Farmer

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8 ESV

During the winter I used to scan through seed catalogues and plan for spring planting. Then on a blank sheet of paper I would draw the garden and decide where to put the cucumbers and squash and tomato plants. Jesus tells a story of a farmer who like me had decided what seed to plant, where to plant it and the exact day to put them in the soil. He left his house with a bag of the precious seed to begin his day’s work. As he started up the hard path some seed spilled out and as it bounced on the hard ground the birds began to follow him and gobble them up. Once he arrived, he tried to evenly spread the seeds in the furrows but even though the plowed field looked beautiful and clean, underneath the surface there were hidden rocks in some places and thorn and thistle seeds in others.

The same story happens every Sunday in our churches. We all hear the same sermon, but the message has different results depending on how we listen. But our problem is not with the farmer or the seed! The difference at harvest time comes from how our field has been prepared. Before we hear even one more sermon maybe our prayer should be, “Oh Lord prepare my heart!”

Pulling out Those Pesky Thorns!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.             Matthew 13:7 ESV

Thorns come with a wide variety of nasty consequences to their recipients. From the big ones that roses hide beneath their blossoms to the tiniest that coat the stems of stinging nettles, they are designed to cause pain. Why would any farmer choose to plant in such a place? Oh that is because without his knowing the thorn’s seeds are carried by the wind and rain and bed themselves down in the same nicely plowed field as the wheat or corn.

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The message for us is that we not only need for things to be taken out of our field, like rocks and roots, but we need to watch out for what comes in. It is not only about having good soil; it is also about guarding against bad seeds. Living for Jesus isn’t complicated. Wrong motivations, temptations and sin are constantly working to try and make our lives seem more complex than they really need to be. So how do we pull out those thorns from our lives? Paul’s message to his friend Timothy makes it simple. Focus on the things that matter to God and He will take care of the harvest!

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

The Farmer and the Seed

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering his seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:3-8

 

Do you remember church bulletins, hymn books or microphones mounted solidly to large wooden pulpits? Technology has certainly changed everything about our worship services in the 21st century. While many of the changes have been great the issues of the human heart haven’t really changed at all since Jesus talked about the farmer’s day of planting 2000 years ago.

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Some of us come so busy glancing our smart watches and text messaging our friends that the word just bounces off us just like the seed that fell on the path. We come to church and return home with no idea of what was said. Other Sundays we think the message was great and head home enthusiastically entering into our calendar the five AM prayer time and the second Saturday of the month leadership training course.  But as we drive the office calls and asks if we could come in extra early on Monday and we get a text from our son’s school asking if we could volunteer to coach the soccer team this spring. Other times we  do continue the outward motions of the commitments we have made but remain in ungodly relationships and activities that clash strongly with everything we believe. We decide that it  is too hard to break away from those things that displease the Lord and put on the back burner the plans for a closer walk with Jesus Christ.

We excuse ourselves by inwardly accusing our pastor. We rationalize that the messages have been weak and that the worship team is pretty disorganized.  Church seems dull and people don’t reach out to us when we think they should. Yet the farmer is the same and the seed is the same. Our challenge is to prepare our hearts for his word but to guard what is planted so it will yield a harvest one day.