The Parable of the Sower (4 Page Sermon Version)

Prayer/Story Summary/Into Question

I would like to open with a word of prayer, Would you please join me in prayer.

Summary: Instead of reading the text I’d like to follow along as I share an overview of the narrative with you. Jesus is telling a parable to a large crowd about a sower that goes out to sow seed. The sower scatters seed and it falls on the ground in various spaces: the road, the rocks, the thorns, and the good soil. Only the good soil brings a crop some multiplying thirty, sixity, some a hundred times.

In the text the disciples ask Jesus to share what the parable. means We find that what is sown is the word, the seed that falls on the path is snatched by satan, the seed in the rocks are those who recieve the word but fall away in times of trouble. The thorns that chock out are the worries of life and desire for other things. While the good soil is that which produces a harvest far beyond the seed that was sown.

Most of us have heard this parable several times in our life. And on first thought we might scratch our heads when we consider the parable. We might ask why would a farmer plant like this? Well, to offer some background. This refers to a specific farming practice in that time where the seed was sown and the ground was then plowed. The seed not left where it fell, but was mixed into the soil underneath. But I want to ask another question, “What do you think the sower thinks about?”

Page 1: Trouble in the Text.

If we consider the parable and subsequent explanation the problem of this passage is right in front of us. The sower plants by shoving his hand in a large bag and Rythmically swinging his arm in different areas of his field. There are some seeds that produce a crop, but In the end there are some seeds that do not produce anything at all! If we are honest, as Mennonites who want to be good stewards of our resouces, it seems on the surface that alot of seeds go to waste. Jesus draws our attention to the sober reality that there are sowers of the word that Go out and sow God’s word and the harsh truth is there are people who dont have the word of God take root. It would be easy for the sower to think about how much of his work amounts to nothing

Page 2: Trouble in the World.

We also have to be honest about how this fleshes out in our understanding of the parable as it relates to the world around us. Truth is that when we sow, there will be people who do not respond. This could be fleshed out in a number of ways, there are people who wont recieve a word of salvation, encouragement, council, correction, or quite frankly a sermon may fall on deff ears. So what do we think about as the sowers in our world today?

Me: If I can be honest when i think about the seeds that dont bare a crop, I cant help but wonder if the six years I have preached the word and sown at my current Church, Diller Mennonite has been completely in vain. I have yet to see the fruit of my ministry. Maybe you share some of the same disappointments in your own contexts. programs you have tried, ministry initatives, prayer groups. All sown with passion, but at the end of the day you feel like your field is full of rocks and thorns. I may not know what the sower thinks about but this is what I think about and I garentee you anyone in ministry thinks about at one point or another.

Page 3: God’s action and Grace in the Text.

However, I want to draw your attention once again to the parable. The Sower goes out to sow in this rhythmic pattern. Sowing his field in the same way, year in and year out. The results of last years harvest dont change the way the farmer sows. The Sower doesnt judge the ground before his scatters the seed. No the Sower simply thinks about Sowing the seed with reckless abandon. In this Sower, We see Jesus

Jesus went about his life sharing the word of God wherever he went. He preached in the the temple and all the hill side. He preached on the land and from a boat. Here is the real kicker. Jesus knew the people he preached to. He knew when the seed would fall on the path, in the rocks, in the thorns and in the good soil. Yet, He still spread the goodnews wherever He went.

Page 4: God’s action and Grace in the World

The reality is we dont know how many times the word that Jesus’ sowed fell on deaf ears, but I can tell you something we do know. The harvest, Jesus’ word produced a harvest a million times over, Why? We are the harvest friends think about it. Jesus shared the good news with one person that told another and another (5 times) and one person one day sowed a seed in you. In reality, multiple people probably sowed something in you. I want you to take a moment to Pause and reflect on who has sowed a word in your life. As Paul says in 1 Cor 3, one person may have planted a seed, another waters , but God causes a seed to grow. Id also like to invite you to speak the name of those that have sowed in your life out loud.

We are so blessed to be part of Jesus’ harvest, Amen?!?!

I want to share a time that this happened in my life, a sermon illustration that planted a seed that bore fruit three years later.

I want to close by following Jesus and the Sowers’ example right now. I want to sow a word in each of you. I have word for each of you today, with the hope and prayer that if I plant it, God will water it, care for it and produce an abundant harvest in each of you.

Yoel - Quiet Wisdom

Luke- Thoughtful

Betty- Blessed Meekness

Leslie- Authentic Leadership

Bev- Light and Laughter

Josh- A quiet steady Stream

Laura- An Ode to Self

Suzie- Courageous Encouragement

Kelly- Care and Called

Teresa - A Butterfly

Rebbecca- Powerful Prophet

Randal - Compassionate

Christy- A Mighty Oak Tree

Alaina- God’s Mouth Piece

Brothers and Sisters, Think like the sower and sow the seed where every you go and with reckless abandon.