Listen Mark 4:1-20

Inside Information

(Scene)

Mark 4:1–3 (CSB): Again he began to teach by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore. 2 He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them,

3 “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.

Jesus gives us inside information

Inside information is valuable

You feel like you get a leg up

Hey if you come back at this time…

If you use this code

taco Tuesday

how the Word and the enemy works.

On the hunt for Lurking

It makes it easy when the delivery is unthoughtful

How the sowing of the word works

Sown on a Path:

places where it doesn’t belong

Mrs Petways path

4:10 asked him

matt 11:15 Let anyone who has ears listen.

Cares of this Word

18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19

 but the worries of this age,

the deceitfulness, of wealth,

and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.

12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Hospitable Christian

1 Cor 9:22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.

Welcome:

ἀποδέχομαι apodechomai | 4 of 20

Lk 8:40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.

Lk 9:11 When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.

Ac 18:27 And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed,

Ac 28:30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him,

How do you prepare for hearing the word?

What could you do better to receive the word?

How can we help others be prepared to hear the scriptures?

2 cor 2:5

A SINNER FORGIVEN 5 If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate—to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7 As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, he may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 I wrote for this purpose: to test your character to see if you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for your benefit in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

Jesus wants us to ask ourselves: “Are you like the pathway? Are you like the rocky soil? Or are you like the thorny soil?” Perhaps what we most need today is Christ’s help to break up the hardness in our hearts, or break down the rocky substratum that’s lying below the surface, or the Spirit’s help to do the necessary weeding.