Jesus Tells a StoryWhat would it be like, if God, the creator of the world, became a person and lived here on earth? Jesus was God. But he was born and grew up here, on earth, in the world, just like any child. The Son of God. In those days, Jesus traveled from town to town. Jesus would teach people about God's kingdom. He would heal people who were sick. He did amazing things. Some people sensed God's presence. They believed and followed. Others were doubtful. What did Jesus think about the people who were doubtful? Jesus often told stories. Through the stories, we get to see what Jesus was thinking. Jesus and his helpers had been traveling and teaching. Some people had been excited and connected. Others were, well, not convinced. One day, Jesus began to teach by a lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. "Listen, here is a story." Jesus said. "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. "Some seeds 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, so that they did not bear grain.
"Hmmm, good story," said one of the followers. "But what does it mean?" "Are you telling us about how to plant seeds?" another asked. "Or is there another meaning?" "There's usually another meaning when Jesus tells stories," another said. "Yes, there's another meaning," said Jesus. "Sometimes I leave it up to people to think about it and figure out the meaning of the stories. But let's talk about this story." "The farmer who is sowing seeds is like a teacher who is teaching about God. The seeds are like the ideas. The ground is like people. Some people hear the ideas. They want to know about God so they pay attention and they let the ideas grow. They keep thinking and learning and growing." "That is what I want for you!" Jesus said. Craft: Make seed packets from cut-up old envelopes and pictures of flowers and vegetable plants. Write or cut and paste quotes from this story on the back of the package. View as Word document (booklet form): Parable_of_the_Sower_Jesus_Tells_a_Story.doc J.M.L. |
"Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times."