Here is the teaching I gave to leadership after we studied the bible on Sowing. I felt like God wanted us to get this and me to pass it on to them.
Enjoy!
Staff Bible Study
September 2011
Nichole Marcell
*According to Jesus in Mark 4 (NLT)- He gives such importance to understanding this parable that He says “how will you understand any other parable if you don’t understand this one”?
Today we will deal with part of this parable:
Mark 4
The Story of the Scattered Seed
1-2 He went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that he had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a pulpit as the people pushed to the water's edge. He taught by using stories, many stories.
3-8"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
10-12When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can't see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people— Whose eyes are open but don't see a thing, Whose ears are open but don't understand a word, Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven."
13He continued, "Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.
14-15"The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.
16-17"And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
18-19"The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.
20"But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams."
Giving, Not Getting
21-22Jesus went on: "Does anyone bring a lamp home and put it under a washtub or beneath the bed? Don't you put it up on a table or on the mantel? We're not keeping secrets, we're telling them; we're not hiding things, we're bringing them out into the open.
23"Are you listening to this? Really listening?
24-25"Listen carefully to what I am saying—and be wary of the shrewd advice that tells you how to get ahead in the world on your own. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes."
Never Without a Story
26-29Then Jesus said, "God's kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—harvest time!
30-32"How can we picture God's kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It's like a pine nut. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it."
33-34With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.
The Wind Ran Out of Breath
35-38Late that day he said to them, "Let's go across to the other side." They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?"
39-40Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, "Quiet! Settle down!" The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"
41They were in absolute awe, staggered. "Who is this, anyway?" they asked. "Wind and sea at his beck and call!"
___________________
We are farmers (leaders)/sowers:
That means that what we do will eventually bring about a particular result.
You plant something every day!
What are you planting today?
What are you planting in the lives of students?
Are you planting something that is eternal or something that is natural?
Students:
Some of the students may be hardened like in this parable.
Utterly fixed in a habit or way of life that is bad.
Some of the students may be marked by hype, easy to excite but shallow in their depth.
Some of the students may be doubtful and full of lust. Overwhelmed by worries and consumed by things they want to get that they don’t have.
But your job is to SOW:
[Breaking up our ground, our soil, is personal responsibility. ????]
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Questions to ask yourself as a planter:
[1] We must sow the WORD .
What are you sharing with students?
What is your advice rooted in?
[2] How do you WATER the seed you have planted?
Matthew 24:45-51
The Message (MSG)45-47"Who here qualifies for the job of overseeing the kitchen? A person the Master can depend on to feed the workers on time EACH day. Someone the Master can drop in on unannounced and always find him doing his job. A God-blessed man or woman, I tell you. It won't be long before the Master will put this person in charge of the whole operation.
48-51"But if that person only looks out for himself, and the minute the Master is away does what he pleases—abusing the help and throwing drunken parties for his friends—the Master is going to show up when he least expects it and make hash of him. He'll end up in the dump with the hypocrites, out in the cold shivering, teeth chattering."
Ex: Gardens need daily water!
*We are not responsible for growth!
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
The Message (MSG)
5-9Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.
[3] Are you collecting the harvest?
Are you gathering?
Are you bringing together from scattered places?
Are you helping to connect the dots?
Are you summoning up for a purpose?
Are you calling to mind, calling forth, the things that God has done and is doing?
[4] Re-planting?
Are you giving them something they can re-plant?
Will they have true seed to re-plant somewhere else or will they just have a bunch of good ideas and opinions?
