Continue The Conversation

EMERGE – Cultivating – Parable of the Sower

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Continue the Conversation Questions
EMERGE – The Parable of the Sower
Scripture Reference: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Discuss the following questions with your Mini-Church:

1)  If you’ve ever done seeding, gardening or landscaping, you will find there are soils where seeds thrive and places where they cannot survive.  Share about your own planting and sowing experiences – If what you planted lived and thrived, what attributed to its living?  If what you planted fizzled and died, what attributed to it not surviving?

2) In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the story of “The Parable of the Sower”.  He describes four different conditions of ground for sowing.  As you read through verses 3-8, share the unique conditions and characteristics of “the ground” the seed falls on.

3) In verses 18-23, Jesus transitions to explain to his Disciples about “the ground” or “the soil” as being a metaphor for describing one’s own heart:

o   The seed sown on the road is the Hard Heart (v19), a heart  that needs to soften.
o    The seed sown on the rocks is the Shallow Heart (v20-21), a heart that needs to deepen.
o   The seed sown on the thorny soil is the Constricted Heart (v22), a heart that needs to loosen.
o   The seed sown on the soil is the Fruitful Heart (v23), a heart that’s purpose is to reproduce and multiply.
Spend some time reflecting and conversing about these different “soil conditions of the heart”.  If possible, give testimony to the seasons past and present of God’s “spiritual sowing” in your life.    Where has the “seed” landed – and – how is it growing?

4)  Cultivation and nutrient-rich soil is necessary for seeds to soften, deeply root, grow, bear fruit and multiply. In what new and fresh ways are you challenged to “cultivate” the seed of salvation God has sown in your heart?   

5)  Set aside time to pray…to confess the ways your heart has been hard, shallow or constricted.  Ask God to bring softness, depth and freedom in your Christ-following walk, that your life would be fruitful as God’s Kingdom emerges through the character of Christ emerging in you!

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