Lake Pointe Sports – Fall 2020

Parables of Jesus: The Sower

Ready (Plant the seed) But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because you hear. -Matthew 13:16 Set (Get the conversation started) This season we will be learning some of the Parables of Jesus. A parable is a story that is used to teach a lesson usually about morals or spirituality. Jesus used them a lot during his earthly ministry. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells a story about a farmer who is planting seeds. Let’s listen in: “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly…but when the sun came up, the plants were scorched (burned) and withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among the thorn, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matt. 13:4-9). Because this is a parable, all of the characters and items represent something. In this story, the seed is the Word of God and the different soils represent how people receive God’s Word. Later in the chapter, Jesus tells us what this parable means. He says that the seed that fell on the path and was eaten by birds is like people who have hardened their hearts to God’s word and they can’t understand it; the seed just falls on the ground and cannot grow. It is taken away by the birds. The second seed that fell in the shallow soil grew fast but then died. Jesus says that this is like people who get excited about God’s Word but when trouble happens or things get hard, they turn away. The third seed dropped in the thorns and is like people who learn God’s Word but get entangled by worry about things in life like money and success so much that God’s Word can’t grow in them. Lastly, the seed that falls onto good soil grows in abundance. This is when God’s Word is heard, understood and put into action: like when you pray, read your Bible and obey God’s Word. That is what Jesus wants for you. That’s how you grow in your relationship with Him. That is good soil. Now let’s pretend that the seed is this ball. (Hold up a ball from your sport.) If you don’t pick up this ball, you can’t play the game and someone may even come and steal it away. If you take this ball but don’t do anything with it, you still are not really playing your sport. If you take it and just go to your games on the weekend, then get so busy the rest of the week that you don’t practice, you will not be a very successful player. If, however, you take this ball and use it all week, practicing and playing with others, you will improve as an athlete. You will get better and better and others will see how good you are and ask you what your secret is! They will want to know more! You will be like the good soil. Grow (Talk it over) -What did Jesus’ Parable of the Sower help you to understand today? -Which soil do you think you may be like? -What can you do to prepare yourself as good soil? Pray Father God, you are the great provider. We thank you for your Word that guides us. We thank you for sending Jesus to share this parable with us so that we can grow in your word and share it with others like the seed planted in good soil. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Overtime (Optional Game if time permits): Story ball -Players stand in a circle. One ball is passed from player to player as each one adds a word to the story. Coach begins the story with: One day a farmer was out in the field when he saw a huge… (pause). Pass the ball to the first player who then adds one word to the story and passes the ball to another player anywhere on the field. Soccer players can spread out and pass to each other. Baseball players can toss the ball to the next player. Play continues until everyone has had a turn and the story comes to an end.