1. The Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1-20

2. The Parable Three sections – Parable, Awkward middle, Jesus’ Interpretation Jesus liked teaching in parables Unusual to have an interpretation

3. The Path The path is hard and trampled on The birds come and eat the seed The seed does not have a chance to grow The Weeds The seed is allowed to grow The weeds surround it and deform it The plant produces no fruit Rocky Ground The seed is allowed to grow The rocks prevent root growth The plant is scorched and withers The Good Soil The seed can grow It matures and increases It produces large amounts of fruit

4. The Path The seed is the Word of God Satan takes away what is sown in them There is no growth of faith The Weeds The cares of the world and other desires surround The Word is choked It yields nothing Rocky Ground The Word is received with joy The do not develop any roots When persecution comes they wither away from faith The Good Soil They hear the Word They accept it They produce much fruit

5. The Awkward Middle Is Jesus suggesting that the Word is kept as a secret only for a few to understand? Jesus is explaining why he is speaking in parables This is before his death and resurrection A ‘Secret’ is something originally only known by God A parable is only understood with a key Without the key it remains a mystery Salvation is the global key Relationship with God helps unlock scripture

6. We have been given the secret The secret that was only known by God is now ours The secret is the Word of God The secret is the story of salvation The secret is the seed

7. Can we change our soil?

8. Struggling with stones? Pray for rotivation Nothing wrong with the plant Need to grow deeper roots This is an issue of maturity The stones need pulling out Pray for the removal of obstacles Pray for a deeper faith

9. Struggling with weeds? Pray for weeding The plant is unable to fruit Need to remove distractions This is an issue of focus What is distracting you from God? Pray that the world is put in context

10. What about the good soil? The fruitful become the sower The sower isn’t protective over the seed The sower doesn’t choose his ground The seed is spread in abundance The church should spread the Word in abundance We should not be choosey about the soil The harvest is great, the labourers are few