When you want to get a point across to a group of farmers and/or gardeners you need to be conversant in the various aspects of planting, growing, and harvesting. You might be able talk with them and even persuade them that what you’re saying is true without such knowledge, but if you can drive the point home within the context of what they know – in other words, speak their language – you can be successful in communicating with them in a way that goes far beyond just talk.

In Jesus’ day, everyone knew about planting, growing, and harvesting. So he tells them the Parable of the Sower. The point of the story is that the Kingdom of God will be open to some, but will be hidden from others. It’s not that God deliberately hides something from them, but that they won’t see what is staring them in the face. He offers them the truth of the gospel, but their hearts are hardened, their hearts are shallow, their hearts are crowded with the influences of the world.

As we look at this parable it is my hope that we would see the need to cultivate the soil of our friends’ and neighbors’ hearts so that they will be receptive to the Word of God when it is cast into their lives.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, January 21, 2024. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is Jesus Storyteller: Timeless Truths from His Parables. You can find printed and digital versions of this series online at: https://gc2press.org/jesus-storyteller-luke-study-guide/ .

Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

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