Good soil
Children's sermon
Object:
a picture of a bird, a bowl of rocks, a bowl of sticks and a bowl of soil
Hello again! Do you remember the reading for today? Let's see. There once was a man who sowed seed. (sprinkle imaginary seed in front of you) What happened to the first bunch of seed he planted? (see if they remember and then hold up the bird) The birds came and ate it up. (show the rocks) Then the sower sowed his seed in rocky ground, but the seed was burned by the sun. It had no soil to cover it. Then the sower sowed in a thorny place (hold up the sticks), but the thorns choked out the tiny plants as they grew. Finally, the sower planted his seed in good soil. (pick up some of the soil in your hand) The seeds became plants that produced a good harvest.
Today's lesson is a parable. It's kind of like a fable; it's a story that teaches a lesson. In this story, the seed isn't really seed -- it stands for something else. I wonder what you think this story could really be about? (get responses) Listen to part of our lesson as I read it again. (read vv. 18-23) Now what do you think?
The seed in the story is just like the word of God. People spread the stories of God's love just like the sower spread the seed. Sometimes the word gets gobbled up and lost and sometimes the word doesn't get a chance to grow because it's not planted in good soil. (hold up the good soil) Sometimes, though, the word gets planted in good soil and it grows into something amazing. We should be just like the good soil. We should let the word of God plant itself in us. If we do, God's word will grow in us, change us and show us the beauty of God's love for us and for the world.
Prayer: Make us good soil ready to hear your word. Amen.
Today's lesson is a parable. It's kind of like a fable; it's a story that teaches a lesson. In this story, the seed isn't really seed -- it stands for something else. I wonder what you think this story could really be about? (get responses) Listen to part of our lesson as I read it again. (read vv. 18-23) Now what do you think?
The seed in the story is just like the word of God. People spread the stories of God's love just like the sower spread the seed. Sometimes the word gets gobbled up and lost and sometimes the word doesn't get a chance to grow because it's not planted in good soil. (hold up the good soil) Sometimes, though, the word gets planted in good soil and it grows into something amazing. We should be just like the good soil. We should let the word of God plant itself in us. If we do, God's word will grow in us, change us and show us the beauty of God's love for us and for the world.
Prayer: Make us good soil ready to hear your word. Amen.
