How it works
A big crowd gathered by the Sea of Galilee, so Jesus taught from a boat. He told stories called parables.
In the story, a farmer sowed seed. Some fell on the path, and birds gobbled it up. Some fell on rocky ground with thin soil, and the sun dried it up. Some fell among thorns, and they crowded it out. Some fell on good soil and grew a huge harvest.
Later Jesus told his friends what it meant. The episode says the seed is God's word, and the four kinds of ground are four ways of listening.
The episode says we can be good soil when we listen with care and remember what we hear.
Worked examples
The rocky ground, step by step
- Shoots popped up fast on the thin soil.
- Then the sun rose hot and bright.
- The roots could not grow deep, so the plants dried up.
Match the ground to what happened
- Path: the seed lay on top, and the birds gobbled it up.
- Thorns: the seed began to grow, but the thorns grew taller and crowded it.
- Good soil: roots went deep, and the harvest was thirty, sixty, even a hundred times as much.
Fix the mistake
- Someone says the seed on the rocks grew deep roots.
- Look back: the soil was only a thin layer over rock.
- Fix it: the roots could not grow deep, so the plants dried up.
A taste of the worksheets
These are some of the questions on the sets. The printable sheets have more and an answer key.
- In the episode, Jesus said the seed is God's ___.
- In the episode, what is the thorny ground like? 🌾 People who take it in and bear fruit / 🌿 People whose worries crowd it out / 🪨 People who are glad at first but give up
- A child said: Birds ate the path seed. The rocks gave deep roots. Thorns crowded the seed. Which part is wrong? 🐦 Birds gobbled the seed / 🪨 It grew deep roots on the rocks / 🌿 The thorns crowded the seed
- The episode says we can be good soil. How? 👂 Listen with care and remember what we hear / 🌱 Sow more seed / ⛵ Build a boat
- True or false? 🌱 In the story, did seed fall on the good soil?
Words to know
- parable
- A short story that teaches something.
- sower
- A farmer who scatters seed.
- harvest
- The time when the ripe crop is gathered in.
- thorns
- Prickly plants that grow in a field and can crowd out a crop.
Watch out for
- The plants on the rocky ground grew fast, but fast was not the same as deep.
- The farmer's story and what Jesus told his friends it meant are two parts. A sheet can ask about either one, as the episode tells it.
- After the story Jesus said whoever has ears to hear, let them hear. The episode says Jesus wanted people to listen well and understand.
Try it
What happened to the seed on the path?
Birds gobbled it up. The seed lay on top with nothing to cover it.
Why did the plants on the rocky ground dry up?
The soil was thin and the roots could not grow deep. When the sun rose hot, they drooped.
In the episode, what is the seed?
God's word. Jesus told his friends the farmer sows the word.
What did the good soil give?
A huge harvest. Thirty, sixty, even a hundred times as much.
For grown-ups
With a grown-up, tell the story of the four soils in your own words. Then talk about a time you really listened.
Let your child tell the farmer's story first, then the four kinds of ground, using the episode's words. The meaning you read is the one the episode gives.