The big ideaIn Jesus's story the seed is God's word, and the ground is how people listen.
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.
The story, then what the episode says it means.How much the good soil gave, in the episode.
Example 1: 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.
Example 2: 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.
Example 3: 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.
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
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?
Why did the plants on the rocky ground dry up?
In the episode, what is the seed?
What did the good soil give?
Answers: 1. Birds gobbled it up · 2. The soil was thin and the roots could not grow deep · 3. God's word · 4. A huge harvest
Try at homeWith a grown-up, tell the story of the four soils in your own words. Then talk about a time you really listened.
For grown-upsLet 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.
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