When was the last time you planted a garden?
What did you plant? How successful were you when it came time to harvest?
Some people truly have green thumbs. Regardless of the soil, the seed or the weather, they are able to produce a hefty harvest year after year. Others struggle no matter what they do. For people like this, gardening is a mystery they simply cannot solve. Regardless of your talent and abilities, the general rule still applies: good seed in the right environment produces a good crop. Jesus applied a similar metaphor it describing the nature of His kingdom, as we will see in our study today.
“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.”
-Jesus, Mark 4:26 ESV
What do you notice about the farmer in verse 26? Does he seem to be a good farmer? In this parable, who does the farmer represent?
Do you ever feel unfit to serve God? Despite any “inexperience” in ministry, in what ways has God encouraged you to serve?
What are different ways that we can sow the seed of the gospel in the world today? How has God blessed your willingness to share in the past?
“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”
-Jesus, Mark 4:27 ESV
What does it mean to trust the seed? How do you know if you are trusting the seed of the gospel?
What role does trust play in our willingness to be involved in kingdom work?
Do you ever get discouraged when you see little or no evidence of God at work? What are some ways to be encouraged? What specific Scripture encourages you?
“The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
-Jesus, Mark 4:28-29 ESV
What truth do you think Jesus intended to emphasize when He said the soil produced a crop“by itself”(v.28)?
What does it look like when God includes us in the harvest?
Share a time when God has used you in the harvest.
How does knowing that God’s Word has the power to take root and grow without your help—or even in spite of you—make you feel?
As a believer you participate in kingdom work but are not responsible for making God’s kingdom grow. What is at least one way this truth encourages you?
God offers all His followers the opportunity to be involved in His work. Our role is to take the gospel, plant it in lives, and watch God grow it. In our desire to see the harvest though it is important we don’t overlook another agricultural principle.
In what way(s) are you involved in scattering the seed? How are you sharing the gospel?
In what ways are you demonstrating trust in God for the harvest?
Why don’t we re-affirm our commitment to “our three?” Let’s name them, pray for them, and ask God for the opportunity to plant expectantly.
