Reference

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Senior Pastor Adam Utecht continues our sermon series, Kingdom Come, with a message from Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23 titled "Sowers and Soils".


Sermon Notes

I. The ____________ (v. 1-3a)


II. Parable of the ____________(v. 3b-9, 18-23)

A. The ____________(v. 3b-9)

B. The ____________(v. 18-23)


1. The ____________ heart (v. 19)

 

2. The ____________ heart (v. 20-21)

 

3. The ____________ heart (v. 22)

 

4. The ____________ heart (v. 23)

 

III.____________ questions for us

A. Which ____________ do I have?

 

B. Am I spreading the ____________ everywhere?

 

Going Deeper

  1. Read Matthew 13:3-9. How does this parable not make sense you? How does the first century context make sense of the parable?
  2. Read Matthew 13:10-17. Why does Jesus speak in parables?
  3. Read Matthew 13:18-23. What is the seed? Who is the Sower? Why are there different types of ground? What is common for all of them?
  4. Look at v. 19 (the hard ground). What is the problem? Why won’t this person receive the gospel Jesus was rejected by his own (see John 1:11).
  5. Look at v. 20-21 (the rocky ground). What is the problem? Craig Keener: “One reason we have so many shallow Christians in some churches today is that many of us have preached a shallow gospel rather than the demands of God’s kingdom, and the are our converts rather than the Lord’s.” Douglas O’Donnell warns us of: “sloppy, sappy sowers—Christian evangelists who preach a half-seeded gospel, evangelists who never tell their disciples what Jesus repeatedly has been telling us in Matthew—that if you follow him, suffering will follow you.”
  6. Look at v. 22 (the thorny ground). What is the problem? Douglas O’Donnell says: “This person cares too little about his soul because he cares too much about the world.” Have you ever found your heart to be thorny ground? What did you do to change?
  7. Read 1 Tim. 6:6-10. Is money bad? Why or why not? What is the warning? How will you apply this to your life this week?
  8. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart tell us: “The point of the parable is the urgency of the hour…most of these [Kingdom] parables are addressed to the multitudes as potential disciples.”
  9. Look at v. 23. How does one produce much fruit? Read Galatians 5:19-26. What is contrasted here? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for help to grow in His fruit this week.
  10. Dan Doriani: “If Jesus is the sower, he sows the word every time he speaks. The parable also reveals how the kingdom works. It enters the world like a seed, in hidden form, without power or compulsion. It comes as a seed, not as a mighty army. The kingdom is genuinely present but not fully present. Many stumble over this. If the kingdom has arrived, why does it seem so weak? Why does it struggle for respect, converts, and resources? Jesus does not explain why but says that it must be so for a time. But let no one despair. Jesus promises that the seed will yet gain a great harvest.”
  11. Read John 15:16. What does Jesus want to do with you? What do you think the “asking the Father" in the name of Jesus means when considering the context?
  12. Read James 2:14-26. James is not saying we must work for our salvation. We know we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10). True faith produces works (or much fruit for God’s Kingdom). If one does not have fruit, what kind of “faith” does he have? What fruit is God calling you to produce this week as you keep in step with the Holy Spirit?