Same Seed, Different Result When the winds of change blow, some build walls and others build windmills Chinese Proverb Same Seed, Different Result Mark 4:1-20

Two roads diverged

Two Questions Asked Why does Mark use this parable as the first recorded teaching in his gospel? How did the soils come to be different?

One Action Taken Eugene Burnand, The Sower, 1908, charcoal on paper

Four Results Achieved

One Interesting Development Parables are told so that not everyone will “get it” They are a type of riddle that requires perseverance and an explanation They are part of the separation of old and new; family from family; Israel from Israel

Two Questions to Answer What is the major application of this parable to 1) us as individuals, 2) us as a congregation? Is it appropriate to spend time conditioning the soil?