1. Sunday Morning in the Word
June 18, 2017

2. Wednesday, June 21st at 12:24am EDT?
The Summer Solstice

3. People and Parables
A Study of the People Jesus Met and the Parables He Taught which Will Help Us Follow Him!
Coming to Grace Summer 2017

4. Letter from Don Mills (Elder Chair) Letter from Pastor John
Pastor John’s sabbatical goals
Two-sided rayer card (praying for Pastor John and Grace Church)
Sabbatical Packet:
June 26th – August 28th
Schedule of Sunday morning speakers

5. Sunday Morning in the Word
Luke 8:4-15

6. “To throw alongside of”
What is a “parable?”
para (alongside of) and baleo (to throw)
“To throw alongside of”

7. The Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:9-10
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God,
but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

8. The Context of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:4
And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable . . .

9. The Context of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 7:29-30
(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

10. The Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:9-10
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God,
but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

11. “parables start”

12. The Parable of the Soils
The Illustration of the Parable
The Explanation of the Parable
The Application of the Parable

13. The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:5
A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 

14. The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:6
And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

15. The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:7
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 

16. The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:8a
And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. 

17. The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:8b
As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

18. Seed grows, withers; no deep roots Seed produces bountiful harvest
The Illustration of the Parable of the Soils
Summary of Soil Types
Hard soil
Seed snatched away
Shallow soil
Seed grows, withers; no deep roots
Crowded soil
Seed crowded out
Good soil
Seed produces bountiful harvest

19. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:11
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 

20. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
1 Peter 1:23-25
Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

21. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:12
The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 
The hard or indifferent heart which says, “Not interested! Not now, not ever!”

22. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:13
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
The shallow or impulsive heart – “Hallelujah! Uh, where’s the exit?”

23. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

24. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:14
And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 
The crowded or infested heart – “Give me Jesus AND give me the world!”

25. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Mathew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

26. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Luke 8:15
As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
The responsive or impressionable heart – “I have decided to follow Jesus … no matter what!”

27. A responsive/impressionable heart (Luke 8:15)
The Explanationof the Parable of the Soils
A responsive/impressionable heart (Luke 8:15)
• Hears the word - but this is not enough as Jesus says this about all four of these “heart types”
• Holds fast to the word - Jesus says this of ONLY this fourth soil!
• Bears fruit - which is the proof that the acceptance of the word is real and genuine!

28. The Explanation of the Parable of the Soils
Summary of Heart Types
The hard, indifferent heart – “Not interested! Not now, not ever!”
The
shallow, impulsive
heart – “Hallelujah! Uh, where’s the exit?”
The
crowded, infested heart – “Give me Jesus AND give me the world!”
The responsive, impressionable heart – “I have decided to follow Jesus no matter what!”

29. The Parable of the Soils The Application of the Parable
The Illustration of the Parable
The Explanation of the Parable
The Application of the Parable

30. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

31. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
1. Don’t let the lack of response (hard heart) or the poor quality of response (shallow or crowded hearts) to your “sowing” of the gospel keep you from “sowing!”
Some hearts are ready to say “YES!” to Christ (responsive hearts) – and once the seed is sown in these hearts, a bountiful harvest is only a matter of time!

32. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
2. As you reflect on the condition of the soil of your own heart which is it most like? Which word best describes your heart’s condition when it comes to God’s Word?
Indifferent? (Hard?)
Superficial? (Shallow?)
Crowded?
Responsive?

33. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
Every single one of us need to undergo a divine heart transplant.
Ephesians 2:1
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.

34. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

35. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

36. The Application of the Parable of the Soils
Once you receive your new heart, then you must learn to walk with God by getting to know, live, and give away
HIS WORD!