2. Mark 4:3-9 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up.

3. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

4. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

5. “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

6. And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

7. The Context Jesus has been preaching Some disregard it
Some are superficially drawn
Some have fully followed
Serves as a warning

8. The Central Figures The Sower The Seed Left ambiguous
Anyone who proclaims the Word
The Seed
The Word
Life-giving Word (1st Peter 1:23-25)

9. The Central Figures
The Soils
The main focus
The source of deadness

10. The Central Figures
“In keeping with the…situation…Jesus calls attention to the negative response to the word.” (Lane, pg. 162)

11. The Compacted Soil Hardened by years of travel
A mind and heart hardened by its own understanding.
Immediate disregard for the things of God
Snatched away by the enemy

12. A hardened shell of emotional and intellectual defenses will not let the Word of God penetrate through to the point where they consciously change their minds, turn around and go the other way.” (Hiebert, pg. 111)

13. The Shallow Soil Soil over bedrock
Enough soil to sprout but not enough depth to sustain
Merely emotional response to what feels good

14. “When the glad prospect gives way to the demand for suffering, they do not stop to consider if the affliction is worth enduring for the sake of the Word.” (Hiebert, pg. 113)

15. The Infested Soil Weeds that choke growth Fertility ill-spent Worry
Riches
Desires
Fertility ill-spent

16. The initial germination of the seed is slowly choked-out by the more easily flourishing distractions of life. This soil settles for what is easily kept green.

17. The Good Soil Soil that is… Bears the fruit of Christ-likeness Broken
Sifted
Weeded
Bears the fruit of Christ-likeness

18. Don’t miss the MARK This is a mirror, not a window
Don’t confuse leaves with fruit
We must continually work the soil of our hearts and minds