READING: Romans 8:1-11, Psalm 119:105-112, Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
SERMON : "A Farmers's Parable: The Sower and The Seed"
Rev. Richard J. Fairchild
a-or15sn.y-a 679
The following is a more or less complete liturgy and sermon
for the upcoming Sunday. Hymn numbers, designated as VU are
found in the United Church of Canada Hymnal "Voices United".
SFPG is "Songs For A Gospel People", also available from the UCC.
Sermon Sources: King Duncan "A Niche For Every Itch" Matthew
13:1-9,18-23 from Dynamic Preaching, July 1996 and William H.
Willimon, "Holy Extravagance" in Pulpit Resource, Vol. 21, No.3.
Year A, July, August, September 1993. Note that this sermon works
in sequence with the one to come for next week.
GATHERING AND MUSICAL PRELUDE (* = please stand)
* WORDS OF WELCOME AND CALL TO WORSHIP
L The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
P And also with you.
L The Lord who made us, made this day for us to rejoice and be
glad in.
P We are here to praise God's name and to call upon him in
faith.
L We can call upon the Lord in confidence for God is righteous
and swift to answer those who trust in him.
* HYMN: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" - VU 232
* PRAYER OF INVOCATION:
Gracious and ever loving God - we thank you for this day that you
have made - this holy Sabbath day in which you call us to rest
ourselves in your presence and to rejoice with one another over
your goodness and pray with one another for all the blessings
that you have bestowed - and want to bestow - upon your people.
Be present O God with us in this hour and help us to be present
with you - we ask it in the name of Jesus - Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS
Gathering in of prayer joys and concerns.
PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD'S PRAYER
Intercessions and Thanksgivings as gathered.
* HYMN: "Now The Green Blade Rises" - VU 186
A READING FROM ROMANS 8:1-11
(NRSV) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of
death. {3} For God has done what the law, weakened by the
flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in
the flesh, {4} so that the just requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit. {5} For those who live according to
the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the
things of the Spirit. {6} To set the mind on the flesh is
death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
{7} For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is
hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law--indeed it
cannot, {8} and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
{9} But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit,
since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not
have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. {10} But if
Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the
Spirit is life because of righteousness. {11} If the Spirit
of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who
raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal
bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
L This is the Word of the Lord
P Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN'S TIME: God's Tool Kit
Object Tool Box with various tools in it.
Theme: God gives us all we need to do his work.
Source: Charlene Fairchild
Base concept. Show forth a tool box and various items in it.
Talk about how useful each is. Transition to if God had a tool
box in which he kept the tools he needed to do his work, what
would he put into it? (Invite responses)
Conclude: We are God's tools. He uses us to do his work. The
love, the patience, the creativity, the forgiveness, he gives to
us we are meant to use within the world.
* HYMN: "This is The Day" - VU 412
RESPONSIVE READING: Psalm 119:105-112 (VU 841,Part 5) and Sung
Refrain
A READING FROM MATTHEW 13:1-9, 18-23
(NRSV) That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat
beside the sea. {2} Such great crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd
stood on the beach. {3} And he told them many things in
parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. {4} And
as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came
and ate them up. {5} Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where
they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly,
since they had no depth of soil. {6} But when the sun rose,
they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered
away. {7} Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew
up and choked them. {8} Other seeds fell on good soil and
brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty. {9} Let anyone with ears listen!"
"Hear then the parable of the sower. {19} When anyone hears
the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil
one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this
is what was sown on the path. {20} As for what was sown on
rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and
immediately receives it with joy; {21} yet such a person has
no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or
persecution arises on account of the word, that person
immediately falls away. {22} As for what was sown among
thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of
the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it
yields nothing. {23} But as for what was sown on good soil,
this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who
indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in
another sixty, and in another thirty."
L This is the gospel of our Risen Lord.
P Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
* HYMN: "Ask Me What Great Thing I Know" - VU 338
SERMON: "A Farmers's Parable: The Sower and The Seed"
"Gracious God - bless now the words of my lips and the
meditations of our hearts. Breath your Spirit into us and
grant that we may hear and in hearing be led in the way
you want us to go. Amen.
Have you noticed a growing trend in our society to classify
people according to personality types - as if we are trying to
find a niche for every itch?
For example, in the world of advertising, there is a
theory that divides people into different groups based on
their supposed lifestyles. According to one theory of
classification two of these groups are the "belongers" and
the "achievers".
Belongers are middle-class folks who want more than
anything else to do the accepted thing. Therefore, to sell
a product to people in this group an advertiser will
stress that the product is the most popular product of its
kind. That same pitch would not work with a group of
achievers, however. Achievers, so the theory goes, are
financially successful people who would not want to buy
the most popular product. They only want to own things
that most people can't afford. An example of how this
particular theory is put into practice can be seen in
advertising campaigns for the financial firm of Merrill
Lynch, whose slogan is: "We're bullish on America."
At one time, Merrill Lynch had a TV ad that showed a herd
of bulls running about. Arnold Mitchell, the researcher
who developed the theory that differentiates between
belongers and achievers, argued that this herd image was
all wrong for an ad designed to attract wealthy investors.
"A herd is a belonger symbol," he said. "Rich people with
money don't want to think of themselves as one of a herd.
They want to think of themselves as achievers." If you
have seen Merrill Lynch ads on TV, you know that the
company has heeded Mitchell's advice. One ad showed a
lone bull (an achiever) pushing its way through a herd of
sheep (an achiever's view of belongers.)
People are different. So are animals.
According to NEWSWEEK magazine, at least one scientist is
now attempting to classify cats according to personality.
"Want to find out if little Fluffy will grow up to be a
mouser or a lounger?" the article asks. A Cornell
University researcher is developing a kitten personality
test to match pets with prospective owners. The
researcher hopes that this test will cut down on the
number of cats returned to shelters because of
incompatibility. The test categorizes kittens according
to their reactions to 13 measures such as prolonged
petting, new environments, moving pull toys and
silhouettes of dogs.
Pretty crazy stuff eh??? Nevertheless, as experiences surely
does show us - there are differences among cats -- and among
people.
Jesus knew that people are different. Once he told a parable:
"Listen!", he said, "A sower went out to sow. And as he
sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and
ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they
did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly since
they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they
were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered
away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew
up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and
brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty."
Later, as we know from our reading of the gospel today, Jesus
interpreted this parable for his disciples. Basically his
interpretation tells us that different kinds of people respond to
the gospel in different ways.
Some do not understand the gospel - the pathway in their
heart is too hard for the seed to bury itself and develop
roots - so the seed is snatched away by the first critter
that comes along.
Some receive the word with joy - but the soil of their
heart is too rocky - and so the word endures in their
lives for only a short time - it never develops the roots
that it needs to survive hard times - the times when it
seems that faith might cost us something a bit more than
simply saying "I believe" - that it might actually cost us
our wholehearted trust.
Still others, Jesus tells us, allow the living word to be
choked out by the cares of this world, by the lure of
wealth or power or prestige - or by their constant
neglect of those things needful for growth - the pruning
back of activities that crowd in upon the most important
activities we can indulge in - the hearing of the word -
prayer - and the fellowship of other believers.
And then of course there is the good soil - the folk who
hear the word and understand it, who indeed bear fruit and
yield, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in
another thirty.
What kind of soil are you??
How do you respond to the seed that is cast into your life?
The Reverend Jerry Anderson, a retired pastor in Tennessee, was
an avid duck hunter as a young man.
Every fall when the first cold front moved in from the
north, he would take out his duck decoys, clean them up
and put new anchors on them. When duck season opened, he
was ready. He and his dad usually hunted mallards. Now,
mallards are puddle ducks, according to Reverend Anderson.
They paddle around in shallow water and feed on the marsh
grasses growing there. They eat only what they can reach
from the surface. Occasionally, though, he and his dad
would see a redhead or canvasback slipping into their
decoys. These are diving ducks. They dive to great
depths to feed on plants growing on the bottom of the
lake.
Now, in some ways, Anderson says, Christians are like
those ducks. Some are puddle ducks, satisfied with the
nourishment they find in the shallows of the Christian
life. Others are divers. They plunge deeply into the
Word through study, reflection, and participation in the
life and ministry of their church. The word yields a rich
return in their lives.
People are different.
People respond to the Gospel in different ways.
As a result some people suggest that the parable of the Sower
- as this parable is traditionally titled,
ought to be really titled - the Parable of the Seed.
This suggestion is not that a bad an idea.
It's not a bad idea because it focuses our attention on the
question - what kind of soil are we?
How is it that we respond to Word of God - and to the various
Acts of God -in our lives?
- Do we allow trials and tribulations of this world to
overwhelm the tender seed growing within us? Do we pull
back when people harass us because we are believers? Do
we decide that because things are not working out the way
we think they ought - that God doesn't care for us - that
He is powerless and weak - and not to be heeded.
- Do we allow the cares of this world - our ambitions and
our desires for success and happiness to choke out the
messages that God sends us through the various events of
our daily lives and through the various people we
encounter?
- Or, to mix the metaphor a bit - do we dive to the depths
of the word that we have received it might be fruitful in
our lives?
How we respond to the Word of God is key to how fruitful the
gospel is going to be in our lives.
And, unlike the situation in nature in which seed and various
kinds of soil encounter each other, we do have control over how
we receive and respond to the gospel message; we can, as it were,
change the kind of soil that we are.
We are not passive receivers of the Gospel
- at least we don't have to be.
We have power over how we respond to the Gospel. God has given
us this tremendous freedom to either say "Yes" to Him or "No" to
Him.
And in saying either "Yes" or "No", God also has given us the
freedom and the power to have hearts that are fruitful for
him - or hearts in which the word is quickly snatched away
or quickly withers and dies.
When you think about it - there is a lot to be said for calling
today's parable "The Parable of the Seed". Yet for centuries it
has been known as the "Parable of The Sower" and I think I know
why - I think it has been called the Parable of the Sower because
this title focuses our attention on just what it is that God does
and how gracious he is in it.
You see there are many seeds that God casts into our lives - and
all of them are meant to land in good soil and to produce
abundant fruit.
But, as any farmer knows, some seed is going to fall in places
where it simply will not thrive. Knowing this, however, does not
prevent the farmer from sowing seed - nor does it prevent him
from praying for and expecting a good crop.
When God deals with us - God deals with us even more generously
than does the best farmer.
God allows the seed to land on the hard paths and the rocky
ground and in the thickets of our lives in the hope that in those
places it will find a place to mature and bear fruit - in the
hope that those things which impede growth will be removed - in
the hope that the soil might be just a little deeper than it at
first appears to be in those rocky places.
I know a couple just entering their middle age whose lives were,
until recently, a total mess.
He was a heavy drinker and abusive at times towards his
wife and intolerant of his children. Religion to him -
especially talk about Jesus - was stupid and to be
avoided.
She, in turn, was angry and bitter and had little good to
say about her husband, her job, or her life. She had no
hope and she let people know it.
Neither of them seemed to be very good soil. The cares
and the troubles of this world were heavy upon them.
Their goals and ambitions - to be successful in business -
to have children who achieved at school and in sports were
all they cared about. To put the matter quite simply -
their values and their lifestyle seemed to preclude any
chance that they would ever be saved - any chance that the
Word of God could enter their hearts and live.
Yet God planted seed in their lives. They came to know
that they needed help to save their marriage. And, one
day, after a particularly ugly episode, they asked for
help - from a pastor. And he told them that what they
needed was Jesus in their lives. And that one seed -
amongst all the others that had been cast their way over
the years - took hold in a little bit of rich soil that
existed amongst all the rocky ground and hard paths and
thickets which composed their lives.
I stand before you and tell you - that one seed has
already yielded a hundredfold - and that other ground -
that ground upon which all the other seed previously
perished - it is even now being transformed. They have
plunged to the depths of the word that they finally
accepted - and in so doing their whole lives are being
changed.
Say Praise God!!!!
Praise God for the miracle of growth and salvation he performs!
Praise God for his healing love!.
The Sower sows everywhere my friends
knowing that when he does
he will end up with an abundant harvest.
God does discriminate between the good ground and the bad ground
when he goes forth to sow. He accepts the fact that some of the
seed will be snatched away, that some of it will grow quickly and
then wither, that some of it will be strangled,
and he sows anyway.
And so we ought -
So we ought to sow the word of God's love as generously as
God sows.
So we ought to trust that what we sow will, in the end,
produce a harvest -
- even when it appears that the there is little chance for it
- even when it appears that every inch of ground is worthless.
Today's parable is a farmer's parable
it is a parable about a sower
and about seed and what happens to it.
It's message for us - is that there is hope for a harvest;
it's message is that we should not discriminate in our sowing
of God's seed, that while there are many kinds of people -
and many kinds of soil - ultimately the seed that God sows,
and the seed we cast in God's name will produce - some a
hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Blessed be God, day by day.
---- Check out George Hartwell's Creative Closings - Ordinary 15 - Year A
for a different prayer or meditation with which to conclude the sermon
and/or lead into the prayer time below.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Gracious God, your loving word has been sown extravagantly in our
hearts and we thank you for it. We praise you for how it lies
within us - waiting for the right moment, the right conditions,
to sprout, to grow, to burst forth into bloom. We thank you for
how - even when the ground seems to others to not be good - you
continue to sow - and for how in the end - when we are willing -
the yield is rich. We pray O God that we might be willing -
willing to let you have your way - willing to grow - willing to
produce further seed and to sow it in the lives of others....
Lord, hear our prayer...
Bless we pray today, O God, those we know whose hearts are like
hardened paths - those who travel in rocky places and places
where the cares of this world press hard upon them. Be with
those we know who are afflicted by illness - by despair - by lack
of hope - or by any of the attitudes that lead to death instead
of to life. Bring your healing touch to them, your life-giving
word, and your saving love and help them to accept these gifts
that you offer. Lord hear our prayer...
We thank you O Lord for this time together and for the strength
and the joy and the peace that you grant. We praise your name
and rejoice in your presence - through Christ Jesus our Brother,
our Lord, and our Friend. Amen
* HYMN "In The Bulb There Is A Flower" - VU 703
* MINUTE FOR MISSION: Our Life Together and In The World
* SHARING GOD'S BLESSINGS: As the Offering is presented all stand
for the Doxology (Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow - VU
541) and Prayer of Dedication
O God - bless these tithes and offerings and use them and
us in your service that this church might be a light
leading the way to you and the salvation you offer freely
to all. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen
* DEPARTING HYMN: "I Am The Light Of The World" - VU 87
* COMMISSIONING (Unison): In the power of the Holy Spirit we now
go forth into the world, to fulfil our calling as the people
of God, the body of Christ.
* BENEDICTION AND THREEFOLD AMEN
Go in peace, love and care for one another in the name of Christ;
- and may the love of God fill you,
- the wisdom of God guide you,
- and the strength of God support you
both now and forevermore. Amen
* THREEFOLD AMEN & CHORAL BLESSING: "Go Now In Peace" - VU 964
copyright - Rev. Richard J. Fairchild - Spirit Networks, 1999 - 2006
please acknowledge the appropriate author if citing these sermons.
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