How was God speaking to you Sunday morning?
How are you encouraged by His Word?
This is a broad question… What do you think Jesus desires of our hearts and lives when it comes to hearing His Word?
PARABLES
READ Mark 4:10-12
What do you know about a parable?
Why do you think Jesus taught using parables?
What is Jesus communicating to His disciples in vs. 11-12? Is he the one keeping people from understanding His message? Or is there something deeper at play here?
Why does Jesus teach using this method?
HEARING
READ Mark 4:9
How did teaching in parables separate those with “heart ears” and those who the message went “in one ear and out the other”?
Why does Jesus say “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear” after some of His teachings?
Who is He talking to?
SOWER – SEED – SOIL
READ Mark 4:13-20
Take a minute to consider where you and I fit into this analogy… Who is the sower? What is the seed? What is the picture of the soil that we get?
Take some time to talk about each of the 4 soils: How would you describe the heart of this soil?
How do you picture this persons response to the Word of God?
The trampled, unresponsive soil
The rocky, shallow soil
The thorny, divided soil
The obedient, heart-hearing soil.
Now the really hard question… how is the soil of your heart receiving the seed of the Word of God today?
