Beyond the Weekend: Parables
The stories Jesus told and what they mean for your life today.
Why did Jesus teach in stories? Because the deepest truths about God are often found in the ordinary moments of life.
In the parables, Jesus takes everyday things, a lost sheep, a dinner party, a farmer planting seeds and uses them to show us what God is really like and what it means to follow him.
This summer, we’re spending seven weeks in the parables from Luke’s gospel. Whether you’ve heard these stories a hundred times or this is your first time, you’re invited to come and hear them fresh.
June 27/28–August 8/9
The Good Soil
Read: Luke 8:15-16 | Listen: Luke 8
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:15
Jesus concludes his parable by pointing to a fourth and final soil: the good soil. It is healthy. The rocks have been removed. Its ground is soft, and the weeds are gone. The seed that falls into this soil yields a crop a hundred times over. Jesus’s audience notices the discrepancy between a typical harvest and what he describes. A hundredfold is unheard of! It’s supernatural! When pressed for an explanation, Jesus tells his disciples that this soil represents the person who hears the Word, retains it, and perseveres. It is the person whose faith holds firm in the most difficult circumstances. Faith that holds onto the Word and doesn’t let go reveals God’s light to a darkened world.
For our hearts to become good soil, we must become good listeners. Holding fast to God’s Word means tuning our ears to his voice and sitting at Jesus’s feet. This includes listening to a weekend sermon and engaging with his Word daily. As listeners of Jesus’s words, we don’t travel alone but talk about his Word with others. In community, we put God’s Word into practice, obeying his commands. We allow his perspective to shape our thoughts and actions. As we return to the Word, talk about it, and obey it—with the help of the Holy Spirit—God will bring an abundant harvest.
TODAY: Consider where you need to commit or recommit to God’s Word. One way you can grow in holding on to God’s Word is by talking about it together in community. Grow in faith this fall by joining a group. Learn more and register HERE.
