"I want to help!"
"Me, too! Me, too!"
"May I, please?"
The children gathered around excitedly as Mom took the seed packets out of the shopping bag.
"I want the carrots."
"Then give me the pumpkins."
"But I don't want to plant onions. Yuck!"
With a laugh, Mom divided the seeds among the children. "This year, each of you will have your own garden. You will get to choose where you want to plant your seeds, and you will be responsible for weeding and watering your own plot. So before you get started, you need to go outside and search carefully for the perfect spot."
With that, the children went outside. They looked around the front yard and the backyard. They considered things like where the sun would come up in the morning and how far the water hose would reach. Each child chose the perfect place for planting a garden.
Jerry took great care to dig the soil properly. He removed all the weeds and rocks he found and read the back of the package to make sure the seeds were planted deep enough. He faithfully tended his garden all summer long. On the hottest days, when the others didn't want to work in their gardens, he could be found working diligently outside.
Sally started off right. She also made sure her garden was planted in good soil and removed the weeds and rocks. However, as time went on, she lost interest in her plants. Other things became more important to her. Instead of working in the garden on those hot summer days, she preferred to spend her time talking on the telephone to her friends. It didn't take long for weeds to grow up and take over her garden. Soon it became difficult to tell exactly which were weeds and which were the plants.
Billy didn't think he needed to go to all the trouble. He didn't realize how important it was to have good soil. He didn't want to dig deep because the rocks were in the way, and it was hard to dig them out. So he just left them there and tried planting his seeds around the rocks.
Then there was Jill. She took her seeds and just scattered them around on the top of the ground. She quickly lost interest and didn't bother to even try to take care of her garden the rest of the summer.
Now take a few minutes to think about what kind of harvest each of the children was able to get from his garden when summer was over and it was time to pick the ripe vegetables.
If you guessed that Jerry had a good harvest, you are absolutely right. He had plenty of vegetables. In fact, he was able to set up a table in front of his house and sell some to the neighbors.
Sally had some good vegetables, but most of them were small because the weeds grew up and took the nutrition out of the ground. She wasn't able to sell any of her vegetables because people were buying Jerry's.
Billy didn't have much to pick. His plants had a little soil around them, and at first they looked like they were going to grow, but when the really hot days came, the poor plants just couldn't live. They wilted and died.
Unfortunately, Jill didn't have any plants by the end of the summer. Remember how she scattered her seeds on the top of the ground? Well, the birds came along and had themselves quite a good lunch. They didn't leave any seeds to grow into plants.
Jesus told a story, called a parable, about four kinds of soil. A farmer went out to his fields to plant seeds. Some of the seeds fell on top of the ground, and the birds came along and ate them up. Some of the seeds grew in the rocky soil, and they sprouted up quickly but died in the heat of the sun. Some of the seeds tried to grow where there were weeds, and, of course, they didn't grow very well. Then there were some seeds that fell in the good soil, and they grew strong and tall, and there was a lot of grain that came from them.
Jesus told what the parable means. He said that the different types of soil are like different types of people, and the seed is like the Bible or the Word of God.
When some people hear the Word of God, they don't even try to listen or understand. The devil takes the Word of God away from them and makes them forget, just like the birds ate the seed that fell on the top of the ground.
Some people are like the rocky soil. They hear the Word of God and want to do right, but they soon give up.
Other people want to listen to the Word of God, and they try to remember to obey the Bible and do the right things, but other things are more interesting to them. Like weeds growing in the garden, they have too many other activities to take their time. So, they learn a little about God and His Word, but they don't grow very strong.
Then there are the people who are like the good soil. They hear God's Word, and they work hard to understand it. They want to obey God, and they keep on trying to learn more so they can grow strong enough to tell other people all about Him.
THINK!
What kind of dirt are you?
What kind of dirt do you want to be?
What would you need to do to become good dirt?
REMEMBER
It is very important to hear God's Word and to obey Him.
A VERSE TO LEARN
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).
LET'S PRAY
****************************************************
Dear God, I thank You for giving us the Bible.
Please help me to learn more about You by reading
and listening to Your Word. I want to grow to be
strong so I can help other people learn to love You.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************
CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Matthew 13:3-8; 18-23
BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
http://childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html
Copyright © 2011 by Linda Sue Pochodzay Edwards.
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More Resources To Go Along with the Story
Sower Sowing The Seed
Parables of Jesus (Bible Colour and Learn)
Plants of the Bible (Bible Discover and Color)
God Loves You Coloring Book: A Read-aloud Coloring Book About God's Plan for Salvation
Bible Story Coloring Pages V2 (Reproducible)
Really Big Book of Bible Story Coloring Pages (Reproducible)
Jesus Teaches Me Coloring Book
New Testament Bible Story Cards Coloring Book
My Bible Coloring Book (Shirley Dobson)
Children's Coloring Books
Smart Coloring Books
Matching Game
Soil
Rocky Soil
Soil on top of the ground
Weedy Soil
Good Soil
Seed
Parable
People who obey God
God's Word
Story
People
People who forget
People who don't try to listen
People with too many interests
************
Unscramble the Memory Verse:But grace, and in grow of Lord in Savior the
Jesus and Christ. our 2 Peter 3:18 knowledge
Parables and Miracles (Create and Take Bible Crafts)
Parable of the Sower Craft Ideas
Pop-Up Parables and Other Bible Stories (Reproducible)
Draw 50 People from the Bible
Bible Crafts & More (Ages 6-8)
Bible Crafts On A Shoestring Budget (Ages 5-10)
Big Book of Bible Crafts (Ages 3-12)
Encyclopedia Of Bible Crafts For Preschoolers
Praise God With...Craft Series
Praise God with a Paper Plate (PreK-Grade 2)
Really Big Book Of Cool Crafts For Kids w/CD-Ages 4-12 (Reproducible)
Children's Crafts & Hobbies
Little Seed Song and Activities
Parable Puzzlers
Bible Time With Kids: 400+ Bible-Based Activities To Use with Children
Amazing Bible Mazes
Best Book of Bible Activities
Encyclopedia Of Bible Games For Childrens Ministry
The Humongous Book of Games for Children's Ministry
Memory Verse Games for Kids (Take Me Through the Bible Series)
Big Book Of Bible Puzzles (Reproducible)
Bible Puzzles: Word Search
Big Book Of Bible Story Activity Pages V1 (Gospel Light Big Books)
More Bible Time with Kids
Christian and educational toys
Children's Activity Books
Children's Puzzles
Crossword Books
Sticker Books
Bibletoons Episode 1: Grow in the Lord! Sing and Learn the Word
Matthew, Volume 2: I Want to be Good Ground! Chapters 9 - 28 (Paula D. King)
I Wanna Be Good Ground - Song #15 Matthew (Bible Story Songs)
100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs (includes Everybody Ought to Know)
Action Bible Songs (Cedarmont Kids)
Bible Songs on CD
100 Singalong Songs For Kids (Cedarmont)
25 Favorite Sunday School Songs (Veggie Tales)
Children's Music
A Child's Book of Parables
Adventures in Booga Booga Land
Cameron Townsend: Planting God's Word (Heroes for Young Readers)
For an Incredible Kid: Stories, tips and advice about how to grow up strong
Lion Book of 5-Minute Parables
Parables, Miracles and the Prince of Peace: Manga Bible Vol. 6
Pop-Up Parables and Other Bible Stories
Parables of Jesus (Amazing 3D Bible Stories)
The Seeds That Grew and Grew (Arch Books)
Johnny Appleseed: God's Faithful Planter (The Sower series)
365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories (Barbour Publishing)
Awesome Book of Bible Stories for Kids
Pilgrim's Progress for Kids
365 Activities For Kids:
A Bible Story And Activity For Each Day Of The Year
100 Bible Stories 100 Bible Songs w/2 CD
Baby's First Bible
Beginner's Bible
Bible In Pictures For Toddlers
Bible stories
Early Reader's Bible
Five Minute Devotions for Children (ages 4-8)
Little Hands Story Bible
The Children's Illustrated Bible
The Preschoolers Bible
Toddlers Bible
Pilgrim's Progress for Kids
Children's Books
Spanish Children's Books
The Picture Bible (my children's favorite!)
Adventures in Booga Booga Land DVD Vol. 2
Adventures in Odyssey Gold Audio Series
Paradise Parables: Scripture Teaching Cartoons (Casscom Media)
Story of Jesus for Kids (Casscom Media)
Greatest Stories of the Bible: New Testament
Bible Stories DVDs
Read and See DVD Bible
God's Story from Creation to Eternity (listen & watch online)
Story of Jesus for Kids
Children's DVDs
************
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERSGod's Kids Grow: KidsTime Fruit of the Spirit Leader's Guide
Good Soil Good Kids
KidsTime: Parable Quest (13 Sessions)
Kids Travel Guide to the Parables
Love in a Lunchbox
Plants Grown Up
Seven Habits of a Healthy Home: Preparing the Ground in Which Your Children Can Grow
Sharable Parables
Spurgeon on The Parable of the Sower
Bible Memory Games (Creative Bible Activities for Children)
Bible Story Coloring Pages (Reproducible)
30 New Testament QuickSkits for Kids
801 Questions Kids Ask About God (Focus on the Family)
Absentee Postcards
African American Resources
Almost Every Answer for Practically Any Teacher (Bruce Wilkinson)
Bible Crafts and Activities for Any Story
Big Book of Bible Games (Gospel Light)
Bulletin Board helps
Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul
Children's Church Resources
Church Nanny Sos: Teaching Discipline Essentials for Preschool Ministry Volunteers
Church Supplies
Closing Prayer
Edible Object Talks That Teach About Jesus (Edible Object Talks)
52 Games That Teach The Bible
Flannel Graph Story Sets to Purchase
Free educational videos
God's Servants Teach Me (Instant Bible Lessons)
God's Wisdom for Little Boys: Character-Building Fun from Proverbs
Help! I'm a Sunday School Teacher (Focus on the Family)
Hermie Scripture Memory
How To Lead a Child To Christ
King James Version Award Bibles
Leading Little Ones to God: A Child's Book of Bible Teachings
Lord Teach Me To Pray For Kids (Kay Arthur)
Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours
Memory Verse Ideas
Memory Verse Resources
Object Talks
Opening Prayer
Parenting
Power Point Presentations of Various Bible Stories
Pray & Play Bible for Young Children
Puppet Scripts
Resources for Teachers
Seven Laws of the Learner (Bruce Wilkinson)
Spanish Resources
Sunday School Attendance Boosters: 165 Fresh Ideas
Sunday school resources
Talking to God (Instant Bible Lessons)
Teachers' Reproducible Classroom Pages
Teaching children
Teaching Children Memory Verses Ages 4-5
Teaching Children To Pray Ages 4-5
Teaching to Change Lives (by Howard Hendrickss)
The Big Book of Bible Skits
Things To Make Craft Activities
20 Bible Verses Every Child Should Know /CD (Heritage Builders)
Vacation Bible School
What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know
(by Elmer Towns)
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