SOS: Secret of the Soil
Sermon Series
Sermon Study Guide
Scripture
Matthew 13:1-23
Speaker
Pastor Joey
Sermon Study Guide
Q1: Icebreaker: What was the most impactful Bible Study or sermon in your life? If no Bible Study or sermon, could be any presentation or talk that impacted your life. What were your life circumstances at the time that and how were you impacted?
Q2: In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus shares a parable of a sower sowing seed that falls into four kinds of soil. Parables were used as teaching tools, to connect something familiar to something unfamiliar or hard to explain. They were designed to have their true meaning discovered rather than straight-up told. Why would Jesus use a parable instead of just telling everyone straight up?
Q3: Have you ever met someone like the hard path, where nothing seems to get through? Have you ever felt like that too? If so, what changed the condition of your soil, or what would cause the condition of your soil to change?
Q4: In Matthew 13:20, the seed sown on rocky ground is received with joy and it grows up immediately and very quickly. How can you tell the difference between someone who has received God’s Word deeply versus shallowly, when at the start they often look the same?Q5: In Matthew 13:22, the seed sown among thorns is choked by “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.” Luke 8:14 adds “the pleasures of life” and Mark 4:19 adds “the desire for other things” to this list of thorns. It’s common to deal with such thorns, as even the Apostle Paul shared that he had one thorn in his side. What has been your experience of dealing with such thorns? How do you deal with it, or is it just a fact of life?
Q6: The good soil is characterized not just by growth, but most importantly, but the yielding of fruit, 30 60 100 times fold. Describe a fruitful time in your life, and how did it become so?
Q7: Do you ever feel like you identify with the the sower? How does it feel knowing that some of your kingdom work will land upon unfruitful soil? How does it feel knowing that it could fall upon good soil and yield a harvest? How does it feel knowing that Jesus, a.k.a. the Word (John 1), gave His life for all, even those whose hearts were seemingly bad soil?
Q8: Going back to the icebreaker question, how are you planning to get back to that heart state, e.g. condition of the soil, where you received that message/sermon so meaningfully and impactfully?
Q9: Which part of this message on the parable of the 4 soils resonated with you the most? Which part surprised you the most?
