Weekly "Call To Worship" Encouragement

(NIV) Luke 8:4-8

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:  

5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.  

6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.  

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.  

8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

The faith of four people are described here :

1. Seed on the path eaten by birds

   • those who hear the word but are persuaded away from it by their “friends”

   • They have no faith and are lost

2. Seed on rocky ground

   • Those who are new or with small faith

   • Worries of the world may pull them away or their “friends and family” may persecute them

   • These are the people who need us, their Christian family, to help them mature their faith

3. Seeds choked by thorns

   • Those who hear and have strong faith

   • But as they go on their way, they are choked by life‘s worries, riches and pleasure, and they do not mature

   • They have faith but take no actions

   • They produce no fruit

4. Seeds in good soil

   • Those who hear and have a strong faith

   • They take action on their faith

   • And they produce a crop of new believers

So, which group are you in?

Most of us would like to say that we are the seeds in good soil, but …

too many of us (including me) are seeds choked by thorns because we take no action and produce no fruit.

Which group are you in?

• The real test is how fruitful are we?

• How fruitful are you?