Parable of the Sower

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Create your own interpretation of the parable of the sower using various types of snack foods. Discuss the meaning of the soils and eat your creation!

For scripture, objectives, and background - see above.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Gather the materials.
  
  

Supplies List:

• Bibles (for 3rd grade and up)
• For younger students – use an Adventure Bible
• The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories
• Roll of white paper towel or large white dinner napkins (1 per student for the latter)
• Snack foods to use to create interpretation: chocolate graham cracker sticks, chocolate chips, Cheerios, raisins, waffle pretzels, green Fruit by the Foot, Skittles (mint Skittles if you can find them), Teddy Grahams (You may use different snack foods but watch for allergies!)
• Zipper sandwich bags
• Paper bowls for foods, cups, napkins
• CD player and CD – The Four Seasons by Vivaldi
  
  

Before Start of Class:

• Wash the table.
• Distribute snack food into bowls – several bowls for each type.
• Cue the music CD to track 10 (start with “Winter”).

Lesson: Opening

Do:  Gather everyone around the table. Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Cooking Workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Say: Today we will learn about a story Jesus told called the parable of the sower. First, let’s begin with prayer.

Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. A suggestion: “Dear God, we are grateful to be here together today to learn about your son, Jesus, and the stories he told others. We hope that we can hear and understand the message he was telling his friends and followers. Amen.”

Dig into the lesson

Ask:

• If you could plant a garden, what would you plant? (allow each child to answer)
• Do you know another word that means “to plant”? (answer looking for: sow)

Do:  Talk about how this word is spelled “sow” vs. the word “sew” and the difference in meaning.

Say:  A person who plants seeds is called a “sower.” Our Bible story today is about a sower who is planting seeds. His seeds end up being planted in four different places, or four different kinds of soil. Let’s hear what happens.

For 3rd grade and up:
Ask:

• Where in the Bible would we read about Jesus teaching his disciples?
• What are the first four books of the New Testament?
• What do we call those first four books? (the Gospels)

Say:  The word Gospel means “good news.” Jesus teaches us the good news.

Do:  Distribute Bibles. Have everyone find Mark 4:1-9.
If this is a week early in the Rotation, read the scripture together. Towards the end of the Rotation, ask the students if they can tell you the story. Have them check their Bibles for accuracy.

For 1st and 2nd graders:
Ask:  If we want to read something that Jesus said, where would we find it – in the Old Testament or the New Testament of the Bible?

Say:  We find our story in the New Testament of the Bible. The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. The four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We find our story in the Gospel of Mark.

Do:  Read Mark 4:1-9 in the Adventure Bible (NIV).

For all students:
Say: This Bible story we just read is called the parable of the sower. Jesus often taught using parables.

Ask:

• What is a parable? (a story that teaches a special lesson)
• What is a sower? (someone who plants seeds)
• In this parable, do you suppose Jesus was trying to tell us how to plant seeds?

Say:  A parable will seem to have two meanings; one is obvious and the other is hidden. The parable of the sower seems to be about farming or sowing seeds but there is also a hidden meaning to this parable.

Ask:  Why do you suppose Jesus would want to tell a story that had a hidden meaning? [Share what you have learned from the overview material.]

Say:  We are going to have a chance to dig deeper into this parable to figure out the special lesson that it teaches. We will use snack foods to help us figure out the special lesson of this parable.

Have everyone wash their hands, and gather around the table.
Distribute one paper towel (or dinner napkin) to each student.

Explain that the student will hear some music and listen to the story again. As they hear the story they will arrange the snack foods interpreting the story and the music. The paper towel (or napkin) will be like an artist’s canvas. The food will be like an artist's paints.

[Workshop leader note: You will now start a process of reading/listening, creation, and discussion. Yes, kids will want to eat some of the snacks. Some munching is ok. Throughout this process ask students to explain their creations.]

Start the CD on track 10.

Using an Adventure Bible slowly read or tell Mark 4:1-4 (up to seed on path eaten by birds) OR use story number 270 on page 308 in The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories.

Allow students time to “interpret” using the snack foods. Keep music on softly in the background. Use your best judgment as to when it’s time to start the discussion.

Ask:

• What sort of soil would you find on a pathway? [Might need to explain what a path is.] (hard-packed)
• What happened to the seed that fell on the path? (couldn’t break in; eaten by birds)
• This story seems to be about farming; a sower is sowing seed, but what about the hidden meaning in this parable? (accept all answers)
• What do you suppose the seed represents?

Say: Picture in your mind a sower spreading the message of God’s love. Think of the seed in this parable as God’s word, the message of God’s love for us. God’s love is being spread to people.

Ask:

• Jesus plants seeds, telling us of God’s love. What happens if that message of God’s love falls on a person who is like a hard path? (message of love doesn’t get through to us)
• When are we like a hard path? (situations that keep us from hearing God – would rather sleep-in than go to church; make bad choices about getting homework done & miss church event; believe friends that say church isn’t cool)
• What sort of “birds” can pick away at our faith? (people who tease us, etc.)

Students may clear their “palette” to start anew or add to their picture.
Change the CD to track 9. (Song starts very quietly).
While the music plays, read Mark 4:5-6. As music continues, allow interpretation. When you feel it is appropriate, start more discussion.

Ask:

• What happened to the seed that fell on rocky places? (sprouts, but scorched by the sun)
• Why did the plant wither in the hot sun? (roots not developed)
• What happens if the message about God’s love falls on a person who is like a rocky place? (get busy, forget about God’s message; troubles happen & our faith isn’t strong)

Change the CD to track 6.
While the music plays, read Mark 4:7. As music continues, allow interpretation. When appropriate, ask more questions.

Ask:

• What happened to the seed that fell among thorns? (crowded or choked out)
• What sort of things can crowd out the message about God’s love? (worry about money or homework, or spending too much time with TV, or computer games)

Change the CD to track 1.
While the music plays, read Mark 4:8-9. As music continues, allow interpretation; start discussion when appropriate.

Ask:

• What happened when the seed fell on good soil? (produced a big crop)
• What can help us have good soil - a receptive, nourishing environment for the word of God? (read Bible, talk to others about God, come to church, pray, encourage others)
• Is it easy to understand God’s word? (not always, even for adults)
• What is it that “grows” in us? (knowledge of God’s love)

Closing:
Say:  Some days we will feel like our faith is thin or maybe worries will choke us. It takes work to be like good soil. We need to remember to do the things that make us ready for God's word in our hearts. The seeds of God’s love are sown or planted for us in many ways: when we attend worship, pray, or discuss Bible stories. Will our hearts receive God’s word? If we are like the good soil, then growth can happen in us. As we grow we come to understand God’s great gift of Jesus and the many things he has done for us. It is ok for this growth to take a long time. Throughout our whole lives, we will continue to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.

If you have extra time:

• Discuss what it means to multiply a crop, “thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
• Ask: what is the crop that is multiplied when we are “good” soil?
• How would you re-write this parable in modern-day language?

Resources:

• Batchelor, Mary. The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories. Batavia, IL: Lion Publishing, 1985.
• MacQueen, Neil. “Parable of the Sower Lesson Set from Writing Forum: Bible Background and Teaching Notes.” 2001.
• Presbyterian Church of Sunnyvale, Sunnyvale, California. “The Parable of the Sower.” 2003.

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert from First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI

Parable of the Sower

Games Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Play a room-sized board game to explore being receptive to God’s word. Discuss what it takes to have good soil. [Note: 3rd - 6th grade visited this workshop.]

For scripture, objectives, and background - see above.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Gather the materials.
  
  

Supplies List:

• Bibles (for 3rd grade and up) If possible use a Bible with a dictionary in the back.
• Life-sized game board—canvas tarp with painted spaces (4 colors)
• Game wheel (with corresponding 4 colors)
• Situation cards – see the end of the lesson

Before Start of Class:

• Write the key Bible verse on a piece of easel paper and hang it on the bulletin board.
• On the whiteboard, write what the colors on the game wheel represent - Green: move ahead 2, Red: stay put, Yellow: move ahead 1, Blue: move back 1.
• Place the game wheel in a location where it won’t distract the students during storytelling.

Lesson: Opening

Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Games Workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Say:  We will be playing a game today but first, let’s begin with prayer.
Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Be prepared to say a prayer yourself, working in prayer requests. A suggestion: “Loving God, we are thankful to be here today. We are ready to learn by listening, playing games, and having discussion. It is like we have a blank sheet of paper in front of us, ready to fill it with words that will leap out at us, helping us to understand your love. Be with us in our learning. Amen.”

Dig into the lesson

Ask:  If someone never reads the Bible and never comes to church, do you suppose they would know much about God?
Do you suppose they would understand how much God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them?
What if they did show up at church or read their Bible, would that be all they would need to do? (allow all answers)

Say:  It takes more than just showing up; it takes some other effort. The first step is to be open to God’s word, to receive God’s word into our hearts.

Ask:

• Does everyone who hears God’s word understand it?
• Does everyone who hears God’s word believe it? I wonder why that is?

Say:  Our Bible story today can help us understand these questions. We know this is an important story because at one point Jesus says, (refer to the verse on the board) “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It is like Jesus was saying, “Hey, if you can understand—if you have ears that will hear and understand—then listen up!” Let’s read what Jesus said.

Do:  Distribute Bibles.

Review the organization of the Bible: The Bible is divided into two main sections, the Old and New Testaments. Have them figure out whether a story about Jesus is in the Old or New Testament.

Ask:  What are the names of the first four books of the Bible? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) What are these 4 books collectively called? (the Gospels)

Do:  Have them find the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, verse 1.
[If necessary use the hint for quickly finding the New Testament: opening the Bible in middle lands you usually in Psalms. Taking just the back half and finding the middle of that, gets you to the beginning of the New Testament.]

Do:  Have kids take turns reading verses 1-9 out loud. (In later weeks of the Rotation ask the students to tell you the story. Fill in any missing details.)

Say:  Jesus often taught using parables.

Ask:  What is a parable?
When you come across a word in your Bible, like the word “parable,” and you don’t know what it means, what can you do?
Say:  One resource you can use is a Bible dictionary. It works just like a regular dictionary except it has words found in the Bible.

Ask: If you brought your own Bible today, do you know if it has a Bible dictionary in it?

Do:  Have kids look in the back of their Bible to see if it includes a dictionary.
[Some may include a Concordance—you can say that a concordance is another tool to find Bible verses that include a certain word.]
If their Bibles have a dictionary, have them look up “parable”.

Say:  A parable is a story that teaches a special lesson. Often a parable will seem to have two meanings; one is obvious and the other is hidden. The parable of the sower seems to be about farming or sowing seeds. Yet there is also a hidden meaning.

Ask:  Do you suppose that everyone who heard Jesus tell this parable, understood the hidden lesson it was meant to teach? (accept all replies)

Say: Let’s play our game and explore the hidden meaning of the parable of the sower.

Play the Game:

Explain that students will work in teams to move across the game board, squeezing onto spaces as needed. The object of the game is not to be first to reach the end, but for all teams to reach the end, or to get as far as time permits, and to have fun doing it.

Layout the game board(s). Have everyone take off his/her shoes. Ask the Shepherd to help you divide the class into teams of 2 or 3 players each. [Preferably in 2’s but 3 is ok if needed]. Have the team with the person whose birthday is closest to today’s date go first. One member of the team spins the wheel. The color they spin determines what happens (refer to whiteboard). The team listens to a situation card. They must decide what sort of “soil” the situation most closely resembles. All the people on a team should confer/work on an answer. Checking Bibles is OK! (Remind the children that only the team in play should be talking.)

If situation applies to:      Team members must respond by:
the hard path with the birds   saying “Tweet, Tweet” 
the rocky soil                 making fists, knocking them together and saying “Ouch!” 
the thorny soil                grabbing their throats and act as if choking 
the good soil                  saying “Yum, Yum” and rubbing their tummies.

Discussion as play game:
IMPORTANT: Use questions as an opening to discussion! [There are some discussion points on some of the cards.]
Talk about answers – why does a situation seem to be like a particular “soil”?
Have students actually experienced these situations?

Leave enough time to also discuss the following and do the closing below:
Say: The seed in this parable represents God’s word, the message of God’s love. The four soils represent different ways we receive and respond to God’s word.

Ask:

• Which type of soil would you most like to be?
• What one thing can you do this week to prepare to be “good” soil?
• How can we help each other to have good soil?

Closing:
Say:  Jesus loves us and wants the message of God’s love to reach us. An amazing thing happens when we fully accept God’s love. Life can still be hard, but we change inside. God’s word and love grow in our hearts. We are more loving, forgiving, and better able to cope with life.

If you have extra time:
Challenge kids to write situations to be used by next week’s class.

Situation Cards:

Life had gotten busy for Emma. She used to spend her lunch hour studying the Bible. 
Then she found out that if she skipped lunch, she could make more money with overtime. 
Then maybe she could afford a nicer car.  (Thorns)

Sue stayed up late watching TV on Saturday night.
She was too tired to get up on Sunday morning. (Pathway)
Discussion point: What happens if we don’t make the effort to hear God’s word?

Tina liked going to church because all her friends were there. They had a lot of fun passing
notes during Sunday’s Cool. When Tina got home, she could never remember
 what the lesson had been about. (Pathway)

Life had gotten busy for Emma. She used to spend her lunch hour studying the Bible. 
Then she found out that if she skipped lunch, she could make more money with overtime. 
Then maybe she could afford a nicer car.  (Thorns)

Wendy brought her friend Suzie to church. Suzie enjoyed the experience 
and wanted to keep coming. Wendy also invited Suzie to her Bible study group. 
She helped Suzie to understand the difficult passages.  (Good soil)

Fran loved Jesus. She studied the Bible. Then one day Fran got into a discussion with some 
people who believed their religion was the way to go. Fran did not know how to 
defend God’s truth. SO she gave up trying.(Rocky)

Betsy’s class was scheduled to stay in worship during Sunday’s Cool. As soon as they 
got to the balcony, Betsy stopped talking to her friends and thought about 
how the choir music made her feel. (Good Soil) 
Discussion point: Worship becomes more meaningful as 
we plan to experience it.

Doug had friends who talked about God. But Doug figured this Jesus stuff 
was too good to be true. He thought Jesus was a myth. (Pathway)

Evan believed in God, but life was so full of distractions. There were so many ways
to spend free time – TV, basketball, and IMing friends.  Who has time to pray? (Thorns)
Discussion point: How can we keep the distractions from becoming more important than God?

Donna prayed every day. But she stopped praying because it seemed 
as though her prayers were never answered.  (Rocky)
Discussion point: Why is it hard to have a strong faith when temptations arise?

Eddie learned that God would be with him even when the going got tough. 
But when Eddie’s grandma died, Eddie stopped believing in God. (Rocky)

Bob went with his family to help at Alpha house, the place where homeless 
families can live. It was hard to loose part of his weekend to go there,
but Bob knew it meant a lot to the homeless families. (Good Soil)
Discussion point: When people see you, do they see Jesus? 
How is this like “producing a huge harvest?”

Bruce always went with his family to church. God was important to Bruce, but in his heart
Bruce felt that real success was owning all the latest video games. (Thorns)

Bill went to church on Sunday’s but he didn’t talk about it with his friends.
He was afraid of what his friends would think.  (Rocky)

Resources:

MacQueen, Neil. “Parable of the Sower Lesson Set from Writing Forum: Video Lesson.” 2001.

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert from First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI

Copyright 2005 First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI.
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material