Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Introductory Discussion Questions
Have you ever sown seed? What kinds of seed have you sown?
What kinds of soil are good for sowing?
What kinds of ground are not good for sowing
Introductory Pictures for discussion
Over the years, many artists have been fascinated by the picture of the sower. Below are some of those pictures.
Why do you think these artists liked to paint the sower?
Which of the three pictures do you like best? Explain.
What kinds of symbolic meanings can the sower, seed, and earth have? Discuss.
The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Introductory Discussion Questions
Have you ever sown seed? What kinds of seed have you sown?
What kinds of soil are good for sowing?
What kinds of ground are not good for sowing
Introductory Pictures for discussion
Over the years, many artists have been fascinated by the picture of the sower. Below are some of those pictures.
Why do you think these artists liked to paint the sower?
Which of the three pictures do you like best? Explain.
What kinds of symbolic meanings can the sower, seed, and earth have? Discuss.
Synonym Matching
gladness wealth
immediately birds
riches soil
receive jumped up
hearken gave
fowls burned
devoured it quickly
earth happiness
sprang up get
scorched listen
yielded ate it
Antonym Matching
sower delayed
came give up
immediately reaper
increased unfruitful
gladness good ground
endure truthfulness
deceitfulness sadness
fruitful went
stony ground decreased
Listening Blank Fill
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: _________ it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell ________ the way side, and the fowls of the _______ came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony __________, where it had not much earth; and immediately _______ sprang up, because it had no depth of __________: but when the sun was up, it was ____________; and because it had no root, it withered _________. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew _______, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. __________ other fell on good ground, and did yield _________ that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, _________ thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
The sower soweth the __________. And these are they by the way side, where the word is __________; but when they have heard, Satan cometh ___________________, and taketh away the word that was sown in their _____________. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ____________; who, when they have heard the ____________, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in _________________, and so endure but for a time: _______________, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown ____________ thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, _____________ the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on ____________ ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an _______________.
sown
hearts
word
themselves
among
good
word
immediately
ground
afterwards
choke
hundred
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
Why do you think Jesus taught in parables like these?
What happened to the seed that fell on the wayside?
To what was Jesus referring when he used the term 'word'?
What can we do to be good soil for hearing truth?
Is it possible to live life without sowing any seed (influencing people)?
B
Which would you rather do, sow or reap? Why?
What happened to the seed that fell on good soil?
What do you think Jesus meant by using the word 'fruit'?
What do people do to make themselves bad soil for hearing truth?
Is it possible to live life without reaping (receiving the results of our actions)?
Research and Writing
A: Using the internet, look up the sower in art. Try to discover who painted these pictures and what their motives were. Prepare to share your findings with the class.
B: Using the internet and a Bible program like biblegateway.com, look for other times in the New Testament when 'the word' is referred to. Be prepared to share your findings.
Chinese Version
3 他 用 比 喻 对 他 们 讲 许 多 道 理 ， 说 ： 有 一 个 撒 种 的 出 去 撒 种 ；
4 撒 的 时 候 ， 有 落 在 路 旁 的 ， 飞 鸟 来 吃 尽 了 ；
5 有 落 在 土 浅 石 头 地 上 的 ， 土 既 不 深 ， 发 苗 最 快 ，
6 日 头 出 来 一 晒 ， 因 为 没 有 根 ， 就 枯 乾 了 ；
7 有 落 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 荆 棘 长 起 来 ， 把 他 挤 住 了 ；
8 又 有 落 在 好 土 里 的 ， 就 结 实 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 三 十 倍 的 。
18 所 以 ， 你 们 当 听 这 撒 种 的 比 喻 。
19 凡 听 见 天 国 道 理 不 明 白 的 ， 那 恶 者 就 来 ， 把 所 撒 在 他 心 里 的 夺 了 去 ； 这 就 是 撒 在 路 旁 的 了 。
20 撒 在 石 头 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 当 下 欢 喜 领 受 ，
21 只 因 心 里 没 有 根 ， 不 过 是 暂 时 的 ， 及 至 为 道 遭 了 患 难 ， 或 是 受 了 逼 迫 ， 立 刻 就 跌 倒 了 。
22 撒 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 後 来 有 世 上 的 思 虑 、 钱 财 的 迷 惑 把 道 挤 住 了 ， 不 能 结 实 。
23 撒 在 好 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 道 明 白 了 ， 後 来 结 实 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 三 十 倍 的 。
Exercise Answers:
Synonym Matching: gladness-->happiness, immediately-->quickly, riches-->wealth, receive-->get, hearken-->listen, fowls--> birds, devoured it-->ate it, earth-->soil, sprang up-->jumped up, scorched-->burned, yielded--> gave.
Antonym Matching: sower-->reaper, came-->went, immediately-->delayed, increased-->decreased, gladness-->sadness, endure-->give up, deceitfulness-->truthfulness, fruitful-->unfruitful, stony ground-->good ground
Listening Blank Fill: and, along, air, ground, it, earth, scorched, away, up, and, fruit, some.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: word, sown, immediately, hearts, ground, word, themselves, afterwards, among, choke, good, hundred.
gladness wealth
immediately birds
riches soil
receive jumped up
hearken gave
fowls burned
devoured it quickly
earth happiness
sprang up get
scorched listen
yielded ate it
Antonym Matching
sower delayed
came give up
immediately reaper
increased unfruitful
gladness good ground
endure truthfulness
deceitfulness sadness
fruitful went
stony ground decreased
Listening Blank Fill
Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: _________ it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell ________ the way side, and the fowls of the _______ came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony __________, where it had not much earth; and immediately _______ sprang up, because it had no depth of __________: but when the sun was up, it was ____________; and because it had no root, it withered _________. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew _______, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. __________ other fell on good ground, and did yield _________ that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, _________ thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
The sower soweth the __________. And these are they by the way side, where the word is __________; but when they have heard, Satan cometh ___________________, and taketh away the word that was sown in their _____________. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ____________; who, when they have heard the ____________, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in _________________, and so endure but for a time: _______________, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown ____________ thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, _____________ the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on ____________ ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an _______________.
sown
hearts
word
themselves
among
good
word
immediately
ground
afterwards
choke
hundred
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
Why do you think Jesus taught in parables like these?
What happened to the seed that fell on the wayside?
To what was Jesus referring when he used the term 'word'?
What can we do to be good soil for hearing truth?
Is it possible to live life without sowing any seed (influencing people)?
B
Which would you rather do, sow or reap? Why?
What happened to the seed that fell on good soil?
What do you think Jesus meant by using the word 'fruit'?
What do people do to make themselves bad soil for hearing truth?
Is it possible to live life without reaping (receiving the results of our actions)?
Research and Writing
A: Using the internet, look up the sower in art. Try to discover who painted these pictures and what their motives were. Prepare to share your findings with the class.
B: Using the internet and a Bible program like biblegateway.com, look for other times in the New Testament when 'the word' is referred to. Be prepared to share your findings.
Chinese Version
3 他 用 比 喻 对 他 们 讲 许 多 道 理 ， 说 ： 有 一 个 撒 种 的 出 去 撒 种 ；
4 撒 的 时 候 ， 有 落 在 路 旁 的 ， 飞 鸟 来 吃 尽 了 ；
5 有 落 在 土 浅 石 头 地 上 的 ， 土 既 不 深 ， 发 苗 最 快 ，
6 日 头 出 来 一 晒 ， 因 为 没 有 根 ， 就 枯 乾 了 ；
7 有 落 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 荆 棘 长 起 来 ， 把 他 挤 住 了 ；
8 又 有 落 在 好 土 里 的 ， 就 结 实 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 三 十 倍 的 。
18 所 以 ， 你 们 当 听 这 撒 种 的 比 喻 。
19 凡 听 见 天 国 道 理 不 明 白 的 ， 那 恶 者 就 来 ， 把 所 撒 在 他 心 里 的 夺 了 去 ； 这 就 是 撒 在 路 旁 的 了 。
20 撒 在 石 头 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 当 下 欢 喜 领 受 ，
21 只 因 心 里 没 有 根 ， 不 过 是 暂 时 的 ， 及 至 为 道 遭 了 患 难 ， 或 是 受 了 逼 迫 ， 立 刻 就 跌 倒 了 。
22 撒 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 後 来 有 世 上 的 思 虑 、 钱 财 的 迷 惑 把 道 挤 住 了 ， 不 能 结 实 。
23 撒 在 好 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 道 明 白 了 ， 後 来 结 实 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 三 十 倍 的 。
Exercise Answers:
Synonym Matching: gladness-->happiness, immediately-->quickly, riches-->wealth, receive-->get, hearken-->listen, fowls--> birds, devoured it-->ate it, earth-->soil, sprang up-->jumped up, scorched-->burned, yielded--> gave.
Antonym Matching: sower-->reaper, came-->went, immediately-->delayed, increased-->decreased, gladness-->sadness, endure-->give up, deceitfulness-->truthfulness, fruitful-->unfruitful, stony ground-->good ground
Listening Blank Fill: and, along, air, ground, it, earth, scorched, away, up, and, fruit, some.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: word, sown, immediately, hearts, ground, word, themselves, afterwards, among, choke, good, hundred.
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