What? God Speaks to Me Today (Pentecost 7A Gospel)

Download a printable PDF of the Word One Bible Study for Pentecost 7A Gospel.

Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Series A

Objectives

Participants will:

1. Identify how deep roots are developed.
2. Acknowledge that God speaks to us daily.

Materials Needed

Bible
Object to hide
Strongly Agree and Strongly Disagree signs
One Die

Group Guidelines

This Bible study has been developed for groups of 6-8 people. The individual who has planted the most seeds in the past year will function as group leader. The group leader will help encourage each member of the group to participate, but will also allow the group members the freedom to pass if they do not wish to share. not wish to share.

Building Community

1. Share with the group your high and low for the week and who in your life do you listen to the most?(e.g. a friend? parent? teacher? coach?)
2. Form an opinion line (Put a Strongly Agree sign on one side of the room and a Strongly Disagree sign on the opposite side of the room). Participants are to respond to the following statements read by the leader by going to the area of the room that best describes them. After each statement is read and participants are in place, the leader asks a few of the participants to respond as to why they chose that particular place on the opinion line.
   1. I listen best when there is other sound/noise in the background …
   2. I listen to all authority figures in my life …
   3. I can listen to my parent(s) while watching TV at the same time …
   4. I do not worry about money …
   5. I can tell the difference when I am hearing a message from God or from the world. 

Looking at God’s Word

1. Play HOT/COLD with a hidden object. Have a group member leave the room. Hide an object in the room somewhere. Have another spot designated as an additional hiding spot. Designate half of the group to lead the group member to one hiding spot and half the group to the other hiding spot by giving hot or cold directions. Ask the participant why he/she listened to certain voices? What words/ actions were the loudest or the most direct? How confusing was it to discover who was giving the right directions? How did you determine which voices to listen to?
2. Read Matthew 13:1-9. What four types of soil did Jesus describe? What characterizes each soil type? What happens to the seed in each kind of soil? How would you explain this parable to kids from a big city who may have never planted seeds before?
3. Read Matthew 13:18-23. What does Jesus’ explanation of the parable reveal about the seed? The various soil types? the fruit? the farmer? the disciples ministry? What does this parable suggest to you about your life? about being a believer in Christ? Can you see and hear Jesus at work in ter day’s wor1d?
4. Why is money a potential thorn to choke your growth in Christ? Read 1 Timothy 6:9, 10, 17. What other worries have potential to choke your growth in Christ?
5. What deep “roots” help to prevent a believer from. falling away? (see John 15:4-9) What gives you roots? (see Colossians 2:12)

Reinforcing What Has Been Learned

On a piece of paper, complete the following sentences:

1. The most challenging part of this parable for me is …
2. One thing that I learned from today’s parable is …
3. The thing that distracts me the most from hearing God speak to me is …
4. The thing I worry the most about is …
5. The “crop” Jesus wants believers to yield is …
6. Deep roots are grown in me through …

When everyone has had time to complete the sentences, each group member will roll a die and share with the group their response to the number of the sentence that matches the roll of the die.

Closing

Close this session by singing “In My Life, Lord, Be Glorified.”

by Carolyn Grohn