Proper 10 (15)
July 13, 2008
Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Two of this passages this week deal with the Word of God.
The psalmist writes:
105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again:
I will obey your righteous regulations.
107 I have suffered much, O Lord;
restore my life again as you promised.
108 Lord, accept my offering of praise,
and teach me your regulations.
109 My life constantly hangs in the balance,
but I will not stop obeying your instructions.
110 The wicked have set their traps for me,
but I will not turn from your commandments.
111 Your laws are my treasure;
they are my heart’s delight.
112 I am determined to keep your decrees
to the very end.
The psalmist thought that the Word of God was important — It had and still has all the things needed to live our lives the way God wants us to. This week’s sermon is going to emphasize the importance of receiving God’s Word. One of the challenges I want to make is that everyone bring their Bibles to church. Like most churches we have Bibles in the pew and we have Bibles in the classroom, however, I believe some have gotten out of the habit of finding the scriptures in their Bibles. This could be because our Sunday School material usually has the scriptures printed right there. Over the last several months, I’m just as guilty, because I put the text of the scripture I’m reading on the screen. I think it is important to be in God’s Word everyday (as a pastor, it’s tough not to always be thinking about how you might use it in a sermon — But even we need to learn to practice reading the Bible devotionally.)
This week’s sermon is going to focus on the Parable of the Sower.
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Several weeks ago, Pam and the kids planted flowers down at the church. Our flower box was full of weeds. What was cool was somehow they got talking about the kind of soils they were working in. The soil on the Southside could be described as red clay. Which means unless you work it well, it clumps up and gets hard with no water. This week our Youth Camp theme was Roots — getting your roots down deep in the soil of God’s Word. When we do, nothing will keep us from what God has planned for our lives.
I leave you with this. I like how Jesus described the harvest. Some produced a small harvest — some a little bigger — some a little bigger yet, and so on. Jesus did not differentiate between the size of the harvest, but that a harvest was made. I think that could apply to churches — are we producing a harvest for the Kingdom of God?
