NOTE: If you missed this week’s message, click here to listen or watch.
Talk about your experience on Sunday morning.
- How did God speak to you during worship and/or teaching this week?
- What have you been reflecting on and/or praying about in response to this week’s service?
ICEBREAKER: Jeff talked about how he considers himself to be a hardcore/dedicated fan on the Toronto Blue Jays.
- Do you consider yourself to be a hardcore/dedicated fan of any certain sports team (or athlete, or celebrity, or TV show… anything at all)? What does that look like for you? How do you display your passion for your team (or whatever it is that you are a fan of)?
Read the Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed in Mark 4:3-9 and 14-20 together.
- What words, phrases or concepts struck you the most as you read through the parable? Why?
- What do you think might have been Jesus’ main point in telling his parable?
- Of the four different kids of faith that Jesus illustrated in this parable, which
In Verse 15, Jesus describes the first kind of faith (“Footpath Faith”) as people who don’t believe the Gospel. They “hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.”
- Have you ever experienced this with someone in your life? Where you shared the message of Jesus with them, only to have them reject it? Explain.
- Read 2 Corinthians 4:4. What is the role of Satan (“the birds” in Mark 4) in the minds of those who don’t believe? How should this reality impact the way that we relate to, think of, and pray for those in our lives who don’t know Jesus?
In Verses 16 & 17, Jesus describes the second kind of faith (“Shallow Faith”) as people who hear the message of Jesus and “immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long.” They give up as soon as they have problems in life or realize the cost of following Jesus.
- Do you know anyone who was initially excited to come to Christ and to be a part of the church, but gave up as soon as life got difficult? Why do you think they quit?
- Have you ever been tempted to quit or give up on your faith when you’ve experienced problems and difficulties in life? What did you do?
In Verses 18 & 19, Jesus describes a third kind of faith (“Unproductive Faith”) as people “who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life… so no fruit is produced.” In other words, they believe in Jesus but live for themselves instead of Jesus, and no one comes to faith in Christ through them.
- Jeff said that he believes this type of faith describes the majority of Christians in North America today. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- What do you think this kind of faith looks like lived out day-to-day? Why do you think that Jesus said ‘no fruit is produced’ through this kind of faith?
- What ‘worries of this life’ tempt you the most? What can you do to avoid these temptations?
In Verse 20, Jesus describes the fourth and final kind of faith (“Deeply Rooted Faith”) as people “who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest.”
- Why is it important to not only “hear” God’s word (remember: all 4 types “heard” the message) but to also “accept” God’s word? What does it mean to “accept” God’s word?
- Jesus said that people with a Deeply Rooted Faith are people who produce a harvest and lead others into a living relationship with Christ.
- Why is it that Jesus seemed to make “producing a harvest” the ultimate test of a Deeply Rooted Faith?
- Think about all the people in your life that don’t know Jesus. Who can you commit to praying for and “scattering the seed of God’s word” in their lives?
