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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:20

Read: Mark 4:13-20
Listen: Mark 4

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Jesus’s parable about a farmer planting seeds on different soil types describes how people respond differently to God’s words. The first three soils lack fruit, but the fourth soil is good and results in a supernatural amount of growth. This represents people who hear and accept God’s words—and then God produces a crop of incredible growth in them.

We all want to be the fourth type of soil. However, we can’t simply wish ourselves to grow in faith or produce a good crop. Instead, it comes from God doing transformational work in the hearts of those who listen and respond. He has a role—and we have a role too.

This parable indicates our role is to hear and respond to God’s Word (the Bible). It’s more than filling our heads with knowledge and facts about Jesus. It is more about listening and changing based on what we learn. The goal is transformation. Pastor Aaron Buer shared a great practice to help us with this. He challenged us to listen, respond and tell. He means to listen and respond to the word of God daily, then tell someone how you are responding. This is an excellent start as we seek to cultivate hearts that are good soil for the transforming work of God.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Consider how you can listen, respond and tell this week. A great place to start is to consider one thing that God is showing or teaching you. Then decide what you can do to respond to what you are learning. Finally, tell someone, maybe someone who will help you stay accountable for how you want to respond.

2022 BIBLE MEMORY PRACTICE

Develop spiritual roots and tap in the power of God’s word by memorizing monthly a Bible verse! View previous verses at beyondtheweekend.org/biblememorypractice.

JEREMIAH 31:33

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here