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Game: - Prepare a list of simple questions. Every body sits in a circle and you can start asking the questions. You will be asking to one after the other. They have to start answering 2 question onwards. When you ask the 2nd question they have to say the answer of 1’st question.
OQ: - Share about something that you have planted.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
Here Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven through a parable of the weeds.
Q. When we plant some seeds what are some things that we make sure? [The seeds are good, the soil is good, the season is right etc.,]
C. Here the man has sowed the good seed but when everybody was sleeping his enemy sowed weeds among the wheat. When both will come up. When it starts growing do you think it’s easy to pull out the weeds, without uprooting the wheat? It’s very hard. But once it’s the harvest time we can easily distinguish which is wheat and which are weeds? And is easy to pull it up.
Let’s see how Jesus explains this parable.
Matthew 13:36-46
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Q. Who is the man who sowed the good seed? [Jesus]
Q. What is the field? [World]
Q. Good seed? [True disciples]
Q. Weeds? [Children of devil]
Q. Harvest? [End of the world]
Q. Harvesters? [Angels]
Q. What are the qualities of a good seed? [It will grow and multiply, it is useful for the Sower as well as for many other
people e.g.; Wheat is a very essential food item for many of us.]
C. True disciples of Jesus are like this good seed. They are useful for God and men. They are very precious. They will be righteous and bring many others to righteous ness.
Daniel 12:3
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Q. What do the weeds do in a field?
C. They have the same rain, sunshine and soil with the good plants but are good or nothing. In fact it eats up the manure for the wheat and sometimes it grows even better than the good plants. It may even try to stop the good seeds from growing in good way.
C. People, who are selfish, worried only about their life.
Doesn’t do much help to others. They are the people who do all kinds of evil.
They are like the weeds. They do no good, they do hurt. They are not useful for God or men.
They will end up in hell.
But the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God.
Q. Which kind of a seed are you?
A good seed? Which is useful?
Or a weed? Which is good for nothing.
Matthew 13:47-50
47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.
48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Q. How many of us have seen somebody fishing with a net?
When the net is put down in a lake, it gathers, all kinds of fish, when the net is full fisherman will pull it up or what will be inside the net?
There can be dirt, weeds or rubbish things also in the net.
But the fisherman will collect only the good fish. The world is like a lake or a sea.
Preaching of the gospel is like casting net.
Many people will come to church, through preaching. When the net is full and drawn to the shore, there will be a separation between good and bad that were gathered in it.
The good shall be gathered into vessels as valuable and carefully kept but the bad shall be cast away. While the net is in the sea, we not know what is in it.
The fisherman themselves can not distinguish. Just like this on the judgement day, God will separate the righteous from the wicked. God knows who is really righteous. We cannot hide any thing from God.
Daniel 2:22
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
Check your heart today and decide whether you are a good fish or a bad fish.
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