Sowing the Seeds of Love

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!"

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Song: 31243, Hymns, We Are Sowing, no. 216


1. We are sowing, daily sowing

Countless seeds of good and ill,

Scattered on the level lowland,

Cast upon the windy hill;

Seeds that sink in rich, brown furrows,

Soft with heaven’s gracious rain;

Seeds that rest upon the surface

Of the dry, unyielding plain;

2. Seeds that fall amid the stillness

Of the lonely mountain glen;

Seeds cast out in crowded places,

Trodden under foot of men;

Seeds by idle hearts forgotten,

Flung at random on the air;

Seeds by faithful souls remembered,

Sown in tears and love and prayer;

3. Seeds that lie unchanged, unquickened,

Lifeless on the teeming mold;

Seeds that live and grow and flourish

When the sower’s hand is cold.

By a whisper sow we blessings;

By a breath we scatter strife.

In our words and thoughts and actions

Lie the seeds of death and life.

4. Thou who knowest all our weakness,

Leave us not to sow alone!

Bid thine angels guard the furrows

Where the precious grain is sown,

Till the fields are crown’d with glory,

Filled with mellow, ripened ears,

Filled with fruit of life eternal

From the seed we sowed in tears.

Activity: planting grass seed

Supplies needed:

Plastic cup

Dirt

Markers

Googly eyes

Grass seed (or flower seeds)

Decorate the front of the cup to look like a face (the grass will be its “hair”)

Fill the cup up with dirt

Plant the seeds

Water & watch grow

Game: matching game found here

Treat: basket cupcakes

1 box cake mix + supplies to make

Cupcake liners

Licorice

White frosting

Cake decorating stuff

Green food coloring

Small candies for “basket”

Bake cupcakes according to directions. Let cool. Tint white icing with green food coloring. Put in cake decorator. Use a swirly tip and frost the cupcakes. Bend the licorice stick to look like a basket handle. Add candies, eat.