Focus Scripture:
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.” —Jeremiah 17:7
Yesterday we learned that Christians should grow spiritually. 2 Peter 3:17-18 teaches that we should grow in the
One way to grow in knowledge of Jesus is by spending time in His word. Today, we will consider the story, or parable, told by Jesus of a farmer planting seed. Fun Fact: Did you know that most of the message of the Bible was originally delivered orally to a group instead of through people reading it on their own? Our American brains tend to receive written words as information to master, while hearing tends to draw us into the story. Try listening to the passage to hear the story as the original disciples would have heard Jesus speak it to them. Feel free to write down key words or insights or draw what a picture of what you hear as you listen. The Bible App and Bible.is have audio versions available for most versions.
Bible Engagement
Listen to/read the parable in Matthew 13:1-23 and note any observations here before you fill out the questions below.
1. The seed represents God’s word and the
2. What happened to the seed on the path and what does it represent?
3. What happened to the seed on the rocky soil and what does it represent?
4. What happened to the seed in the thorns and what does it represent?
5. What happened to the seed on the good soil and what does it represent?
6. Why did Jesus teach in parables? (Matthew 13:10-17)
Application
- Take a few minutes to consider today’s parable. Pray and ask God to help you determine which soil describes your heart today. Repent if needed (it’s a new day!) and ask God to keep your heart like fertile soil to recieve and embrace His Word this year.
- Begin a focus on Psalm 119 today by listening to the passage in one of the Tiers below.
As you can see, Roots offers three tiers of Scripture with one story. We do this because sometimes the amount of Scripture to go through every chapter in a year may overwhelm some people. Tier 3 includes the full content, Tier 2 includes most, and Tier 1 the highlights of the books that week so some days may cover different chapters that the other tiers. Some weeks contain all highlights, so some will have the same Scripture assignments. You are welcome to skip between tiers within the day, week, or year.
Tier 1: Psalm 119:1-16
Tier 2: Psalm 119:1-32
Tier 3: Psalm 119:1-48
What themes do you notice in the passage of Psalm 119 you chose?