The Big Idea
Using the Parable of the Sower, we explore how God’s Kingdom is accessible to everyone. However, we see that there are barriers that stop people from being part of the Kingdom. In the parable, these are represented by stones, birds and weeds. In real life, these look like selfishness, greed and hatred, in various forms (think climate change, poverty, racism), which can lead to people losing hope and being unable to recognise the Good News. We are challenged to be a scarecrow, taking steps to reduce these barriers!
This service was originally planned as a harvest celebration, but can easily be adapted for other times of the year by changing the first song (a harvest hymn) and removing the response item of bringing food forward
Music
Songs at the start:
- For the fruits of all creation
- This is amazing grace – Hillsong
Song in the middle:
- Upside down – Engage worship
Song at the end:
- We seek your kingdom (transform, revive and heal society) – Thy Kingdom Come
Other songs you could consider:
- Build your kingdom here – Rend Collective
- Blessed be your name – Matt Redman
- Ancient of Days – Ron Kenoly
- For I’m building a people of power – Dave Richards
- Hear the call of the kingdom – Keith Getty
Activity
Activity
Prior to the service, acquire a large sheet of carboard (we used an empty freezer box from our local appliance store) and decorate it to resemble a castle, with an opening door. Draw a brick pattern on it, then colour some of the bricks black, so it appears the castle is crumbling. Have a look at our photos to see how we did it.
In the service, use the drama that can be downloaded. It explores the idea of kingdom values in a light-hearted and slightly cheesy way, that asks for some audience participation to help the sad King repair his kingdom.
Readings
The Parable of the Sower can be found in three of the gospels:
- Matthew 13:1-23
- Mark 4: 1-20
- Luke 8:4-15
We chose to use the retelling of the parable found in Bob Hartmann’s Rhyming Bible. It’s great fun and has the option to be made interactive as it contains a “chorus” which can be sung to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
Talk
A full talk is available to download. It starts by introducing the idea of the Kingdom of God as a place where God is King, and his love, peace and justice rule. It explores how the Kingdom of God is available for everyone (the soil) who hears the good news but things such as greed and selfishness (weeds, birds and stones) act as barriers to the Kingdom of God. We also then explore how we can help break down these barriers by acting like each others scarecrow or weedkiller!
Response
There are four response options for this service:
- If you are using this as a harvest service, invite people to respond to the challenge by bringing forward their harvest gifts to be donated to a local foodbank.
- In a prayer space, offer space for lament. It is important to recognise that there is a lot going on in our world that we don’t have the power to change, but that it is OK to turn to God and pour out our feelings of sadness and anger at these situations. If you need inspiration, many of the psalms reflect these feelings. We set up a “graffiti wall” of brown paper and marker pens for people to write or draw their prayers.
- Invited people to make their own promises to help build God’s Kingdom. These could be small things (e.g. sorting recycling or playing with someone new at school) or bigger things (e.g. supporting the food bank regularly, volunteering for a befriending service, financial support of Christian charities). Promises can be written on a luggage label and fastened onto a scarecrow at the front of church, as they promise to “be the scarecrow.”
- Offer a sensory tray with soil, stones, weeds, birds, scarecrow, conkers (big seeds), so different elements of the story can be explored in a tactile way.
Blessing
In our final song, some of our youngest children were invited to give everyone a small seed (we used sunflower seeds) to hold as we used a blessing from Engage Worship, entitled “Tiny Seeds Sending Prayer.”