The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such
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large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while
all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in
parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering
the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some
fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly,
because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell
among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on
good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what
was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in
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parables?”

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of

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heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given
more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what
they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in
parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they

hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to
see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not
hear it.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears
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the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil
one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed
sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone
who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have
no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the
thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the
seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and
understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred,
sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
 The Parable of the Prodigal Son

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of
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them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming
to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later,
the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country,
and there he squandered his property in reckless living.14 And when he had
spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be
in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that
country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be
fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired

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servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I
will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your
son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to
his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt
compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said
to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no
longer worthy to be called your son.’[b]22 But the father said to his
servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it,
and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again;
he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the
house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and
asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has
come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received
him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His
father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look,
these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command,
yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my
friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property
with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him,
‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to
celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was
lost, and is found.’”
 THE PARABLE OF THE COFFEE
You and I as followers of Christ have been empowered to love. Perhaps one
of the most powerful sermons on this topic was preached by a great friend of
mine Justin Hall (who pastors The Lord’s House in Hout Bay) entitled; “The
Overcoming Power of Love.” In our text today, Paul speaks of the spiritual
gifts which, no matter how exciting and wonderful, are useless and even
destructive if they are not ministered in love. Clear here too is that Paul put
an extremely high value on prophecy, but the Corinthians valued the gift of
tongues. Paul put tongues at the end of the list. So what about the gifts?
Paul goes on to explain to the church in Corinth that the only way spiritual
gifts can be used creatively is when Christians are motivated by love. I love
the way Kent Crockett illustrates how the spiritual gifts work in community?
Kent's “Parable of the Spilled Coffee” explains this perfectly! “A Bible study
group met in a home to study how various ministries should work in the
body of Christ. One member commented; “I don’t understand how different
gifts can work together.” At that moment a woman accidentally dropped her
cup which broke and spilled coffee all over the floor. Each group member
responded differently to the mishap, according to their spiritual gifts. The
teacher gave some advice. “Next time if you will put your cup on the coffee
table, that won’t happen again.” The administrator responded by organising
a clean-up committee. “Bill, please go find a mop. Sally, could you help him
with a towel?” Bill, who had the gift of service, hurried to get the mop. Sally,
who had the gift of helps followed Bill and said; “I’ll help you!” The person
with the gift of encouragement said; “We all make mistakes so don’t let it
get you down.” The person with the gift of mercy put her arm around the
woman, patted her hand and said; “I feel so badly for you.” The person with
the gift of giving exclaimed; “I’ll buy a new set of coffee mugs to replace the
broken one!” They all used their various gifts together to resolve the
situation”