Sowing Seeds
Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
Pastor Bob Hiller
7/13/2014
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/Db5yZ5lyvFY
Matthew 13:23 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 what was sown.
1. Jesus ____________ gives His ____________ to everyone He crosses.
2. The devil, the world, and our flesh all work against God's ____________ ____________.
3. All potential attacks from our enemies will not prevent Christ from accomplishing His ____________ work for ____________.
Scripture Readings
Isaiah 55:10-13
Romans 8:12-17
Matthew 10:34-42
Take It With You!
Here we will offer thoughts and meditations on the message to help us as we contemplate and discuss and wrestle with what we are hearing.
Temptation is of three kinds: of the flesh, the world, and the devil. For we live in the flesh and carry the old creature around our necks; it goes to work and lures us daily into unchastity, laziness, gluttony and drunkenness, greed and deceit, into acts of fraud and deception against our neighbor-in short, into all kinds of evil lusts that by nature cling to us and to which we are incited by the association and example of other people and by things we hear and see. All this often wounds and inflames even an innocent heart.
Next comes the world, which assails us by word and deed and drives us to anger and impatience. In short, there is nothing but hatred and envy, enmity, violence and injustice, perfidy, vengeance, cursing, reviling, slander, arrogance, and pride, along with fondness for luxury, honor, fame, and power. For no one is willing to be the least, but everyone wants to sit on top and be seen by all.
Then comes the devil, who baits and badgers us on all sides, but especially exerts himself where the conscience and spiritual matters are concerned. His purpose is to make us scorn and despise both the Word and the works of God, to tear us away from faith, hope, and love, to draw us into unbelief false security, and stubbornness, or, on the contrary, to drive us to despair, denial of God, blasphemy, and countless other abominable sins. These are snares and nets; indeed, they are real "flaming darts" that are venomously shot into our hearts, not by flesh and blood but by the devil.
...At such times our only help and comfort is to run here and seize hold of the Lord's Prayer and to speak to God from our heart, "Dear Father, you have commanded me to pray; let me not fall because of temptation." Then you will see that the temptation has to cease and eventually admit defeat.
Large Catechism: The Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
