[To the children:] This story Jesus tells is called a parable. A parable is a simple story about everyday things that teaches us a lesson. Jesus liked to use parables to help people understand what he called the Kingdom of God. That’s kind of a hard thing to understand, not just for children, but for grown-ups, too. Jesus knew that, so he told a lot of stories that started out, “The kingdom of God is like….” This parable about the different kinds of soil is more about how we receive the good news. And it would be easy to think that it’s really a story about us. But what you have to remember whenever Jesus tells a story is this: it’s always about God. So when you hear a parable, especially if it seems to make things more confusing than easy to understand, look for what the story says about God, and it might make more sense. Let’s pray.
Jesus, thank you for teaching us about God. Help us to listen with our hearts as well as our minds, so that we can know God better. Amen.
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A pastor sings 