Joined by a new sound man, and a live, canned studio audience, we have some fun
to punch up the audio by having Chris interject sound affects for us. Who knew
we were so funny, until we get our own laugh track? Even saying the most lame
things.
Meet the Hosts
Cris gives us an update on how his surgery went. So far so good, but he'll be
hanging around the Church House studio for about another month before returning
to his man cave.
Everybody else has been leading the typical, boring life, except for a broken
down air conditioner here in Church House studio. Looks like a long, hot
Summer, unless folks want to contribute funds to help get it fixed. Feel free
to fund the project at PayPal, Goal: $1500 <http://paypal.me/heltsley/1500>
Just be sure to change the amount to whatever you might afford. Of course I'm
joking... unless you're really gonna do it.
Shout out to The Gospel Coalition (@TGC)
Your identity is in Christ. Discipleship hard. God’s Word good. The church
vital. The future glorious.
#Pride2017
From the Random Department, we discuss: Is technology the new tower of Babel?
Trust me, we're all for technology. It's how we do the things we do. But it has
some similar properties behind the purpose of the tower, mentioned in Genesis.
A project instituted by humanity, to unify humanity, and ending by scattering
people because God wasn't in it. Technology has the power to unify and empower
humanity, but it also carries a dark side to it that empowers people with
malicious intent to do harm. Technology can augment our lives, but how far will
people take it before it becomes opposite of what God wants for us?
Main Topic
Mark 4:1-20
The Parable of the Sower
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about
him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd
was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in
parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
3 "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and
devoured it.
5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and
immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun
rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it
yielded no grain.
8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and
increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Why Parables?
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the
parables. 11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the
kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
"they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven." 13 And he said to them, "Do you not
understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Soils Explained
14 The sower sows the word.
15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they
hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear
the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in
themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution
arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires
for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and
accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."
We discuss the complexity of what is said from the simple and obvious, to some
of the more complex.
Clearly it's a demonstration of why some people believe, while others do not.
Often a parable or bible teaching allows the reader to relate to one position
or other. This one has the roles set. Jesus is the sower, the soil is the heart
of humanity, and whether you believe, or not, falls into one of the four
categories of soil.
Can the soil change? Is a person's lot in life set, depending on where his
circumstance places him? It's the question of free will. If the soil is
passive, and inanimate, like the soil of nature, then free will may be just as
rigidly set. However, even so, the seed is sown in places where it isn't likely
to grow or thrive. Despite rejection, shallowness, or attitudes that may let it
die off, the seed is still planted there.
We propose that the soil in the parable is a living soil, since it represents
the life of humanity. As a living and dynamic thing, there are choices to be
made. Free will. Is it strictly up to us to weed out the thorns, remove the
rocks, or soften the hard packed soil? It's good to desire that. To stick close
to the parable, and not read too much into it, just like with a natural farm,
it's the farmer who plows, cultivates, and tills the ground to get it ready.
Then the seed that the sower plants can be properly received.
In the end, whether you see free will as in the hands of God's foreknowledge,
or in control by the individual, the best thing to do is pray that God do the
softening, and make he various types of soil ready to receive his seed of the
Gosple message.
We close with a closing thought or two from some good folks on Twitter.
Be sure to contact us <http://podcast.heltsley.net/contact> to tell us what you
think. Check out our to talk to us there as well.
<http://heltsley.net/facebook> <http://heltsley.net/facebook>
<http://heltsley.net/facebook> <http://heltsley.net/facebook>keith
<http://podcast.heltsley.net/?author=2> | July 4, 2017 at 12:47 am | URL:
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