Lesson 62 - Elementary

Memory Verse

"Blessed are the peacemakers"  (Matthew 5:9).

Notes

The Great Teacher

When Jesus lived here on earth He taught the people and preached to them in many different places. Sometimes He was in the Temple or their Churches; sometimes out on the mountain. He would sit down and talk to the people. In this lesson He was by the seashore, probably by the beautiful Sea of Galilee, about which we have learned in previous lessons. Great crowds thronged about Him; so He entered into a ship and sat there and talked to the people who were on the shore.

Sowing the Seed

Jesus told the people a story of a man who was sowing seed. In those days there was not much machinery with which to work the land and sow the seed; much of their work was done by hand. They used oxen for ploughing.

Some of the seed which was scattered by the sower fell by the side of the road. The birds came and snatched up that seed. Some seed fell on stony ground. This seed had just enough earth over it to cause it to sprout and grow a little while; but the sun soon scorched it, because it was not planted in deep enough soil. Other seed fell among thorns, which soon choked out the tiny plants. But not all the farmer's work was in vain; for some of the seed fell upon good ground, and it grew very well and yielded a crop.

The Explanation

After the crowd had gone away, just a few people and the twelve disciples were left alone with Jesus. Then they asked Him to explain the story of the sower and the seed to them. So Jesus told them what was meant by the parable.

Today, as children sit in a Sunday School class, the teacher is like the sower who went out to sow. Instead of taking a bag of seed, the teacher uses the Bible. Jesus said the seed was the Word of God. Our hearts and ears are like the soil into which the seed falls.

Did you know that children may be "stony ground” hearers, or "thorny ground” hearers? If they do not pay close attention to the teacher, and do not let the lesson get down into their heart, then perhaps it will do them no good. They may listen to the lesson the teacher is telling them; but as soon as Sunday School is over, they get so busy playing that they forget to think about Jesus, forget to pray, and soon they have lost the "good seed.”

But, like the good seed, some of the lessons taught in Sunday School are going down into hearts that furnish "good soil” for the Word. Many little children are remembering through the weekdays the lessons they have learned on Sunday. A teacher recently asked her class of six-year-olds how many prayed each morning and evening, and every hand was raised.

Ears to Hear

Many of the ministers and workers in the Gospel today are those who received the Word into their hearts when they were small children. If children will open their ears and hearts to the lessons taught them in Sunday School, they will be better able to bring souls to Jesus and work for Him as they grow older. Jesus said, "Take heed what ye hear,” and "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Sky Pilot

Some years ago, a young minister of the Gospel operated an airplane for the purpose of spreading the Gospel. He distributed religious tracts and pamphlets in many places. One day as he scattered the "good seed” from his plane, some boys working in a field saw the plane overhead. They ran to pick up the literature as it fell right into their field. Through reading this literature, the boys and the entire family were saved and brought into the Gospel.

Today the good news of the Gospel is carried by many different means: the radio, automobiles, Gospel buses, boats, street meetings; and by the literature that is sent to people all over the world. Jails, hospitals, and many other places are visited. Here and there, "good soil” receives the Gospel seed and brings forth fruit -– people are saved from sin.

Questions

1. Tell what happened to the seed that fell by the wayside. [MAK:4:4].

2. Who takes away the Word that is sown in our hearts? [MAK:4:15].

3. What happened to the seed that fell on good ground? [MAK:4:8-20].

4. What is the "seed”? [LUK:8:11].

5. What can we do so that we may be "good ground” hearers? [MAK:4:9].