| Homegroup Leaders' Notes | |
Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:1-23) |
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| Welcome | What do you think of the parables? Adrian Plass defines a parable like this - 'stories that entertain you at the front door while the truth slips in through a side window and sandbags you from behind'. What do you think he means? Is he right? |
| Worship | Listen to some music or sing some songs looking at changing how we think and act. Or maybe read the words and reflect. Examples might be
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| Word | Matthew 13:1-23 There is a lot to get through here. Just concentrate on the points that are most useful. Go with the flow! 1. What does this parable seem to be about? 2. Is the obvious meaning of a parable all that there is to it? Think about the Plass definition. 3. Jesus suggests in vv10-17 that we can miss the meaning of things if we do not listen. What do you think he means by this? Can we miss something by just focusing on the obvious? 4. We are told that many of those who followed Jesus left him. Why do you think this was? Why might they have been disappointed? What is the difference between the kingdom they expected and the one Jesus talked about (see Luke 4:23)? 5. How many harvests were there? How would you describe the harvest - despite what happened to some of the seeds? What was the end result? 6. Which of the seeds do you think you are? Can that be different on some days? What might affect the kind of seed you think you are? 7. Read and reflect on Habakkuk 4:17-19. |
| Witness | What are the main issues affecting the world at the moment? Make a list. What have the words of Jesus in Luke 4 got to do with these issues? What is the Church doing or saying? Think of things that we can do. |
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