What Kind Of Soil?
Children's sermon
Ants Work Best Together
31 Object Lessons from Nature
Object:
a flat of potting soil, a flat of soil with rocks, a chunk of hard clay dirt, and a thorny branch
Scripture: Mark 4:3-8
Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
Material: a flat of potting soil, a flat of soil with rocks, a chunk of hard clay dirt, and a thorny branch
(start the lesson by obviously playing with the dirt; laugh and make it look like fun) You know what? I love to play in the dirt. I like to dig. I like to pile the dirt up and make castles. I like to make mud pies. I like to plant things. What do you like to do with dirt? (let them answer)
Well, I have a few different kinds of dirt here. I have some potting soil. (show it) The potting soil is perfect for plants. It has lots of nutrients, and it's nice and loose so the roots of the plant can move around in there and get food and water. I also have some soil with rocks. (show it) Do you think a little plant would like to try to grow up next to this? (drop a rock to impress the children that it is heavy and not good for plants) Whoa!
I have another kind of soil, too. It's called clay (show it), and it packs down really hard. I don't think it is very good for plants, do you? I have something here that is not soil; it's a thorny weed. Thorny weeds sometimes choke out the things I plant, and I don't like them.
Jesus said that our hearts are like these kinds of soil. Some hearts are full of thorny weeds. That's not good. (set the thorn aside) Some hearts are hard like clay. That's not good, either. (set the clay aside) Some hearts are full of rocks. Not good. (set aside) But, some hearts are just right. A heart that is just right for Jesus is a heart that wants to hear his word. It is a heart that wants to do right. Let's have good hearts, and see what Jesus can do in us!
Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
Material: a flat of potting soil, a flat of soil with rocks, a chunk of hard clay dirt, and a thorny branch
(start the lesson by obviously playing with the dirt; laugh and make it look like fun) You know what? I love to play in the dirt. I like to dig. I like to pile the dirt up and make castles. I like to make mud pies. I like to plant things. What do you like to do with dirt? (let them answer)
Well, I have a few different kinds of dirt here. I have some potting soil. (show it) The potting soil is perfect for plants. It has lots of nutrients, and it's nice and loose so the roots of the plant can move around in there and get food and water. I also have some soil with rocks. (show it) Do you think a little plant would like to try to grow up next to this? (drop a rock to impress the children that it is heavy and not good for plants) Whoa!
I have another kind of soil, too. It's called clay (show it), and it packs down really hard. I don't think it is very good for plants, do you? I have something here that is not soil; it's a thorny weed. Thorny weeds sometimes choke out the things I plant, and I don't like them.
Jesus said that our hearts are like these kinds of soil. Some hearts are full of thorny weeds. That's not good. (set the thorn aside) Some hearts are hard like clay. That's not good, either. (set the clay aside) Some hearts are full of rocks. Not good. (set aside) But, some hearts are just right. A heart that is just right for Jesus is a heart that wants to hear his word. It is a heart that wants to do right. Let's have good hearts, and see what Jesus can do in us!
