The Parable of the Sower
Group Activities

Sermon Title:"How Does Your Garden Grow?", "It All Depends on the Dirt", and "Parable of the Sower"

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

FLOWER POTS:

Let each child plant a small flower in a ceramic pot or Styrofoam cup and write or glue today's Bible verse on the side of the pot.

SEED ART:

Give the children many types of seeds and let them glue the seeds on a piece of colored construction paper to form "GOD'S WORD"! Remind the children that the seeds in our story today represents GOD'S WORD!

"GOD'S WORD" Book:

Give the children paper and markers to draw and cut out a Bible shape and write GOD'S WORD on it to form the cover for a book. They can then add pages with pictures or words from today's lesson. Each page could have a SEED drawn or glued onto each and then draw a picture representing the type of soil that the "seed" fell on (ex: rocky, weeds, good soil, etc).

SOIL AND SEED WALK:

Give each child some seeds and take a WALK outside to place those seeds on the 'types' of soil that were discussed in the lesson. The children will NEVER forget this story after taking the WALK!

SEED MARKER:

Let children make a colorful Bible book marker with "I WILL HIDE GOD'S WORD IN MY HEART" and tape a seed to the book marker. Write in colorful letters today's Bible verse and try to memorize the verse before leaving class!

TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS:

Let the children fold a piece of tissue paper "accordion style" and then pull the tissue layers apart to form a flower and add a chenille wire for the stem. Let the children add a strip of paper to the stem with today's Bible verse OR attach a seed packet to the "tissue flower arrangement" and tape a copy of the Bible verse on the packet.

SEED PLANTING:

Let the children plant some seeds and watch them grow in GOOD SOIL for the next few weeks! Take a picture of the children in front of their NEW pots first and then a picture of the children in front of the pots of flowers after they have grown. Discuss how the seeds will grow in GOOD soil as in our Bible lesson today!

SEED DRAWINGS:

Let the children draw a few big flowers on a sheet of paper and then glue seeds in the middle of the flowers or to form an outline around the flowers. Write today's Bible verse or words from today's lesson at the top of their drawings or in little words on the stem and leaves of the SEED drawing.

WEED PICS:

The teacher can have real weeds of various types in class or just pictures of weeds and flowers and let children try to guess if each item is a WEED or a flower. Talk about the WEEDS in our story and the effect they have on the SEED!

GARDEN STONE:

Give the children a large flat stone to write words from today's lesson, or if the teacher desires, a garden stone can be made out of a stepping stone mold and painted. This might take two weeks of class time, but would be a treasure and keepsake for the child.

DIRT CUP DESSERTS:

Decorate a small cup with words from the Bible lesson today. Let children put a small amount of chocolate pudding in the bottom and sprinkle it with crushed up cookies to look like the soil in today's lesson. Gummy Worms or sunflower seeds could be added to their snack!