Immersed in the Word: A Crisis Turns to Blessing
Reach Out Canada / Lutheran Hour Ministries Workshop
Saturday, July 6, 2013 –4:00-5:30 p.m.
A Sower Went Out…
St. Matthew 13:4-8 (18-23)
Jesus used “seed parables” to show how God’s kingdom operates in the world. In this case, He makes clear how various groups of people respond to God’s Word, the Good News of Christ. The groups include:
vs. 4
Those on the PATH, a walking trail pressed down because people are constantly going back and forth on it. Picture it almost like cement. Looking at the seed which fell here, how far does it get in the growing process? What stops the progress? Comparing this with human beings (as Jesus does in vs. 19), how are such people behaving? Who are the “birds” taking the seed away? Can you visualize people who have operated in this way? Who is responsible for the fact that the seed doesn’t ever get to “first base,” so to speak … the one sowing? Somebody else?
vv. 5-6
How is this group—the seed on ROCKY PLACES—obviously different from “path” people? What kind of initial reception did these folks give the Word? Can you call them “unbelievers” (note especially vs. 21)? Is enthusiasm and joy a good thing … or a bad thing … when it comes to receiving God’s Word? (See also St. Luke 11:27-28; St. John 8:31-32). What quality does Jesus commend here, rather than “mere” excitement about the Christian faith?
vs. 7
Looking at the seed falling among THORNS, is there anything wrong with the soil, as far as we can tell? Did the seed grow at all? If it did, why did things turn out badly? In Jesus’ explanation in vs. 22, are the thorns necessarily “sins”? Why does Jesus call wealth “deceitful”? See 1 John 2:16-17 and Hebrews 12:1 to shed additional light on this. Which men and women might fit the description of “thorn people” in our time?
In all these cases, can you find a distinction within the seed itself that was sown on these various types of ground? Is there anything weak or defective about the seed? What about the motives of the sower? Did he display a different attitude or intensity toward the diverse patches of soil he encountered?
vs. 8
Looking at the GOOD SOIL, what is the trademark of such a person, according to Jesus in vs. 23? Is there a difference between “understanding” the Word and merely agreeing with it? Do all those who make up the good soil produce the same way, and to the same extent? What might constant reading and meditation on the Scriptures have to do with this process of “understanding” the Word?
An old pastor said, “This is one of the most realistic parables Jesus ever told.” Can you see the situation in our world reflected in this parable of the assorted kinds of soil? Can you see the situation in many congregations pictured here, too? If you think of this Parable of the Sower, what should be a primary goal in our congregations? In your personal life as a follower of Christ?
The Bible Crisis in Our Churches Today
The Bible crisis in the church today: One kind of crisis is launched by theologians and preachers who do not accept Scripture as God’s written Word, deny its teachings, etc.
The second sort is far more seductive: It is seen among Christians who in words affirm all the proper things about the Bible, call it “inspired, inerrant, the only source for Christian faith and life,” but who then do not read it, know it, or live in it in any significant way. Like it or not, this describes precisely the situation in wide stretches of our Lutheran Church-Canada. Think of Luther’s lament: “There is a certain class of people which goes in and out of church, and which knows as little of the Word at the end of the year as at the beginning.”
A pastor’s widow once deplored the neglect of regular Scripture-reading precisely among those who were active for years and decades in the church. It is an incredible situation.
The major problems and weaknesses in congregations today are almost all traceable to a neglect of the Word. Among those problems:
-Anemic stewardship and sacrificial support for the work of Christ;
-Lacking enthusiasm for outreach and a concern for people in the community far from God (Acts 18:9-10);
-Conflicts within church families, often over very petty things, and the inability to move past them (1 Corinthians 6:7-8);
-Blindness to recognize societal trends and mindsets around us for what they are and to react to them as redeemed children of God (Romans 13:11).
A Road to Healing and Blessing
In launching the daily benefit of reading and studying Holy Scripture, there is much more at stake than a program, or getting a one-time achievement under your belt. To some degree, the soul of our churches and of your own spiritual life are at stake in an effort of this kind.
A testimonial of what this accomplished in our own home, beginning with an expected gift; the help and blessing which grew from it. This involved use of CPH’s Today’s Light Bible, which divides the entire Scripture into a schedule of 6-day-a-week readings extending over two years.
The blessing spread to co-workers within the Lutheran Church-Canada office in Winnipeg, and from them to the wider LCC church community in our city.
About 150 members of Winnipeg-area parishes (and friends) committed to the Today’s Light schedule and began their reading effort in October, 2011. Some parishes experienced a strengthening of Bible study classes and group meetings within their parishes as a way of encouraging loyalty to the project and to handle questions that arose, especially in the Old Testament.
The effort has been duplicated in Saskatoon and elsewhere; it could easily be put in place as a project for an individual congregation.
It is important to note that, while Today’s Light Bible is a useful tool, there is no need to confine oneself to that system alone. (I myself, for example, carry out daily Bible reading in a much more primitive way using my own longtime copy of the Scripture.)
Your Call to Concrete Action
First, in your own personal life: Even if you don’t live where a daily Bible reading program is being organized, or don’t have one in your congregation, there’s nothing stopping you from implementing this spiritual discipline in your own home.
Today’s Light Bible is available for ordering on the website of Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri (
You may find this effort challenging at first, especially since the early months will be spent reading the Old Testament. But, if you are using Today’s Light as the tool for organizing your readings, note that there will be a daily introduction to the subject matter, as well as a sort of “cool down” at the end to re-cap what was covered on that particular day.
Second, in your local church: Speak to the pastor, elders or other leaders about the possibility of organizing this kind of effort in your congregation. This could involve
-Setting a date for everyone to begin the group effort;
-Establishing a group or other way for readers’ questions to be answered;
-Periodic inclusion of the effort in the public prayers of the church, and through encouragement (check-ups) in the Sunday bulletins.
Finally, realize that the growth and blessing will come as the parable indicates: Through the Word as a seed. It will begin small, weak-looking, easy to miss; but also gradual and real. Just as neglect of the Word is giving rise to all sorts of problems, so the faithful use of it will create a seedbed to overcome them,
at least gradually and in part.
Robert Bugbee, President
Lutheran Church-Canada
3074 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3K 0Y2