Today, we began a new series in our student ministry called “The Focused Track.” This is a series where we discuss some basics of our faith and how to stay focused in our walk with God. For our weekly illustrations for this series, we will be playing a game from Nintendo called Mario Kart 8. We will have a kind of mini-tournament with prizes for our students each week over the next several weeks! While this will be super fun, we will be covering some major topics, such as our identity in Christ, being equipped to be successful in our walk with Christ, and how to avoid hazards that keep us from growing in Christ.
Tonight, we kicked things off with a practice round. Some of our students have never touched the game and had no idea how to play. So, we gave them opportunities to play, learn the controls, and get a feel for how the game works. As you can imagine, some took to things very quickly, and some not so much.
The Lesson
Tonight’s game time was about preparing for the tournament starting next week. Because some of our students had never played the game before if they came into the tournament without tonight, they may make it, but they would struggle greatly. In our walk with God, if we want to be successful, we must take advantage of opportunities to prepare.
Preparation is key to a successful walk with Christ. In Matthew 13, we see a parable of a Sower (farmer) who was tossing seed out, waiting for it to grow.
“then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:3-9 (New Living Translation | NLT)
Now, His disciples didn’t really understand this parable So in verses 19-23 He explains the parable.
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:19-23 (New Living Translation | NLT)
A key aspect to the success of each plant was the type of soil it was planted in. Look at each types of ground
- A Path – This is a hard ground that’s not been prepared to grow. Nothing could happen here.
- Rocky Ground – This is a ground that may have some good soil, but because of all the rocks in it, the plant dries up. This is akin to people who may hear the gospel, but because they have not taken the time to be discipled, be present, and truly grow, when hard times come up, they fall away from the faith.
- Thorny Ground – This is soil that, again, can produce life, but because the farmer didn’t take the time to remove the thorns and weeds, the plant dies out. This person may come to know God, but because they never learned to trust in Him fully, they allowed anxiety and other things to choke out their faith.
- The good soil – this is soil that the farmer took time to cultivate. He removed thorns and rocks, He made sure to water and care for things. He prepared the soil and maintained it, thus making it a great environment to grow.
So, how can we cultivate good soil? How can we actively prepare for what is in front of us?
It begins by being present.
The role of the church is to train, equip, and send out individuals to the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-13) We can’t expect people to know everything, so we need to church to help train us and help us to grow.
During our game time, some of our students had no idea that something they were doing was hindering their race. But because they were present, they had someone who could lovingly correct the thing they did so that they could be more effective. In the same way, by being present in a biblical community, you have people who can lovingly help correct things that are hindering our walks with Christ.
In our student ministry and our church, we have created an environment to help students grow into the men and women they are called to be. We make room for discipleship. We make room for friendships to form that will encourage each other’s walk with Christ. However, if we aren’t present, we can’t take advantage of these focused opportunities.
Questions for families to discuss together:
What are some practical things that keep us as individuals from growing in Christ?
We can’t expect people who are new to the faith to know everything that keeps them from growing in Christ, so how can we discover the things that help us grow and the things that keep us from growing?
Parents: Share a story with your students about a time when you had a leader or parent who lovingly helped you to realize an issue in your own walk with Christ and walked you through how to course correct and grow.
Adventures in Student Ministry 