Hey. You're listening to Cut for Time, a podcast from Faith Church located on the North Side Of Indianapolis. My name is Claire Kingsley. Each week, I'll sit down with one of our preaching pastors to discuss their Sunday sermon. Cut for time is a look behind the scenes of sermon preparation, and they'll share with us a few things that we didn't hear from the sermon on Sunday.

Thanks for listening. Okay, Jeff. We've got so much to cover because you had a tall order this weekend of covering a lot in a short period of time. And so, let's just dive in before It was a lot. It was a lot, but I set the challenge for myself because I laid out the series and picked the parable and then got into it and realized there's no way I can cover all this in, twenty five or thirty minutes.

Yeah. That's what Joey said last week when he combined passages. He's like, I thought this was a great idea, and then I realized that was terrible. Yeah. Yeah.

It's a lot. Okay. So we're gonna just do break away from our norm just for a second and just talk about Lent. We started our series our Lenten series. It kind of starts with Ash Wednesday, but then we really kicked it off on Sunday.

And so would you just describe the season of Lent? Remind us as, just pilgrims on the way as Christ followers. What is Lent for us? And then, how does that connect to the series that you've built? Yeah.

The, church has celebrated lent for, centuries, centuries, centuries, all the way back to not very long after Jesus was alive, like, maybe the third or fourth century. And the the season leading up to Easter then, this forty days was seen as a time of reflection, renewal, repentance. It was an opportunity to sort of change the pace to to be reminded of why Jesus had come and why we need a savior in a way that actually is meant to deepen the joy that we experience on Easter. So it's really about kind of changing the pace and the focus of our normal pattern of life. It's a season of reflection.

It's a season of renewal and letting go of some things and, that maybe have just gotten too much hold of us in order to have more of a hold and more of a focus on Jesus. And, so in that in that context, I was really excited thinking about these stories of Jesus, these parables, particularly ones that focus on kind of themes of, reversal, unexpected outcomes, stories that kind of subvert our expectations and cause us to slow down and pay attention and rethink, maybe what we believe about ourselves, about others, maybe even about the way God works in the world. And so we're gonna be looking at these stories of Jesus talking about what God's kingdom looks like even here and now, as a way of recognizing, you know, we may be missing what God is saying and what he's doing and where he's working. And to try and, allow the stories to grab our attention, maybe even unsettle us a little, and go deeper with God in that way. So that's what the whole series and and the whole season is about.

And this first, parable, I wanted to start with because it's really, in a sense, a parable about the parables. So it's Jesus talking about why he talks in parables. And, unfortunately, that's the part that we kind of had to cut for time, a little bit just because there was too much to do. Oh, okay. So parables aren't unique to Jesus.

They were a way of teaching in general. Right? And so was he using this teaching strategy, or is it like this is his thing? Kind of yes and no. There there certainly are moral stories.

There are fables. There are, you know, things that are meant to make us sort of stop and think, but not really in the way that Jesus was using them. Okay. There were allegories, you know, Aesop's fables. There are things like that, but, not really things.

Things that might use a story as a format for helping us think about life and the way life works, but not so much even in a religious context. Not even so much stories like Jesus told about, in a sense, kind of enlarging our vision for who God is and what his kingdom looks like and the way he works in the world. There really weren't any Jewish parallels to that. There weren't really any pagan parallels to that. So he's taking the idea of storytelling and sort of, deepening it and expanding it in in a way that really hadn't been done before.

So it wasn't something totally new, but the way he was using that story format was, yeah, pretty new. Okay. Okay. And you said that his parables enlarge in our visions of the kingdom when, you know, someone could argue, like, why talk in parables at all? Why not just be direct?

Because wouldn't that be effective? What what's, why Yeah. Why use parables? That's a that's a great question. That's the section that I'd I really only got to just briefly touch on.

So the I said the context for this story was, you know, Jesus in chapter 12 of Matthew has been going around and healing and performing signs and showing that he clearly has the the power and the approval and the blessing of God. He is God's chosen one. And in response, the Pharisees and some other people are saying, like, oh, this he can't be from God. He's he's, you know, eating on the Sabbath. He's doing he's violating our rules, so he must be evil.

And so from that point, Jesus starts talking in parables. And he, talks a little bit about that in the middle section that we skipped over starting in verse 10 when the disciples asked that same question. Why are you talking in parables? And he, quotes the prophet Isaiah. First he says, you know, it it's been given to you to know the mysteries of the secrets of the of the kingdom of heaven, but not to others.

For whomever has, to him more will be given and in abundance, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And then he goes on to quote, Isaiah, Isaiah chapter six when he Isaiah has this amazing vision of God in the temple. And, in a in a similar kind of way, I think Jesus is saying, remember when the people of Israel, their hearts were hard, and they wandered away from God. And he kept calling out to them, and they didn't wanna listen. And he kept calling out, and they didn't wanna listen.

And so God sends Isaiah with this commission saying, go preach to them, so that hearing they will not hear, and seeing they will not see because their ears are hard of hearing and their eyes have closed, lest they should otherwise, they would see and hear and and I would heal them. And it and it sounds almost like Jesus is saying, I'm I'm pulling away knowledge from them because they've chosen not to see and hear. There's an element of truth to that. That's certainly part of what he's saying. Sort of like if if you don't want to Jesus is saying, I've shown you what the kingdom looks like.

I've told you what the kingdom looks like. And if you don't want to see or hear that, then it's almost like God's saying, alright. If you don't wanna listen, I'll quit talking. Oh. But at the same time, there's an element of mercy and patience and kindness in it.

Because one of the things that the parables can do is, you know, if we get challenged by someone directly, we may get really defensive. Right? And and say, you know, back away, become confrontational. But if somebody tries to help us see something by telling us a story, that story's probably gonna stick with us. And maybe at some point, I'll be open to considering that story as a way of being open to hearing what God is actually saying when I couldn't hear it directly.

And I think that's the part where Jesus is saying, even what little they have will be taken away. It's almost like the little understanding of the kingdom that they have, If if you don't wanna hold on to it, then I'll I'll make it even harder for you in a sense in judgment by by speaking in parables. And yet the parables themselves are also an expression of mercy and kindness because there's still an opportunity in hearing the parable Mhmm. To reflect and come back and allow God's spirit to work in our hearts. So it it's it works on multiple levels.

It's like a these stories are both an expression of mercy and kindness, for people who don't want to hear. And they work on multiple levels within themselves too, and and we could talk a little bit about that, about this particular parable. They they work on so many levels, that really prompt thinking and reflection, and just sort of sitting with them and and pondering. K. So I know we've just been touching on it in that last question, but why don't you give a full complete summary of what you preached from this weekend, and what were your main takeaways for us?

Yeah. Well, it's you know, parables in one sense are really easy to explain because it's just a story. A guy goes out, and he sows seed in different kinds of soils, and depending on the condition of the soil, they, don't grow anything or they grow stunted crops or they're choked out or it produces this amazing, fantastic, unexpected return. And Jesus said it's really a parable about the the seed, the word of God going out, and the different kinds of people that respond to it. So it's, again, meant to sort of prompt our thinking on the on the one hand, in that context, Jesus is certainly talking about himself as the sower, and the seed, he says, is the word of God.

And he's explaining to the disciples, again, coming right out of that passage we just looked at, why are some people not hearing? Why are people not responding? Because their hearts are hard. Because their hearts are, full of, the love of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth, or, the the seed is choked out by suffering and difficulty. And for other people, our hearts and our lives are fertile ground, and God will produce amazing results through his work, and through his word in our lives.

And, at the same time, I think we're we're also meant to recognize we are both the sower ourselves, and we're also the soils. Like, as disciples of Jesus, we're going out, and we're sharing God's word. And we may be confused or bothered or distressed about the different kinds of responses we get to God's word. And Jesus wants us to understand why some people are responding and why others aren't. But he's also inviting us to reflect what kind of soil is my heart and life.

Are there things that are choking out the fruitfulness of God's word in my life? Like, you know, in in the shallow rocky soil where trouble or difficulty comes because of the word, and it doesn't produce much fruit. It doesn't it doesn't persevere. Is there some is that kind of true of me in some ways? Am I, a soil where there's, you know, divided a divided heart where I also you know, I I love Jesus, but I also really love stuff.

And I I'd like to have more stuff. And maybe the pursuit of stuff in my life or the worries about things that I think I need, maybe that's limiting my fruitfulness for Jesus. And if I see fruitfulness in my life, that's a reminder that it's because God's the one who's causing it to grow, and I'm I'm humbled and grateful to him. And and and so it's meant to cause us to examine ourselves and reflect, and look at ways that there's parts of my lives that may align with multiple of those kinds of soils. Right?

The soils. Mhmm. Okay. So you said that we could look at this parable on so many levels. Is that what you're trying to get at, or is there more to it than that?

Yeah. I think the the multiple levels of, understanding when as we go out as witnesses and people who are trying to sow or plant God's word, why does it seem like some people are just resistant, some people are not interested, some people are responsive? And Jesus is helping us to understand that for himself and for us, but he's also inviting us to explore ourselves. How receptive am I to what God wants to do in my life, through his word? So it's it's not, God's word is not given primarily for us to look at other people and figure out, you know, what's going on with them, but what's going on with me, and what does it sing about my heart and my life.

So, yeah, in that way, it's it's working on multiple levels. Sure. You know, it's easy to hear the story and dismiss the rocky soil and think, well, that was maybe me before I was a believer. Right? And now I'm a believer, and so, like, that doesn't pertain to me or something like that.

But then, then we did have a question texted in that says, can a person go back and forth between different types of soil? And you you did say, like, we're not just, a sower, but we are also the soil. And so, man, like thinking about sower and soil, and then these different types, can you move between these and, are we too quick to dismiss one of them as not applicable? Yeah. That's a great question.

I I would, I mean, I would say thinking about this, this can work on multiple levels in different areas of our lives even. I I wouldn't even say any of us are just one type of soil. There's different parts of our lives where we're open and receptive and tender. There's parts where maybe there's parts of our lives that are just hard packed, and there's something stuck. There's maybe it's some root of bitterness that's grown up in our hearts and and about a person or a situation.

And, it's, you know, God's word is having a hard time penetrating that part of our lives for various reasons. Or there's parts of my life or maybe towards certain people that I have an easy time being generous and not not holding on to money and not worrying about it. But there's other parts where maybe that's not the case. You know, for some people, again, maybe it's worry about retirement. Am I gonna have enough to retire on?

For some, it's, you know, the kinds of stuff that I own or a certain kind of reputation that I want to have, what I want to be known for. I mean, I think in a sense, this is back to your question about it working on multiple levels, even within the parable itself. I think it causes us to reflect and think about which of these kinds of soils is true of me in different areas of my life. And and we go through seasons of life too, right, where maybe there's just incredible fruitfulness and growth and other times where it just feels slow and hard and dry. And, that that doesn't mean that I'm, like, locked into that position or I'm just that kind of a person forever.

It may be a season that I'm going through. So I yeah. I I think it's, I think as we really sit with this parable and reflect on it, we could think about with particular people with different relationships at work versus home or in church or in my community or with certain people in my family or around certain causes or situations. I'm gonna be in different places, as a as a you know, the soil of my heart is gonna be in different conditions, in in all of those ways. And I think Jesus is, yeah, very much encouraging us not to think like, oh, well, I'm a follower of Jesus, therefore, I'm fruitful.

And, but more to reflect, yeah, what are there areas in my life where I'm not really very fruitful, where maybe something is choking out God's word, demanding my attention, taking away, more of my time and love and focus, than than is maybe healthier good for me? Are are there, you know, if if Jesus is talking about difficulty in persecution, burning up the the seed, maybe I can handle physical difficulty, but maybe emotional rejection is much harder for me. And maybe that's an area that Jesus is trying to grow me in. Mhmm. Or or maybe there are just things that to me, the the the fear or the potential of losing something really significant just feels like it would feel like death.

And Jesus is inviting me to reflect on that. And what does that say about the soil of my heart and my availability to him? Mhmm. And we're encouraging people to take the time, find the time, or you're not finding any new time, but you're redeeming time to do that reflection work. So what did you encourage people to do, Jeff?

What are we, as a church trying to practice this Lent to create space for that? Because you I hear what you're saying, and then I'm like, that takes time. It takes effort. It takes, intentionality with the Lord. And so, what are you encouraging us to walk in together to be able to find that?

Yeah. There's there's a lot of different directions we could go with that. And, I rather than try and give people a list of, hey. Here's, you know, pick one of eight good things that could help you. We just decided that we would maybe focus on one thing in particular, and and the idea of adding and subtracting at the same time.

So, I think for most of us, if we just look at our lives, we can see we have all gotten really attached to screens and screen time, whether that's a laptop or a phone or television or whatever. Man, it's just you you go to the store, you're at the doctor's office, you're, you know, at the airport, you're waiting around for anything, and people's heads are down in on their screens. So that that's not inherently a bad thing. But if if that's become a big part of our lives, is there a way that I could become aware of the ways that I turn to a screen to distract me, to soothe me, to entertain me, to to keep my mind occupied in certain ways? And and what if I recognize that and just subtracted that screen time and used it for something that would actually help me draw closer to Jesus?

And the screen itself can be used for that. So it could be okay. Well, if I'm going to be on a screen, could I at least use it productively? Could it be a good podcast? Could it be a Bible audio app?

Could it be doing a devotional? Maybe I just need to limit the amount of screen time. Maybe it's relistening to the sermon or, you know, going through some of the discussion questions, through my screen or or offline. This may be even better. But, yeah, can can I acknowledge even just this one thing that might be fighting for some time and attention that that I wanna give to Jesus and maybe subtract that so that I could add in its place without adding more stuff to do in my life.

But in when I'm standing in line at the grocery store or at, you know, whatever, could that just be a quick prayer? Could it be trying to remind myself of, the scripture, you know, a scripture verse I wanna meditate on or reflect on? So, yeah, it's it's a simple add and subtract. And if we can subtract a little bit of screen time, and in its place, add something that could be productive and nurturing our life with Jesus. I mean, we all probably have the lord's prayer memorized, or something like that.

We're just the people that we have on our hearts. I could could I just take that two minutes and be praying for those people, those situations, the things on our prayer sheet, as as I would ask God to help me help bring them to my mind. There's yeah. There's no shortage of things that we can add, if if I can just be aware of where I'm already spending time that perhaps could be better invested. Yep.

Yeah. Today, I was just grabbing a coffee and and I was, like, bought the urge to grab my phone, and I'm like, I'm gonna just stand here. And while I'm standing here, I would just, like, create space to to, like, to pray for the people here. And truthfully, my mind totally wandered, and I got distracted. But it was I, I feel like at least the first step of, like, fighting that tendency.

Like, it's just muscle memory to go for that, you know Yeah. I know. For that distraction or, fill that wait time. And so, anyways, I it's, I don't know. For anyone trying, just encourage them.

Like, it's, it's, like, not easy to retrain that. It's gonna take time and to be like, give yourself grace and, like, I think just the effort, like, God will honor that. So anyways, it's Yeah. That's a great example. Glad to do the practice alongside, alongside you and alongside others in hope that, we can break some of those habits or retrain our habits in a more redeeming way.

I I know I need it. Well, Jeff, thank you for your time today, and thanks for your time and, like, that intentionality of creating this series for us, to be able to walk more closely with the Lord in this season of Lent. Yeah. Thanks. I'm I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of cut for time. If you wish to submit questions to our pastors following their sermon, you can email them to podcastfaithliveitout dot org or text them into our faith church texting number, and we'll do our best to cover it in the week's episode. If this conversation blessed you in any way, we encourage you to share it with others. Thanks for listening. We'll be back again next week.