prepared by Rev Daniel Yovan – 28th September 2025
Call to worship
The earth is the Lord’s and all who dwell there. The earth is the Lord’s and all the creatures who make their homes there. The earth is the Lord’s and we have been gifted the chance to nurture it. Let us join together to celebrate the beauty of the land, The kaleidoscope of people, The variety of abundance. Let us join in with nature’s anthem and proclaim God’s good and holy name. Amen.
Loving God,
We come before you wanting to grow in our faith and love for you, but we stumble and falter.
We confess that we want to love our neighbours and be generous, but we sometimes forget how to do this or find it difficult. Lord, we admit to the times when we have struggled to follow Jesus’ example. We bring before you all the things we have named in our hearts today that we need help with. The soil you have planted us in to grow needs your tender care. Please accept our prayers and bring us the help and hope we need to follow you.
We thank you for nourishment and good gifts you have given us. Our hearts are filled with the joy of knowing we are yours and you will never leave us. Fill us afresh with your spirit and help us to soar like eagles, spreading our wings and continuing to trust where you will lead us. Amen.
Luke 8:4-15
‘While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
Reflection
The parable of the seed is about hearing and obeying the Word of God. There are various reasons why some do not believe. The seed that falls on the path never has a chance because it is trampled underfoot, and the birds take it away. The seed that falls on the rocky germinates but withers from lack of moisture, while the seed that falls among the thorns grows but does not produce fruit. The fruitful ground, in contrast, is distinguished by two qualities: it holds fast to the seed (as per the NRSV version) “in an honest and good heart” and bears fruit “with patient endurance”
Person with an honest and good heart will receive the Word, holds it fast and bear fruit with patient endurance. In order to bear fruit we do need to hear the Word of God. That means to take time to ‘hear’. Hearing takes effort. We come to church, but sometime even though we are here present in our body, but we do not hear God speaking to us. That’s because while God is present, our presence is missing.
God continue speaking to us in various ways. We find that in Psalm 19. God speaks to us through creation, God speaks to us through his Word (the scriptures we have in our hands), and finally God speaks to us in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God is speaking to us always. The question is are we listening?
Once we hear the word, we must receive it and hold it fast and let it do its works in us. Sometime the Word will challenge and the other times it comforts us. The purpose of hearing is to obey. Someone from the crowd shouted out (the end of Luke Ch 11) to Jesus and said (I am paraphrasing here), your mother is a blessed woman. Jesus then said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it”. Obeying the word of God requires patient endurance. With out patience and persistence it is almost impossible to do the work of God. Most of the times our problem is not that we don’t want to hear God, but the confusion between the words of people and God’s word. When we are not sure about what God is saying to us, we need to lean on the great cloud of witnesses that are surrounded by us. So let us make use of all the resources we have to walk with God faithfully. Amen.
Intercession
Lord of the Harvest,
We lift up the countries and places around the world where conflict is rife and the people of those areas are struggling to survive. We pray for peace and justice, for wise leaders and compassionate policies to bring hope back into desolate situations.
We name the places and peoples that lay heavy on our hearts now ……..
We ask, Lord, that you would comfort the grieving, protect the vulnerable, and show us how we can be peacemakers and justice-bringers in the world.
Nurturing God Help your people grow
Lord of the Harvest,
Thank you for the reminder in the Parable of the Sower that your desire is for us all to hear your word and to be fruitful. We pray for All We Can’s partner RHRAP and the many other organisations they partner with who are working alongside local communities to ensure that everyone has the chance to see their potential fulfilled. We pray that you will help us to listen to local communities as they share their experiences, hopes and dreams, and teach us to be good partners.
Nurturing God Help your people grow
Lord of the Harvest,
We pray for a fierce and flowing river of justice in our own land. We pray for the thousands of people living in poverty especially children. We pray for the people working tirelessly to provide enough for their families and feeling despondent that there doesn’t seem to be any release from that pressure. We pray for the opportunities we have to be justice seeking. Help us to look for ways to uplift, amplify, and support the voices of those struggling the most in our communities, near and far.
Nurturing God Help your people grow
Lord of the Harvest,
We bring all our prayers, spoken and unspoken, to you now. We thank you for the call you have placed on our lives to love you and one another.
Please accept our prayers and look graciously upon your people.
Nurturing God Help your people grow. Amen.
Blessings
May Almighty bless you, blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep lying below, blessings of the grain and flowers, blessings of the eternal mountains, bounty of the everlasting hills be with you.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
