Sunday School: Weeds Among the Wheat

Good morning!
We're so glad you decided to join us today!

When we meet in person, we take some time to share about our last week. This includes our joys and concerns. If you have any prayer requests you would like to share, you can add them as a comment on this post. When you are ready, use the prayer below (source) to get started.

Merciful God, you plant each of us like seeds in the same field and together we are nourished and nurtured by the sun. We sway in the wind and are refreshed by the rain. We are blessed by the knowledge that you want us to grow towards what you call us to be.
When we deprive others of that same opportunity, forgive us.
When we want to uproot those whom we believe do not belong in our part of the field, forgive us.
When we label others as good or bad rather than accept them for who they are, forgive us.
When we are reluctant to acknowledge that we ourselves are a mixture of weeds and wheat, forgive us.
When we are afraid to look into the fields of our own lives to see what is growing there, forgive us.
O God, you know us inside and out, through and through.
You search us out and lay your hand upon us.
You know what we are going to say even before we speak.
So we pray that you will help us to reach out to the uprooted and rejected,
the lonely and the outcast,
and to develop and grow the good in ourselves, in others, and in the world.
This we pray in Jesus’s name.
Amen.

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This week's lesson is on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. 

In this parable, Jesus is teaching here about “the kingdom of heaven” in the world. The parable is filled with spiritual significance and truth.  Jesus distinctly explains that the field is not the church; it is the world.  In Christ’s time, many farmers depended on the quality of their crops. An enemy sowing weeds would have sabotaged a business. The tares in the parable were likely darnel because that weed, until mature, appears as wheat.   After harvesting the whole field, the tares could be separated and burned. The wheat would be saved in the barn.
 
In the explanation, Christ declares that He Himself is the sower. He spreads His redeemed seed, true believers, in the field of the world. Through His grace, these Christians bear the fruit of the Spirit. Their presence on earth is the reason the “kingdom of heaven” is like the field of the world. When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” He meant the spiritual realm which exists on earth side by side with the realm of the evil one. When the kingdom of heaven comes to its fruition, heaven will be a reality and there will be no “weeds” among the “wheat.” But for now, both good and bad seeds mature in the world.
 
The enemy is Satan, who tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing false believers and teachers in the world who lead many astray.
 
The world is filled with professing “Christians” whose ungodly actions bring reproach on the name of Christ. But we are not to pursue such people in an effort to destroy them. We don’t know if immature and innocent believers might be injured by our efforts.  The difference between true and false believers isn’t always obvious.  God alone makes that decision. Christ allows them to remain until His return. At that time, angels will separate the true from false believers.

Prayer
Lord of the harvest, may we be workers in the field of your world.  May we be ones who are unwilling to give up on those who seem wicked.  May we not despair when evil seems to win the day.  We believe the promise that your time of final judgment will allow the righteous to shine as the sun.  We look forward to that day faith and anticipation.  We pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.
 
Thought to Remember
You’re either wheat or weed. There is no in-between.

Benediction
This week's benediction is from the Good News Translation.

Next week's lesson is on Matthew 13:44-52.