INTRODUCTION

Summer has a different rhythm.

• Life slows down.
• Families travel.
• Schedules change.

And because life slows down, it’s a great season to slow down with Jesus.

For the next five weeks, we’re beginning a new series called Stories Jesus Told.

Jesus often taught through ordinary stories, but these weren’t just memorable illustrations. They were invitations to see life through the lens of God’s Kingdom.

Every story invites us to see life under the rule of the King.

And every story calls us to ask, “Will I live that way?”

I don’t think it’s an accident that Jesus begins here.

• Not with the Good Samaritan.
• Not with the Prodigal Son.
  • Until Jesus says something remarkable in Mark’s Gospel: “If you don’t understand this parable, how will you understand all the others?”
• Not with the Wise Builder.

He begins with a farmer scattering seed.

• It seems simple.

In other words… this is the doorway to deeper things.

• Before Jesus teaches us how to love our neighbor…
• Before He teaches us about forgiveness…
• Before He teaches us about the Father’s heart…