The text for this morning's message is taken from the Gospel of Mark.

I'll be reading from Mark 4 verses 1 through 20.

Again he began to teach beside the sea and a very large crowd gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.

And he taught them many things in parables and in his teaching he said to them,

listen, a sower went out to sew.

And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it.

Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil and immediately it sprang up since it had

no depth of soil and when the sun rose it was scorched and since it had no root it withered away.

Other seeds fell among thorns,

and the thorns grew up and choked it and it yielded no grain.

And other seeds fell into good soil, and brought forth grain growing up in increasing and yielding

30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold.

And he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve, asked him concerning the parables.

And he said to them, to you has been concerning the parables.

And he said to them, to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.

But for those outside, everything is in parables,

so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand,

lest they should turn again and be forgiven.

And he said to them, do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand

all the parables? The so or so is the word. And these are the ones along the path where the word is sown when they hear

Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is shown in them.

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