{"id":36810,"date":"2025-07-30T22:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T05:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=36810"},"modified":"2025-07-22T15:06:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:06:50","slug":"mark-4_1-9-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark-4_1-9-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Aim to Be a Great Communicator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 4:1-9 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 4:1-9.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the\u00a0GAME sharing\u00a0below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 4:1\u00a0(NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0 According to many scholars, Jesus\u2019 voice would project more clearly by sitting in a boat out on a lake than standing on the shore.\u00a0 This would make a difference especially when speaking to a large crowd, as Jesus often would.\u00a0 So church volunteers and staff who are into sound crew and sound editing, remember this:\u00a0 Jesus cared about good sound!\u00a0 Your ministry matters so much.\u00a0 For if the sound quality is not good, it almost doesn\u2019t matter how good the message is or how well the band plays and sings.\u00a0 If Jesus was intentional about having a good sound delivery system, we should be as well.<\/p>\n

Mark 4:2-9 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 2-9:\u00a0 Jesus was the greatest communicator to ever live and in Mark 4 we get a glimpse into why.\u00a0 Verse 2 says that \u201che taught them many things by parables\u201d.\u00a0 Later Mark will say in verse 34 that Jesus \u201cdid not say anything to them without a parable.\u201d \u00a0Tomorrow we\u2019ll unpack the meaning of Jesus\u2019 parable about the four soils, but today let\u2019s look at why Jesus taught using parables in the first place.<\/p>\n

What is a parable?\u00a0 A parable is a short story or a word picture used to communicate a deeper truth.\u00a0 Jesus would often use parables to communicate what God and God\u2019s kingdom are like by comparing them to things on earth that his listeners could relate to.\u00a0 By making the comparison, Jesus made it easier for the audience to understand and remember what he was talking about.\u00a0 It\u2019s no coincidence that the word \u201cparable\u201d comes from the Greek word\u00a0parabole<\/em>\u00a0which means \u201ccomparison\u201d.<\/p>\n

One reason Jesus used parables so much is because stories and pictures tend to attract people\u2019s attention and are easier to remember.\u00a0 It\u2019s for this reason that as a young preacher I was taught, \u201cNever make a point without a picture\u201d.\u00a0 The master of this was Jesus.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another reason why Jesus used parables, and we\u2019ll get to that later.<\/p>\n

Like Jesus, may you be intentional and creative in the way you communicate what God is like to the people around you, whether it\u2019s your family, neighbours or people you don\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus, since You are the greatest communicator who ever lived, please give me wisdom, creativity and courage to communicate who You are to the people around me in ways that they can understand, remember and appreciate.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 4:1-9.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the\u00a0GAME sharing\u00a0below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 4:1\u00a0(NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verse 1:\u00a0 According to many scholars, Jesus\u2019 voice would project more clearly by sitting in a boat out on a lake than standing on the shore.\u00a0 This would make a difference especially when speaking to a large crowd, as Jesus often would.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36810"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36813,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36810\/revisions\/36813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}