This week, Pastor Dennis Allan began our new series, "Parables of the Kingdom." In the Parable of the Sower Jesus tells a story about a sower, four types of soil, the three soils that do not receive the Gospel, and the one that does, producing a large harvest. But this parable isn't meant to be read as a diagnostic, where we determine which of the four soils we are and then try to make ourselves into the good soil. This is a parable that tells the story of a Sower who is already walking the ground of our lives, sowing the Gospel wherever He goes. We, like Jesus's original audience, are invited to "listen" and "look" with our whole lives, taking in and wrestling with Jesus's teaching, and what it means for how we're supposed to live. If we will draw near to the Sower, if we'll be patient, if we'll persevere, if we'll allow the Gospel to do its work in our lives and hearts over time, our lives just might produce a harvest.