1. The Parable of the Sower   Matthew 13:1-23

  In this story, Jesus told about the word of God being like seed that a sower (farmer) threw out. 
  It fell on many kinds of soil.

    * wayside, along the path - birds came down and ate the seed ( the person  who hears
       the message,  but does not understand it.  The evil one takes it away.)

    * rocky ground - quickly dried up ( the person  who receives the word, but falls away when 
      trouble comes)

    * thorny ground - thorn bushes choked the seed (the person who is worried about life
       and wealth)

    * good ground - grew into healthy plants ( the person who hears the word and understands it)

  "The good soil," said Jesus, " is like people who are honest.  When they hear God's word, they
  remember it, and do what God says."

  2. The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37

    This is a story that Jesus told when a man asked what he must do to have everlasting life.
    "What is written in the commandments?" Jesus asked.
    The man answered: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, 
  and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and you must love your neighbor as yourself.."
    Then the man wanted to know, "But who is my neighbor?'
    Jesus then told about the man who was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho and was robbed
  and beaten and left half dead by the roadside.
    First a priest came by, and when he saw the wounded man, he passed by on the other side.
    Next a Levite came and he, too, looked at the hopeless man and passed by on the other
  side of the road.
    Then a Samaritan came along.  He took care of the hurt man and then put him on his donkey 
  and took him to an inn to stay.  The Samaritan paid for everything.
    When Jesus finished the parable, he asked, "Which of the three men was a neighbor?"
    The man answered, "The man who took pity on him."
    Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
 
 
 
 

3. The Lost Son Luke 15:11-31

  Jesus told the story of the lost son.
  A rich man had two sons, whom  he loved very much.  The younger son asked for his
inheritance and then left home.  The older brother stayed home and helped his father.
Before long, the younger son had spent all his money, and his so-called friends left
him because he was no longer rich.
  Then a famine came upon the land.  The young son was alone, and he even took a
job looking after pigs.
  Finally, he decided that the servants in his father's house were better off than he was,
so he started the long journey back home.  His father forgave him and welcomed him home.
They had a grand feast and celebration.  The father gave him a robe, a ring, and shoes.
The older brother was angry, but his father told him to forgive his brother and to rejoice
that he had come home.
  God loves us just as this father loved his son.