1. Who is this Jesus? How does this story demonstrate that he is truly man and truly God?
2. Name Old Testament stories involving God calming or conquering stormy waters. Why is it important to think of these stories when considering this story about Jesus in Luke 8? 
3. Put yourself in the disciples’ shoes. How would this experience with Jesus have affected your understanding of Jesus and your faith in him?
4. What “storms of life” have you experienced wherein God and Christ have proved faithful? How have these “storms” strengthened your faith?

• What does it mean for God’s kingdom to come? I can think of two ways of answering this. 
• What is a kingdom?
• How many kingdoms (spiritually speaking) are there in the world today?
• Where is Satan’s kingdom? Who’s the king? Who are the citizens?
• Where is God’s kingdom? Who’s the king? Who are the citizens?
• How does God’s kingdom advance? Conversely, how is Satan’s kingdom destroyed?
• What is meant by “the kingdom of glory?” When will it be here?
• Give examples of things we can pray for under the second petition.

• Think about the parable of the sower, the soils, and the seed in Luke 8:4-15. Think also of the metaphor of light found in Luke 8:16. Both passages are about hearing or receiving God’s word in a good way. What have you learned from these passages regarding the good reception of God’s word?  
• What is meditation? What is the Christian to meditate upon? Why is it important to not only read and listen to God’s word but to also meditate upon it?
• What is the meaning of Luke 8:18? “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:18, ESV). Why is it dangerous to hear or receive God’s word in a bad way?
• What does it mean to “do” the word (see Luke 8:21; James 1:21)? It is only those who do the word who receive it truly. Discuss. 

1. What is surprising about the behavior of the sower in this parable? What was the meaning of this for the Apostles of Jesus and the church today? 
2. Why does the seed of God’s word have the power to save and change lives? 
3. Will God’s word always have a powerful effect on the hearer? What must be done for the word to have a powerful effect?
4. How is it that any receive the word in a good and honest heart as described in verses 8 and 15?   
5. What is the doctrine of election and effectual calling? (see our confession of faith, chapters 3 and 10)
6. How do the doctrines of election (or predestination) and effectual calling stand behind the words of Jesus in this passage, especially verses 8 and 10)?

• Why is the first petition first?
• What does it mean for God’s name to be hallowed?
• How do we and others glorify God?
• What are some other ways that God is glorified in the world?
• When will God be glorified most fully?
• What are some specific things that you can pray for under the first petition?

The sermon manuscript is available at emmausrbc.org/category/sermons

• In this parable, what does the sower represent? What does the seed represent? What do soils represent in general?
• Now discuss the four types of soil. What kind of hearer does each one represent: the wayside, rocky, thorny, and good soil?
• How does someone come to have a good heart that receives the word in the good way symbolized by the good soil? There are two answers. What responsibility do we have in the matter? In other words, what practical things can we do to better the condition of our hearts so that we hear and receive the word in a good way?
• What are the results of a good reception of the word of God? 

• Why is God called our Father? Is there a sense in which all men and women have God as Father? Is there another sense in which sinful men and women do not have God as Father? How do we come to have God as Father in this second sense?
• What truths should this name (title) of God remind us of?
• What should the preface, “Our Father in heaven”, prompt us to do in prayer?

• What is the good news of the kingdom of God?
• Why is the preaching of this good news to be kept primary by the church?
• Why is the good news of the kingdom powerful?
• Discuss how other endeavors (as good as they may be) can distract the church from the primary importance of preaching and teaching the gospel.
• Does preaching the gospel of the kingdom mean that the only thing we ever are to preach is the cross of Christ, strictly speaking? In other words, how can a preacher preach about other subjects and yet still preach Christ?
• How can you support the preaching ministry of the church?