Peas in my garden.

An Evangelistic Talk

Well now is the time for my annual gardening talk!

This year I've branched out from carrots and beetroot and I've started growing peas.

Now it may surprise you that peas don't only come frozen and in bags from the supermarket! They actually grow in the garden – they come from plants!!

·     Recognition and need to distinguish from weeds.

·     Need of support – tendrils – canes – strings and/or mutual support

·     Water and nutrients in the soil

·     Protection  from mice and birds for example

The Bible uses a lot of agricultural or horticultural imagery.

The Book of Proverbs says that it is possible for us to "sow" various different things in our lives: we can sow discord, strife and injustice, for example, and if we do we'll reap a harvest of calamity and trouble. On the other hand Proverbs tells us we can sow righteousness and that is the way to reap a sure reward!

»     How and what are you sowing in your life?

Now your life is a bit like my garden. In my garden with no effort at all certain things grow – weeds. All I need to do is nothing and the garden is full of them. The weeds that spring up in your life are known by that old-fashioned name of "sins". Sometimes there may be the big sins that even the world regards as serious but I guess for most of the time the "sins" that spring up are the kind we like to think of as small sins – just the kind that no-one wants to take seriously at all.

If you want your life to be positive and productive then you can't just sit back and do nothing. You'll only get a useful crop or harvest if you carefully sow the right type of seed in your life because as the Bible again tells us in terms we can so easily understand – we only reap what we sow!

The best seed of all for a man or a woman to sow in their lives is the "good news seed of Jesus Christ". I wonder if you are doing this?

Just as my garden needs some regular attention and some of that tender, loving care we all appreciate – so does the serious sowing of Jesus Christ in our lives.

I mentioned that if my peas are to grow well and flourish then I need to ensure certain things are not left undone. The same is true concerning the life of someone who wants to "sow" Jesus Christ in their lives.

·     Bible teaching

·     Prayer

·     Fellowship

·     Breaking of bread

These items are all mentioned in Acts 2:41-42:

"So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers."