Sowing Seeds (Luke 8:1-15)

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was 36 years ago today when Connie and I walked into Britton Christian Church and I taught my first lesson on the book of Nehemiah on that first Sunday morning. We had been told by Janice Marlow and the Pulpit Committee that Britton Christian Church was a great “stepping stone” church; a church where pastors spent some time before they went on to bigger and better things. The Lord knew then, what Connie and I would only come to learn with time, that there was no place that we could have ever “stepped” that would be as special as Britton Christian Church. Connie and I are so grateful to all of you for the multitude of ways you have blessed the two of us and our family. Some of you have been here your whole life and others of you have only been here a short while, but each of you have been used by the Lord to bless us in so many ways. Now here we are, 36 years later, and this is our last Sunday to be in leadership. They say time flies when you are having fun and we have had tons of fun along the way!  

I do want to clarify something this morning. I wasn’t looking for a job when Harry Myers called me about the possibility of being the pastor at Britton Christian Church. I could not have been happier serving alongside Dr. Darnell as a youth pastor in Plano, Texas. It is a long story that covered several months, but eventually Connie and I were convinced the Lord was calling us to leave Plano and accept the offer for me to be the pastor. I was honestly floored they hired me because I was honest with them. I told them that I didn’t know the first thing about being a pastor. I said, “I know how to work with kids, but I don’t know anything about being a pastor. If you will let me continue to work with kids we can try to figure the pastor thing out.” They said, “Sure, we would love for you to work with the kids.” They didn’t tell me there weren’t any kids in the church at the time.

In the first four or five years we went through a couple of music ministers. They were really nice people, but the songs we were singing were old, old hymns and we could not have sung them any slower. After we had been here a couple of years, I think it was 1992, Connie started a Children’s Choir and invited the kids who had started attending BCC to come and sing. I started inviting some of the kids from the neighborhood that I played basketball with each day after school to come and sing on Sunday night as well. I don’t know if any of you remember the movie “Sister Act” with Whoopi Goldberg, but Connie took those songs and taught them to the kids. The songs were incredible, we had some kids with phenomenal voices, and the Children's Choir grew and grew! I don’t care how long I live, I will never forget Brandon Hardwick singing “Oh Happy Day!” with the Children’s Choir behind him in morning worship! 

Finally, after we had lost another Music Minister, I told Connie, “You have to help us out. Teach the adults how to sing songs like you’ve taught the kids to sing…please.” Connie agreed to help out until we could find someone to take her place. Connie began leading worship and directing the choir. About the same time the Promise Keepers were having stadium events around the country and putting out incredible worship songs that Connie started teaching us to sing in morning worship. Our music ministry began to change, and our worship came alive! Connie would often remind me that she was only going to lead worship and direct the choir until we found someone to take her place. It took us a little while, about 30 years, but we finally found someone in Morgan Kennedy! What a blessing you are to all of us, Morgan! 

I wanted to share the story of how Connie came to lead worship and direct the choir because it is really the story of how so many things have happened here at Britton Christian Church. There has been no Master Plan, no consultants were hired to give us direction about what shape our ministry should take, and no seminars or conferences were attended to influence our decisions. Instead of investing time and money into those options, we have done something altogether different. Let me tell you about the very first ministry that started after we arrived at Britton Christian Church. 

Within the first month, I announced on Sunday morning that we were starting the Sweet Hour of Prayer on Sunday nights. Everyone was invited. That first night, there were only a handful of people who showed up. I told them that we weren’t going to chit-chat, but we were going to pray for an hour and ask the Lord to show us what He was calling us to do in His neighborhood. I would simply read some Scripture, and then we would pray. Some prayed out loud, others prayed silently, but we all prayed. Through the years, so many ministries have been birthed out of that little room of people praying. The Lord showed us that He was calling us to be a “Lighthouse of Hope” to this community through those times of prayer. Thirty-six years later, the Sweet Hour of Prayer is still meeting to pray on Sunday afternoons. 

So many things in our nation, even in this community, have changed during the past thirty-six years, but there is one thing that hasn’t changed at all. Fads, trends, technology, social mores and norms, political power shifts, as well as other changes have and will continue to change in our society in the future, but who the Lord called us to be and the course He set us on so many years ago hasn’t changed at all. God called us back then, and He continues to call us to this very day, to be a “Lighthouse of Hope to the Community,” to teach His Word, to share the Good News of Jesus in any and every way possible. This leads us to our Scripture for this morning, found in Luke 8:1-15. Turn there with me and let’s read it together. 

1 After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. 4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ 11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:1–15 NIV)

I went back this past week and noticed that I had taught on the Parable of the Sower from Matthew’s Gospel back in 2018. In that sermon I focused on the four types of soil, which are the four types of human hearts, but this morning I want to focus on the seed that the farmer sowed. Jesus told His disciples “The seed is the word of God.” The farmer went out to sow his seed and he sowed it everywhere. He didn’t look for the best soil, he scattered his seed everywhere he went. There are two important truths here that have been guiding principles for us here at Britton Christian Church. I want to talk about them just for a moment.

First, there is nothing more important than the seed and the seed is the Word of God, Scripture, the Bible. I want to make that crystal clear. There are all kinds of directions churches can and do take during the lifespan of a church, but the singular focus of Britton Christian Church has been and will continue to be to shine a bright light on the Word of God. Everything that you and I need to have our lives radically transformed by God is found in the Word of God. Let me share just two illustrations with you. 

First, the Word of God speaks God’s Truth to you and me. There are many voices in our society, coming at us from every direction, that work to gain our attention, that entice us to listen, and that sound so good, so reasonable, so inviting. Don’t take the bait. If you want to know the truth, listen to what God has to say to you in His Word. Let me give you an example from my own life.

God’s Word speaks to us about our condition apart from a relationship with Jesus. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. We didn’t read the Bible or pray as a family. I came to the conclusion on my own that I was a pretty good guy. Not as good as some, but better than many. It was only when a friend of mine shared with me what God had to say about me, and every other human being who has ever lived, that the illusion, or I should say delusion of my goodness was shattered. He showed me from the Bible that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), that “all people are spiritually dead because of our sins” and “deserving of the wrath of God” (Ephesians 2:1, 3). That’s bad news, horrible news, but it was good for me to learn the truth about what God said about me and every other person on the planet. My friend didn’t stop with the truth of the bad news. He had more to share. He told me that while I was a sinner, while I was at my very worst, God loved me so much He gave His sinless Son, Jesus, to die for me so that I might be forgiven, totally forgiven, and become a child of God. Paul wrote,

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

As bad as the bad news was to hear, the good news was the greatest news I had ever heard in my life! That news, shared with me while I was beginning college, has radically changed my life, and it can change yours as well. 

I found new life in Jesus.  I not only found new life because of the truth of God’s Word, but I also found everything I needed to grow and mature as a follower of Jesus. I’ve learned where to find comfort when I was shrouded in despair. I’ve found direction when I didn’t know whether to turn to the right or the left. I’ve learned what it means to forgive, to truly forgive, and not hold grudges. I’ve learned how to put others before myself. I’ve learned that if I want to be the best leader I can possibly be, I must be a servant. I’ve learned to never assume that anyone was beyond the grasp of God’s amazing, transforming grace. I’ve learned that I serve the God of the second, third, and fourth chance and that He desires for His grace to flow through me into the lives of others. I could go on and on sharing with you the myriad of miraculous truths I’ve learned from God’s Word. All of these lessons I’ve learned from God’s Word. God’s Word is truly like a seed.  Charles Spurgeon once wrote,

A seed is a very comprehensive thing. Within the mustard seed what is to be found? Why, there is all in it that ever comes out of it. It must be so. Every branch, and every leaf, and every flower, and every seed that is to be, is, in its essence, all within the seed: it needs to be developed; but it is all there. And so, within the simple Gospel, how much lies concentrated? Look at it! Within that truth lies regeneration, repentance, faith, holiness, zeal, consecration, perfection. Heaven hides itself away within the Gospel. …We may not at first see all its results, nor, indeed, shall we see them at all, till we sow the seed and it grows; but yet it is all there. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

People have told me over and over again during the past thirty-six years how they wished they read the Bible more. If they only knew what was within the pages of His powerful Word! A Bible is a small thing and yet all of the libraries and all of the institutions of higher learning that have ever existed can not rival the infinite wisdom, transforming power, and godly education that awaits those who will humble themselves and allow God to speak to them over the course of their lives. 

During the past thirty-six years we have seen people from every walk of life, every shade under the sun, every economic bracket, people who never earned a GED as well as those who hold a Ph.D or MD, and people who speak a variety of languages from a variety of nations come to know Jesus through the simple teaching of the truths of God’s Word. How can that be? How can people, from such diverse backgrounds, some who even come from other parts of the world where the Bible is banned, all be impacted by the teaching of God’s Word? I’m so glad you asked. It is because of the truth shared by the writer of Hebrews.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb. 4:12 NIV) 

So, the seed is the Word of God, and life, new life, and all that is needed in life and for life, is found in the seed, in the Word of God. Don’t believe me? If we had time I could bring a line of people before you this morning who have benefitted greatly in their home life, work life, and every other facet of life because of the wisdom and practical principles for living they have gained from God’s Word.

There is a second principle I want to point out for us this morning and it is this: The farmer scattered that seed near and far. Everywhere his feet carried him, he scattered seed. He didn’t look for the most promising piece of land, He simply scattered the seed. This is important to recognize because it goes against what I was taught early on. 

There were two men, Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner, who were the church growth gurus back in the 1980s and 1990s. Donald McGavran taught what he called “The Homogeneous Unit” principle of church growth, and church growth conferences sprung up all across the nation in the 90s and early 2000s so that leaders could learn how to grow their churches. Dr. McGavran was born into a missionary family and spent 30 years as an adult on the mission field in India. The focus of his teaching was that people want to be around other people who are like them. He said, 

Homogeneous churches are those in which all the members are from a similar social, ethnic or cultural background. People prefer to associate with people like themselves – ‘I like people like me.’  So we should create homogeneous churches to be effective in reaching people. (Donald McGavran)

The conference speakers stressed that leaders need to decide the demographic they want to build their church around and then tailor the church's ministry to meet the needs of that specific demographic. I’ve shared the story before but I had the opportunity to have dinner one night with Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, which is now called CRU. We had a mutual friend who wanted me to meet Dr. Bright. During our conversation he asked me about our church. I told him the Lord had called us to be a lighthouse of hope to our community, a very diverse community, and Dr. Bright said, “It won’t work. We tried it at Campus Crusade and we ended up hiring a diversity of staff so they could minister to those like them. I left that dinner so dejected and discouraged. When I got home Connie asked me how it went? After I told her about our conversation, Connie said, “We didn’t come here to follow Bill Bright. We came here to follow the Lord.” 

Those of you who have been involved here at BCC for some time now know this better than anyone–we don’t target demographic groups, we scatter seeds, and we scatter them anywhere and everywhere the Lord leads. We’ve been sowing seeds, sharing the Gospel with anyone and everyone, and in every way imaginable during these past 36 years. 

I was thinking back this week about some of the ways we’ve sown the seed of the Word of God. In those early years, when our sons, Dan and Nate were young, I recruited some of the men of the church to help me coach the little league BCC 49ers and Lions football teams and the BCC Astros and Rockies baseball teams. The boys on those teams were made up of boys from our church and the neighborhood. Then, when Annie got old enough to play sports I recruited men and women from BCC to help me coach the BCC Angels softball and basketball teams. The girls were from our church and from the neighborhood. Later, when Annie was in high school, Steve Porter asked if Annie might be willing to play tennis with some kids from the neighborhood?  Then, Annie’s big sis Jessica Reineke got involved, Brad Lund got involved, then Jessica got her dad, Rob Braver, involved, and the BCC Tennis Academy was born. Our goal has never been to create NFL, WNBA, or Grand Slam winners, but it was to sow seeds of the good news of Jesus into the lives of kids and their families! 

Through the years we’ve seen the Lord open doors for us to start the King’s Klinic to meet the medical needs of people in our community, the BritVil Food Pantry to help those who are hungry, the King’s Kloset for those needing clothes for their kids, and the House of Hope for those needing to get back on their feet. The Lord used Lisa and Mike Curtis, out of their own grief, to begin Grief Share to comfort those who have lost a loved one. We’ve taken kids to the mountains as well as on mission trips to sow the seeds of God’s Word into their hearts and minds. We’ve taken busloads of silver haired saints on trips to Branson to laugh, connect with others, and to sow the seed of God’s Word into their lives. For decades now we’ve had elementary kids come to BCC during the week to get help with their homework from their Study Buddy and to share God’s Word with them. People have come from all over the city to study for their GED, Citizenship class, or to learn to speak English. Just over one year ago, the Lord opened a door for us to begin a community garden. In that garden there’s much more than vegetable seeds that are being sown!  During the past 18 months, the Lord has opened a door for us to help those coming to our neighborhood from other countries get resettled and find a family here at BCC. These may sound like very different ministries, but the truth is, each and every one of them has one thing in common…we’ve been scattering seeds by sharing Jesus’ love with others, young and old alike! 

It has been such a blessing for Connie and me to have the opportunity to walk alongside all of you as we’ve joined together in sowing the seeds of God’s Word into the lives of others in our community for such a long time. I’ve been asked many times during the past few months, “How do you feel about not being in leadership any longer at BCC?” I’ve given the same answer time and time again: “The Lord has been so gracious and kind to allow Connie and me to experience all that we have experienced during these past 36 years. How ungrateful would we have to be to question His plan for us now?” 

We are excited about the future of Britton Christian Church! We are so excited that this will continue to be our church home. God has raised up Tre and Ryan, in their new positions as Teaching Pastor and Executive Pastor, to lead us, along with the rest of our wonderful staff, as we continue to sow the seeds of God’s Word into the lives of those who need to know the hope, joy, forgiveness, and peace that only Jesus can provide. 

Tre and Ryan, what God has called you to, and equipped you to do in leading our church family going forward is really not complicated at all. Let me explain what I mean by telling you a story. Many have recognized Karl Barth, the Swiss-German pastor and professor of systematic theology at the University of Bonn before he was deported to Switzerland in 1935 for refusing to swear allegiance to Hitler, as the greatest theologian of the 20th century. Pope Pius XII called him the greatest theologian since Thomas Aquinas. Barth wrote 85 books during his lifetime, but he is best known for his 14 volume systematic theology called Church Dogmatics. Karl Barth worked on writing his systematic theology for 30 years and when it was published it contained 6 million words spread over 9,000 pages in 14 volumes. 

On April 23, 1962, when Karl Barth was 76 years old, after spending a lifetime plumbing the depths of God’s Word and having published more than 600 of his works in total, he was speaking at the Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago to the seminary students who were preparing for ministry. After he gave his lecture there was a time for the seminary students to ask questions. One man asked, “Dr. Barth, what is the greatest theological truth you have gained during your lifetime of study?” Dr. Barth paused for just a moment and then said, “The greatest insight I have gained is this: Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so.” This, my friends, is the greatest truth in the history of the world! This is what the people of our community and the people of our our city need to know more than anything else. Tre and Ryan, Jessica, Graciela, Darius, and all of you who call Britton Christian Church “home” keep sowing those seeds and the seeds of discord, division, and dissension will be kept at bay. Keep urging one another to get out of our comfort zones and share with others this simple truth: Jesus loves me, He loves you, more than you could ever know. He doesn’t just love the lovely, He loves the least likely, the most unlovely, and He loves them with an all consuming, overwhelming, everlasting love. It is imperative that we keep this as our singular mission. Sow the seeds of Jesus’ love with everyone you know, in every way you can, and we will continue to watch the Lord work in marvelous ways that we can’t even imagine. 

Mike Hays

Britton Christian Church

May 31, 2026