Joyful Moments in Christ

1. 100 Times — A very large amount compared to what you started with.
2. A While — For a short time.
3. About — Having to do with a topic or person.
4. Accept — To say yes to something or agree to it.
5. Ask — To use words to get an answer or information.
6. Ate — Put food in the mouth, chewed, and swallowed it.
7. Because — The reason why something is happening.
8. Began — Past tense of begin; started to do something.
9. Believe — To think something is true.
10. Beside — Next to or right next to.
11. Bird — An animal with wings and feathers that can usually fly.
12. Called Out — To speak loudly to get someone’s attention.
13. Came Together — Met in one place; gathered as a group.
14. Causes — Makes something happen.
15. Chosen — Picked or selected.
16. Crop — The fruit, grain, or vegetables grown by a farmer.
17. Crowd — A large group of people close together.
18. Deep — Far down from the top or surface.
19. Devil — The enemy of God, who tries to turn people away from God.
20. Died — Stopped living.
21. Every — All of the items or people in a group.
22. Explain — To make something clear so it is easy to understand.
23. Farmer — A person who grows food or raises animals.
24. Fell — Came down from a higher place to a lower one.
25. Finished — Done or completed.
26. Followers — People who listen to and follow a leader or teacher.
27. Gladly — In a happy and willing way.
28. God’s Kingdom — The place where God rules over people who love and follow him.
29. Good — Something right, kind, or helpful.
30. Grain — Small, hard seeds that people eat or use to make food.
31. Grew — Became bigger and older.
32. Ground — The surface of the earth; the dirt or soil.
33. Grow — To get bigger or taller over time.
34. Hear — To listen with your ears.
35. Heart — In the Bible, this can mean the center of a person’s thoughts and feelings.
36. Honest — Good and truthful; not fake or hiding things.
37. Keeps — Stops or prevents someone from doing something.
38. Know — To understand or be sure about something.
39. Large — Big in size or number.
40. Later — After this time; at a future time.
41. Listen — To pay attention to what someone is saying.
42. Look — To use your eyes to see something.
43. Mean — To show or explain what something is.
44. More — A larger amount or extra.
45. Obey — To do what you are told.
46. Other — A different person or thing.
47. Patiently — Waiting calmly without getting angry or giving up.
48. People — A group of men, women, or children.
49. Plants — Living things that grow in the ground, like flowers and trees.
50. Pleasures — Things that make people feel happy or enjoy life.
51. Produce — To create or make something.
52. Rest — The part that is left over; the others.
53. Riches — Money and valuable things.
54. Road — A place made for people and cars to travel.
55. Rock — A large, hard piece of earth or stone.
56. Roots — The parts of a plant that grow underground and hold it in place.
57. Said — Told someone something.
58. Saved — To be kept safe from danger, sin, or death.
59. Scattering — Throwing small things (like seeds) over a wide area.
60. Secret — Something that is not known by many people.
61. See — To use your eyes to look at something.
62. Seed — A small part of a plant that grows into a new plant.
63. Some — A few people or things, but not all.
64. Sow — To plant seeds in the ground.
65. Speak — To use your voice to say words.
66. Stop — To make something end or not continue.
67. Story — A description of events, often told to teach a lesson.
68. Teaching — The lesson or message that is taught.
69. Thinking About — Using your mind to focus on something.
70. Thorny — Having sharp points that can hurt you.
71. Told — Said something to someone.
72. Town — A place where people live, smaller than a city.
73. Trouble — Problems or hard times that make life difficult.
74. Truths — Facts or real things that are not lies.
75. Turn Away — To stop doing something.
76. Understand — To know the meaning of something.
77. Used — Put something to work for a purpose.
78. Walked — Moved on feet at a normal speed.
79. Water — The clear liquid people drink and fish live in.
80. Weed — A wild plant that grows where it is not wanted.
81. Went Out — Left or came out from a place.
82. Worries — Things that make people feel nervous or afraid.

1. Along — Next to something or beside it.
2. Among — In the middle of a group or surrounded by things.
3. Answered — Said something back to a question.
4. Ate — Put food in the mouth, chewed, and swallowed it.
5. Bear — To produce or make something, like fruit or good actions.
6. Believe — To trust that something is true.
7. Bird — An animal with wings and feathers that can usually fly.
8. Bore — Another word for “produced” or “made” something, like fruit.
9. Choke — To stop something from growing or moving by squeezing it.
10. Crowd — A large group of people close together.
11. Devil — The enemy of God, who tries to turn people away from God.
12. Disciples — The special followers and students of Jesus.
13. Dried Up — Became dry and died.
14. Ears — The body parts we use to hear sounds.
15. Fell — Came down from a higher place to a lower one.
16. Field — An open area of land, often used for growing crops.
17. Fruit — What a plant makes, like apples or grapes. In the Bible, it can also mean good results from our lives.
18. Gather — To come together in one place.
19. Gladly — In a happy and willing way.
20. Good — Something right, kind, or helpful.
21. Grain — Small, hard seeds that people eat or use to make food.
22. Grew Up — Got bigger or older.
23. Ground — The surface of the earth; the dirt or soil.
24. Heart — In the Bible, this can mean the center of a person’s thoughts and feelings.
25. In Order — So that something will happen.
26. Knowledge — What a person knows or understands.
27. Listen — To pay attention to what someone is saying.
28. Look — To use your eyes to see something.
29. Meant — What something was trying to say or teach.
30. Message — Important words or news sent to someone.
31. Moisture — Wetness or a small amount of water.
32. Parable — A short story Jesus told to teach a lesson.
33. Path — A small road or trail where people walk.
34. Persist — To keep going and not give up.
35. Plants — Living things that grow in the ground, like flowers and trees.
36. Pleasures — Things that make people feel happy or enjoy life.
37. Receive — To take something that is given to you.
38. Retain — To hold on to something and keep it.
39. Riches — Money and valuable things.
40. Ripen — To become fully grown and ready, like fruit.
41. Rocky — Full of rocks or hard stones.
42. Saved — To be kept safe from danger, sin, or death.
43. Scatter — To throw things in different directions.
44. Secret — Something that is not known by many people.
45. Seed — A small part of a plant that grows into a new plant.
46. Sink Deep — To go down far inside something.
47. Soil — Another word for dirt or ground where plants grow.
48. Sow — To plant seeds in the ground.
49. Sower — A person who plants seeds.
50. Stand For — To show or mean something.
51. Stepped On — To press something with your foot.
52. Take — To grab or remove something.
53. Testing — A hard time that shows what someone really believes.
54. Thorn Bush — A plant with sharp points that can hurt.
55. Town — A place where people live, smaller than a city.
56. Worries — Things that make people feel nervous or afraid.
57. Word of God — God’s message to people, found in the Bible.

A Story About a Farmer Sowing Seed
4 A large crowd came together.
People came to Jesus from every town, and he told them this story:
5 “A farmer went out to sow seed.
While he was scattering the seed, some of it fell beside the road.
People walked on the seed, and the birds ate it all.
6 Other seed fell on rock.
It began to grow but then died because it had no water.
7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds.
This seed grew, but later the weeds stopped the plants from growing.
8 The rest of the seed fell on good ground.
This seed grew and made 100 times more grain.”
Jesus finished the story.
Then he called out,
“You people who hear me, listen!”
9 Jesus’ followers asked him,
“What does this story mean?”
10 He said,
“You have been chosen to know the secret truths about God’s kingdom.
But I use stories to speak to other people.
I do this so that
‘They will look,
but they will not see,
and they will listen,
but they will not understand.’
Jesus Explains the Story About Seed
11 “This is what the story means:
The seed is God’s teaching.
12 Some people are like the seed that fell beside the path.
They hear God’s teaching, but then the devil comes and causes them to stop thinking about it.
This keeps them from believing it and being saved.
13 Others are like the seed that fell on rock.
That is like the people who hear God’s teaching and gladly accept it.
But they don’t have deep roots.
They believe for a while.
But when trouble comes, they turn away from God.
14 “What about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds?
That is like the people who hear God’s teaching, but they let the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life stop them from growing.
So they never produce a crop.
15 And what about the seed that fell on the good ground?
That is like the people who hear God’s teaching with a good, honest heart.
They obey it and patiently produce a good crop.

Luke 8:4-15 (ERV)

The Parable of the Sower
4 People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:
5 “Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up.
6 Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture.
7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them.
8 And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and bore grain, one hundred grains each.”
And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables
9 His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant,
10 and he answered, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
11 “This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God.
12 The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved.
13 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away.
14 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens.
15 The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.

Luke 8:4-15 (GNT)