Trail Life Troop
NC-613
Devotional – Gardening
Opening
- Gardening is sowing seeds and reaping a harvest, let’s see what God says about sowing and reaping.
- Read, or someone read the Teaching verse. FYI: The memory verse is further down
2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Devotional
Big picture God tells us to plant gardens which requires work first before we can reap the rewards of the harvest.
- Q: Did you know God tells us to plant gardens? Read Jeremiah 29:5. Yes, God is speaking to the Israelites, but it applies to us because all parts of the Bible are true.
- It is a godly thing to do to plant a garden. So, we should obey God and plant gardens, even if small one.
- Q: Can you ever reap without sowing first? No, someone must first sow
- You must put the hard work in first by sowing the seed and tending your garden before you may reap the rewards of the harvest.
- There is a simple truth here. Nothing good comes without hard work. This applies to gardening and all life.
- You must put the hard work in first, at whatever you choose to do, before you can reap the reward of your hard work. This is true for all things in life.
- There is a promise from God though, that you will indeed reap later if you put the hard work in first.
- God will reward you for your hard work, but it may be much later on His perfect timing, not your timing. We must trust in God and His timing to see our reward and have patience.
- But if you sow sparingly (don’t invest your time or gifts or talents) you will also reap sparingly.
- Here again, we are talking about more than just gardening, this applies to all of things in life.
- God’s law of sowing and reaping applies to everything and says whatever you sow, you will reap.
- In particular, our verse encourages us to give freely. Those who give away to help others find greater reward from God later.
- So, if you only sow a little, you get only a little. If you so a lot, you can expect a lot in return.
- God is not punishing us by His law; He’s telling us how things really are, how things work in His creation. He’s saying there are consequences for our actions.
- Most importantly, sowing and reaping applies to winning souls for Jesus Christ, too.
- The Bible tells us we are to sow the Gospel amongst the world, so that someone may reap someday the harvest of a new believer.
Memory Verse #1
Ask if anybody knows it yet and can say it? Read it together 2X Consider having a memory verse pamphlet for kids take home.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Topical Questions
-
We started by talking about gardening plants. How does these lesson from gardening apply to life?
-
How does our lesson about sowsing and reaping apply to our relationship with God?
If you trust God, obey God, and praise God (3 sowing steps), then He will make straight paths (reaping). -
When is a time that you had to wait for reward (reaping) of something that you did (sowed)?
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, we thank You for teaching us so much about gardening and about life. We pray for wisdom and obedience for the boys today that they would go plant gardens and think about the things we talked about today while they tend their gardens and plant Your wisdom firmly in their hearts. In your name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!
