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Some Way to Run a Farm (91A)
By: William Willimon | 8/1/2006

God uses inefficient methods to bring as many people as possible into his family. ***See outline below.

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Some Way to Run a Farm (91A)

Speaker: William Willimon

Date: 8/1/2006

References: Matthew 13:24-30

Introduction:

The church needs cleaning up.
Illustration: Even Mennonites fight with one another.
God seems morally inept.

The church is a mess, full of all sorts of people.

These parables show a farmer who isn't very careful about where he sows seed.
This is surprising from the Gospel of Matthew, a gospel of judgment.
But in Matthew we also have passages of grace and mercy.
If we go make disciples like this, the church will end up looking messy.

The world is a mess, full of evil.

The parable isn't about the devil sowing evil seeds; evil is just present in the world.
Out of this came the cry of Psalm 94: “How long, O Lord?”
Evil is finally a mystery.

God has a right to take risks: it's his world.

God seems wasteful the way he scatters seed everywhere, goes after one lost sheep, invites all manner of people to his party, and pays everyone the same though they worked different hours.
It takes patience to work on such a farm.
Illustration: At his last church, Willimon sometimes questioned God about his church, wondering if God could have put together a better church.
But it's God's farm, and he can run it as he wishes.

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