5-Day Study Guide

Soil & Seed – The Keys to the Kingdom – Plant the Seed!
Pastor Chad Everett
Main Scripture: Genesis 1:11–13; Mark 4

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Sermon Summary

In this message, Pastor Chad Everett teaches that the Kingdom of God operates by a system God designed from the beginning: seed and soil. Many Christians hope for blessings without understanding how to plant God’s Word in their hearts. Pastor Chad walks us through Genesis 1 and Mark 4 to show that God’s Word (the seed) is powerful, creative, and already contains everything we need—and that our spirit (the soil) was created to activate and grow that seed. God’s system is not merit-based or about “earning” His favor. Instead, it’s about partnering with Him: planting the seed of the Word in our hearts, letting it take root, and trusting the process. We’re called to grow like Jesus by planting His Word and watching it produce fruit in our lives.

Using This Study Guide

This five-day guide is designed to help you meditate on God’s Word and apply Sunday’s message to your life—whether you’re studying alone, with your family, or as part of a Roads Group. Each day includes scripture, a summary thought, a big idea, discussion questions, and personal application steps for different life stages—including new believers, mature Christians, students, and families.

God has already given you the seed of His Word and the soil of your heart. As you read, reflect, and apply this study, take time to let the seed go deep, allow your faith to grow, and expect God to produce a harvest in your life.

Day 1: The Power of God’s Creative Word

Daily Focus

God’s Word is creative, powerful, and produces life when planted in the soil of our spirit.

Big Idea

God’s system is seed and soil. The seed is the Word, and the soil is our heart.

Key Scripture

Genesis 1:11–12 (NKJV)
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

Quote from Pastor Chad

“The seed is in itself—everything you need is already in the seed. You don’t have to pray for the dirt to grow your garden. The earth has already been commanded to produce.”

Discussion Questions

New Christians: What does it mean that God’s Word is a seed, and how does it feel to know that God’s Word is powerful and creative?
Mature Christians: How do you intentionally plant God’s Word in your heart, and what seed of God’s Word are you neglecting to plant?
Jr. & Sr. High Students: What seeds are you planting in your heart today, and how can you make planting God’s Word a habit in your life?
Families with Young Children: How can we plant God’s Word together as a family, and how can we make God’s Word exciting to learn?
Families with Teenagers: What seeds are we sowing into our family’s life right now, and what happens when we try to grow without planting God’s Word first?

Personal Application

New Christians: Read Genesis 1 and reflect on God’s creative power.
Mature Christians: Choose a verse to memorize and meditate on this week.
Jr. & Sr. High Students: Write down one seed (Bible verse) you want to grow in your life.
Families with Young Children: Plant a seed in a pot together—talk about how God’s Word grows in our hearts!
Families with Teenagers: Discuss as a family: What kind of harvest do we want in our lives?

Day 2: The Seed Has Potential

Daily Focus

Everything needed for growth is already inside the seed.

Big Idea

We don’t plant seeds to get something else from God—we plant seeds to get what God has already placed in the seed.

Key Scripture

Mark 4:14 (NKJV) “The sower sows the word.”

Quote from Pastor Chad

“You don’t plant a tomato seed to get oranges. The seed has everything in it you need—it’s waiting on the soil to activate it.”

Discussion Questions

New Christians: What seeds do you need to plant in your life, and how does knowing the seed already has potential encourage you?
Mature Christians: Are you trusting God’s system or trying to create your own, and what seed have you been afraid to plant because you don’t see results yet?
Jr. & Sr. High Students: What do you want God to grow in your life, and why is it important to plant the right seeds?
Families with Young Children: What happens when we plant a seed, and can we see what’s inside a seed before it grows?
Families with Teenagers: How does understanding the power of a seed change the way we think about God’s Word, and how do we guard our hearts as soil for God’s Word?

Personal Application

New Christians: Find a promise in God’s Word and write it down.
Mature Christians: Identify a seed (scripture) that matches your need.
Jr. & Sr. High Students: Memorize a verse about God’s power (e.g., Ephesians 3:20).
Families with Young Children: Read a Bible story about seeds together (Mark 4:1–20).
Families with Teenagers: Each person chooses a seed (verse) and shares why it’s important.

Day 3: The System of God

Daily Focus

God’s kingdom is not merit-based—it’s a system of seedtime and harvest.

Big Idea

God created the earth to produce—your heart was created to produce when you plant God’s Word.

Key Scripture

Genesis 8:22 (NKJV)
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”

Quote from Pastor Chad

“We’re not trying to get God to do something—He already set the system. The seed is waiting on the soil to activate it.”

Discussion Questions

New Christians: What do you think God wants to grow in your life, and what does it mean that God set up a system of seedtime and harvest?
Mature Christians: Have you been waiting for God to do what He’s waiting for you to grow, and how does understanding God’s system change your prayer life?
Jr. & Sr. High Students: What’s an area of your life you want to see God change, and why is it hard to wait for a seed to grow?
Families with Young Children: How does God make things grow, and how can we practice patience while we wait for growth?
Families with Teenagers: What is the difference between waiting for God and planting His Word, and how can we support each other in planting and growing God’s Word?

Personal Application

New Christians: Write down what you want God to grow in you.
Mature Christians: Examine areas where you need to sow seed instead of waiting for God to act.
Jr. & Sr. High Students: Journal one way you’ll sow God’s Word into your heart this week.
Families with Young Children: Go outside and look at the plants—thank God for His creation.
Families with Teenagers: Share with each other what seeds you’ll plant this week.

Day 4: The Purpose of Planting

Daily Focus

We don’t use God’s Word to manipulate Him—we plant His Word so we become like Him.

Big Idea

The goal is not to “get” from God, but to grow to become like Him.

Key Scripture

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

Quote from Pastor Chad

“We don’t use the scriptures to twist God’s arm. We use the scriptures to grow the healer in us, the deliverer in us. We grow Jesus in us.”

Discussion Questions

New Christians: Why do we plant God’s Word in our hearts, and how does God’s Word help you become more like Jesus?
Mature Christians: Are you seeking the blessing or the One who blesses, and are you focused on getting from God or becoming like Him?
Jr. & Sr. High Students: How can you grow to be more like Jesus, and what does it look like to grow Jesus in your heart?
Families with Young Children: What happens when a seed grows, and how do we show kindness like Jesus?
Families with Teenagers: What’s the difference between knowing the Word and becoming like Jesus, and what’s an area where you want to grow to be more like Jesus?

Personal Application

New Christians: Pray and ask God to help you become like Jesus.
Mature Christians: Write a prayer of surrender to God’s process of growth in your life.
Jr. & Sr. High Students: Choose a characteristic of Jesus to grow in your life this week.
Families with Young Children: Draw a picture of a seed growing into a tree.
Families with Teenagers: Discuss how we can become more like Jesus together.

Day 5: Plant the Seed, Watch it Grow

Daily Focus

God’s Word is seed—when we plant it, we can trust it to grow.

Big Idea

We don’t need a new system—we need to use the system God created: seed and soil.

Key Scripture

Isaiah 55:10–11 (NKJV)
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Quote from Pastor Chad

“If you’ll just use God’s seed, you can grow it. God has given you soil in your heart and His incorruptible seed. What are you waiting for? Plant it!”

Discussion Questions

New Christians: What is God asking you to plant in your heart today, and what seed do you want to plant today?
Mature Christians: What seed have you neglected to plant, and what harvest are you believing God for in this season?
Jr. & Sr. High Students: What harvest do you want in your life, and how can you stay committed to watering your seed with prayer and faith?
Families with Young Children: How do we plant God’s Word in our hearts, and how does it feel to watch something you planted grow?
Families with Teenagers: How can we hold each other accountable for planting seeds in our lives, and how can we encourage each other not to give up while we’re waiting for growth?

Personal Application

New Christians: Take a step today—plant a seed of God’s Word by reading it.
Mature Christians: Start a seed journal—record what God’s growing in your heart.
Jr. & Sr. High Students: Find one verse to plant and memorize this week.
Families with Young Children: Read a verse together and talk about it.
Families with Teenagers: Share a seed you’re planting this week and pray for one another.