Orientation session
The Seed and the Soil
Planted. tells the story of a seed—the seed of the Kingdom. The seed of Jesus. The seed of your faith.
Welcome
What is Planted. Bible Study?
Planted. is a seeker- and new-believer-friendly journey through the biblical story and the life of following Jesus. Moving from creation to new creation, it invites participants to see Scripture as one coherent story centered on Christ—and to locate their own lives within that story.
Biblically outlined, Christ-centered, and formation-oriented, Planted. weaves together Scripture, biblical theology, experiential learning, conversation, prayer, worship, and community. Through five chapters and five recurring frameworks, participants are invited not only to understand the Christian faith, but to inhabit it.
Like a seed planted in the ground, faith is meant to take root, rise into new life, grow over time, bear fruit, and plant again.
Journey roadmap
Formation goal
Our prayer is that participants will:
- be rooted in grace and truth;
- learn to hear God through Scripture;
- see their story within God’s story;
- behold and follow Jesus;
- grow in faith over time;
- belong to the people of God;
- plant seeds of hope in the lives of others.
The goal is not merely to produce informed Christians, but to cultivate people who are increasingly formed into the likeness of Christ.
Learning and formation together
Each gathering weaves together several forms of learning and formation:
- Scripture — reading and studying the biblical text
- Story — locating each passage within the larger story of God
- Experience — activities, visual metaphors, art, and embodied learning
- Conversation — honest questions and shared discovery
- Practice — applying truth in everyday life
- Prayer and worship — responding to God personally and together
- Community — growing alongside others rather than alone
Orientation
The seed and the soil
A seed may look small and ordinary, but it carries life within it. Once it enters the soil, something hidden begins. Roots reach downward before anything appears above the ground. Growth comes slowly, quietly, and often invisibly.
Session 0 is an orientation session. Before we move into Genesis and the story of the garden, we begin with Jesus’ parable about soil—because the same seed can be received in very different ways.
Let’s tend the soil.
Scripture
The parable of the sower
Matthew 13:3–9
Read Matthew 13:3–9 on Bible GatewayThen he told them many things in parables, saying, “Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown. Let anyone who has ears listen.”
Group experience
The four relationships
The room is set up as a large square divided into four quadrants. Three quadrants contain different activities, while the fourth is intentionally left empty.
For the next 20 minutes, you may move between the three active quadrants anytime you want—but wherever you are, you must keep doing that quadrant’s activity.
- Top left: burpees or jumping jacks with perfect form and a perfect smile.
- Bottom left: sit or squat, turn away, cover your ears, and disengage.
- Bottom right: enjoy unlimited snacks and drinks, but you must keep eating or drinking while you stay there.
Try staying in one quadrant for at least five minutes.
When time is up, stop what you’re doing and move together into the empty top-right quadrant. Once you’re there, you don’t have to do anything. Just rest.
Framework
The Grace–Truth Matrix
Truth: what is objectively and universally real—facts, reality, God’s Word. Truth does not depend on our belief.
Grace (charis): God’s unearned favor—His empowering love given as gift. Grace is received, not achieved.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Grace, truth, and being known
Chris Hodges’ reflection in the presentation describes grace and truth as belonging together: truth alone can wound, while grace without truth loses its meaning.
Timothy Keller’s reflection describes the freedom of being fully known and truly loved by God: freedom from pretense and self-righteousness, and strength for difficulty.
Scripture
Return to the soil
Matthew 13:10–13
Then the disciples came up and asked him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?”
He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. That is why I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.”
Matthew 13:18–23
Read Matthew 13:10–23 on Bible Gateway“So listen to the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
The journey ahead
Entering the story
The story of Planted. begins in a garden.
Humanity is created for life, relationship, and good purpose. Yet sin brings darkness, alienation, and exile. Jesus enters the broken world, passes through suffering and death, and rises as the firstfruits of new creation.
The seed that seemed buried was planted.
Through the life of Jesus, faith takes root. Through grace and truth over time, it grows. A tree does not remain alone; trees become a forest. The forest bears fruit, and the fruit carries seeds.
This is the journey ahead
- God planted a garden out of delight;
- humanity made to flourish;
- exile east of Eden;
- the faithful Son who crushed the serpent;
- the Seed who must die;
- the Firstfruits who rise;
- the Gospel of the Kingdom;
- eternity planted in the present;
- a forest growing together;
- and a people sent to plant again.
No one enters this story with perfect soil.
We enter with questions, wounds, hopes, resistance, faith, doubt, and unfinished stories. The invitation is not to pretend otherwise. It is to come honestly and allow the Gardener to work.
Respond
Worship & prayer
Song: Tend by Emmy Rose.
The song responds to the session’s garden imagery with a prayer for God to tend the heart, nurture what brings life, and teach us to remain in him through every season.
Pause here for worship and prayer before continuing.
Listen to Tend and read the lyrics at Bethel Music ↗Song credit from the presentation: “Tend” © 2021 Bethel Music Publishing et al. CCLI #7172668.
Thank you
Next: In the Beginning, a Garden
Continue into the story of creation with Session 1.
Adapted from the supplied Planted. 2026 Session 0 (Introduction) presentation, prepared for Golden City Church Bible Club, Fall 2026. Teaching quotations and song lyrics are summarized for this web edition; Scripture passages follow the supplied slides.