Jesus once pushed a boat out from the shore, sat down, and told seven stories that answered one question: what is the kingdom of heaven really like?

In Week 4 of the Summer Boat Parade, Pastor Shannon walks through Matthew 13 — the only chapter where Jesus explains two of His own parables — and lands on the one picture that may describe the modern American church better than any other: a field where the wheat and the weeds grow side by side, looking almost identical until the harvest.

If you've ever wondered whether you're truly saved or just familiar with church, this message is for you. You'll learn the five marks of a weed — compromise, callousness, compartmentalization, being "churched," and living on a maybe — and the four marks of wheat: committed, consistent, convinced, and a changed choice.

"You can believe in soap and s ...