Luke 13:18-19
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
The Kingdom of God is
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The Kingdom of God
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The Kingdom of God is
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The
God has for you are
than the
you have for yourself.
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People with Mustard Seed Faith:
Say yes to
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Say yes to
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Sermon Discussion
1) The first parable we studied was the parable of the soils (Luke 8:4-15).
Have you spent time over the last week considering the condition of the soil of your heart?
Have you been able to identify any rocks to surrender to Jesus for Him to remove? Have you been able to identify thorns or worldly cares in the soil of your heart that you need to let Jesus
remove? Have you been able to identify any patches of soil that are hardened to Jesus’ teachings? How has Jesus cultivated the soil of your heart this week?
2) To many disciples, Matthew 17:18-20 and Luke 17:5-6 are familiar passages containing references to mustard seeds. Take a moment and read both. Have you ever felt like you had an insufficient amount of faith because of these two verses? When we think like this, who bears the responsibility for producing fruit in our lives? How can viewing our faith from a results based approach harm our relationship with God? How can placing the burden of results on ourselves harm our faith?
3) To ensure growth and survival, the roots of a mustard tree grow very deep. They also grow wide. When mature, a mustard tree is as wide as it is tall. Since Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard tree, what does it mean for the Kingdom to have deep and wide roots?
What does it mean for the Kingdom of God to be as wide as it is tall?
4) One well known feature of a mustard seed is that it’s small. Matthew records Jesus noting this as He teaches in Matthew 13 and Matthew 17. Yet, as the parable states, mustard trees can grow quite large – up to 20 feet when fully mature. What is the significance of Jesus choosing a mustard tree for His analogy? What is Jesus trying to teach us about God’s Kingdom by intentionally choosing a small seed that produces a large tree? If that small seed is planted in the soil of our hearts, what does the parable teach us about our potential in God’s kingdom?
5) Mustard trees grow slowly. In fact, once planted, they can take 1-3 years to break through the soil. What is Jesus teaching us about Kingdom growth by intentionally choosing a slow growing tree? Does this idea change your expectation of Kingdom seeds planted in others? In yourself? How?
6) The parable of the mustard seed speaks of birds finding rest and refuge in the mustard tree’s branches. If the fully grown seed is a tree providing rest and refuge for any bird who could access it, what does the fully grown Kingdom provide and to whom? In Ezekiel 31 and Daniel 4, the “birds of the air” are used as a metaphor for non-Israelite nations. What was Jesus implying to His mostly Jewish audience about the Kingdom of God when it was fully grown? Was the Kingdom of God fully grown when Jesus taught this parable to the crowd?