Take a few deep breaths to center your heart and your mind as you prepare to meet with God

Meditation 

Unlike the greatest nations on the Earth which rise and fall in matters of hundreds of years, God’s Kingdom is always growing, never sleeping, and always producing fruit. Take a moment and think about God’s unbeatable Kingdom.

Teaching

Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.” (Mark 4:26-32)

I want to laser in one the second half of the words of Jesus here. He speaks about the Kingdom of God beginning with something small and insignificant but then growing and blossoming into something large that produces. As a little kid of one my favorite things were the toys that almost looked like vitamin pills and you put them in the water and they grow into different kinds of spongey creatures. I thought that was the coolest thing as a kid partly because of the mystery of what they would turn into, but also because of something so small expanding into something so big. 

Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is something like that. Its triumphal entry begins with a Jewish boy born among animals, and then it’s catapulted into the world by that boy being this radical and divine teacher that dies and is resurrected from the dead. One of the biggest takeaways from this passage is that the Kingdom of God is something living and something growing.

Sometimes it’s daunting to think about how we can participate in the growth of the Kingdom of God, but remember the parable. Just as the kingdom of God began with something small and is growing, our actions can seem small and insignificant at first but they grow into something that produces life for those around us. A good example could be spending intentional praying time praying for someone today, sending an encouraging text message, writing someone a handwritten letter, or even as small as just smiling and having a conversation with someone. I know personally that I can get caught up in the busyness of life so much that I easily forget these simple things.

Examination

God loves to delegate tasks toward the growth of His Kingdom to us. Take a moment to consider how you can participate in the growth of the Kingdom of God in some big or small way in the next day or two.

Memory Verse

Let's keep Mark 4:32 on our hearts today.

“Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” (Mark 4:32)