Introduction & ice breaker
What is your best part of New York spring?
Themes to Consider
Shocked by God’s presence-God shows up in ways we were not expecting.
The Kingdom of God is like a seed put in the ground that grows up to become something much more than what it seemed it first.
it can be belief, practice, encouragement.
It can be selfishness, betrayal , neglect.
The seeds grow into things with a full life and a large impact on us.
Parables have this power: to stand as door, as a fork in the road, as confrontation wearing a cloak, as a protection, as a provocation.
The Kingdom of God is like a seed sown in the ground that dies and then resurrects.
Abraham with all his failure.
Jacob and the all the lying, cheating, and family drama.
Moses and his temper.
David and adultery.
The nation splitting in rebellion.
And yet a seed keeps growing.
These seed parables are a celebration of small beginnings, an announcement that God grows things by death and resurrection, and an exalted place for weakness.
Discussion Questions
Can you recall when you were shocked by God’s presence?
What small things is God asking you to begin in faith? Do not despise the small start; we are slowly re-beginning our lives in a way. What will your look like?
What ways are you being invited to hear the Easter message of Death and Resurrection? What is God the Gardner growing in your life? Ask Him right now.
We want nothing to do with weakness. We probably have to have a parable to even consider it — a hidden message — but, how might God be inviting you to know its ok not to be strong? We often love flipping over tables Jesus and not shaking in the Garden need help.
Guided Prayer
Spend a few minutes in silence.
Thank God for areas of small beginnings.
Identify, with God, the areas of death and resurrection you have experienced or hope to experience.
Confess your weakness and ask God to show his strength in those areas.
Supplemental Content
Jesus was the first world leader to inaugurate a kingdom with a heroic role for losers. He spoke to an audience raised on stories of wealthy patriarchs, strong kings, and victorious heroes. Much to their surprise, he honored instead people who have little value in the visible world: the poor and meek, the persecuted and those who mourn, social rejects, the hungry and thirsty. His stories consistently featured “the wrong people” as heroes: the prodigal, not the responsible son; the good Samaritan, not the good Jew; Lazarus, not the rich man; the tax collector, not the Pharisee. As Charles Spurgeon expressed it, “His glory was that He laid aside His glory, and the glory of the church is when she lays aside her respectability and her dignity, and counts it to be her glory to gather together the outcasts.” —Phillip Yancey
