"Small things that make a difference"

Mustard Seed: The Power of Small Things Mustard Seed: The Power of Small Things Activity: Make some Bread: Make some bread, but when you are making it, leave a bit of dough aside without any yeast, you can even cook it all to the end and see how it turns out. If you haven’t made bread before, there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube :) Parables: Small but Powerful This passage we have today is interesting in that we have two things, Jesus healing someone and getting in trouble, then talking about the Kingdom of God... The passage today includes some sayings called Parables, they are an indirect way of speaking. Offering a short saying, analogy or story to illustrate a point that the speaker is trying to make. Bible Project - Parables: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX-aAg4_U2Q Jesus often used these parables to talk about the Kingdom of God… Something that was becoming present through his ministry… The significance in small things that are often overlooked Have you ever made bread and left out the yeast? It’s a quick and easy way to see the difference that something small and insignificant can make... The ministry and message of Jesus is littered with instances where he highlights the importance and power of small things, truths and people, that his broader society didn’t see. Think about... • How was Jesus born… Jesus wasn’t born, didn’t live or die like a great ruler or King... • Who did Jesus recruit as his disciples… Jesus didn’t call the smartest, most religious or most influential… • Who does Jesus heal… Jesus doesn’t go straight to the ruling class, find which of their family are sick and cure them… • Where was the church initially based… Jesus ministry happened within the Jewish Exported from Logos Bible Software, 7:00 PM July 22, 2020. 1 community, a small and unimportant sect under the occupation of the Roman Empire... Are you seeing a pattern here? What does this tell us about how God operates? ________________________________________ The significance of small acts of obedience and discipleship to us Last week we read the story of Jonah and were reminded about what God can do with a small amount of obedience... This week, my suggestion is that you consider the power of small acts of discipleship… Small acts of spiritual discipline... There is great power in the scriptures. It’s not just magic, but in the scriptures we find the means through which people have encountered God in a powerful way, encountered Jesus, changed the way they see the world and gone on to powerful acts of service, love and justice... There is great power in having our perspective drawn to the God who acts, reveals and redeems in this way… Daily Scripture Book, eBook or Audiobook (Not Free): I use “The Daily Message: Through the Bible in One Year” … With about 15 minutes per day you work through the Old & New Testament + a Psalm... Free Daily Scripture App: https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/ - Includes a range of different studies, devotionals and tools. Text and audio, all for free. Free App For Kids: https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app-for-kids/ - Interactive Bible stories for Kid’s If you don’t have a habit of daily devotion of some kind... • What is something you might try? ________________________________________ • When will you do it? ________________________________________ • What has caused this to fail in the past? (And what can you change to avoid that issue in the future?) ________________________________________ The ways that you see God at work, the ways that you are formed as a disciple, prepared for service, sustained in hard times, will not come through large and impressive actions… But through a series of small ones… This is what the Kingdom of God is like… This is how its power unfolds in you... Exported from Logos Bible Software, 7:00 PM July 22, 2020. 2 The significance of small acts of grace to make a difference to others We cannot underestimate the power of small acts of grace, love, service and justice through which God will do powerful things in the lives of others. Can you recall a time when a small act of grace, love or service made a difference in your life? ________________________________________ Luke 13:18–19 NIV 18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” This parable also draws from imagery in Isaiah and paints the image that this Kingdom is something which starts out small but will provide shelter, safety and blessing to people from all nations… Sharing in the Kingdom of God isn’t just for our benefit, but a means through which all creation in blessed… All this power comes from something small, insignificant and easy to miss… But also something that must first be planted in the ground… Luke 13:20–21 NIV 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Like a seed planted in the ground, yeast doesn’t do it’s task until it is mixed through flour and given time. There is a sense in which the Kingdom of God, although small and insignificant, has the power to transform all of creation… Even if that isn’t obvious… Likewise, the yeast doesn’t exist for it’s own sake… It works through the dough, multiplies, and transforms the entire batch of dough… As the church, we are to be those who participate in this renewal of all creation… It isn’t enough to be a holy huddle, but to share Christ with the world, continuing his ministry of reconciliation healing and hope in our community, families and workplaces... In all of this, the most significant, most important ways that God will work through the church, in your family, in our community, won’t be through large and spectacular events, but through small acts of grace done by ordinary people… They can change the world… This is what the Kingdom of God is like… This is how it’s power unfolds in the world... Exported from Logos Bible Software, 7:00 PM July 22, 2020. 3 What small act of grace can you do this week to bless others? For example • Is there one thing you can do this week to demonstrate God’s love to someone? • Is there one thing you can do to work towards a more just world this week? • Is there one thing you can to do so bless someone else this week? • Is there someone in particular you can pray for each day this week? ___________________________________________________________ The significance of people that God uses and blesses, those who are otherwise easily ignored Luke 13:10–17 NIV 10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see a huge number of examples of Jesus recognizing, healing and using those who were often ignored or seen as unimportant in his society. In this passage we, this woman who is healed doesn’t seek Jesus out, but rather she is in Synagogue, probably like she had done for most of her life… The Kingdom of God Jesus preached and embodied is made real first and foremost in those that society viewed as being weak and unimportant… Those on the margins… It recognizes their value, seeks to heal that which afflicts them and in the case of the disciples, draws them in to serve and become agents of this Kingdom… The same is true for us today... There are opportunities to reflect something of this power now, today, like with the healing we heard in this story. Reconciliation, renewal and liberation don’t just endlessly happen later because now is inconvenient… We cannot simply use “later” as an excuse for no action... Exported from Logos Bible Software, 7:00 PM July 22, 2020. 4 The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer Chapter One: No Little People, No Little Places “It is wonderful to be a Christian, but I am such a small person, so limited in talents—or energy or psychological strength or knowledge—that what I do is not really important.” The Bible, however, has quite a different emphasis: with God there are no little people. We want Gods reconciliation to have a public, dramatic and final victory over all that is broken in the world, one that that everyone will see and accept… But it seems that isn't the way of the kingdom here and now… While Jesus will return and usher in this new Kingdom of God, our task in the here and now is to build this Kingdom small acts of grace, done by ordinary people, for those our world sees as unimportant… Things that the rest of the world can easily ignore or dismiss... If you think you are small, unimportant or unskilled, be comforted that God has worked through people exactly like you for all of church history… God’s spirit working in small but powerful ways, through small and seemingly unimportant people, seeking to bless and love those who the world sees as unimportant is where the church does it’s best work today… Who are those in our society who are easy to ignore, whose voice is least likely to be heard? What does it mean for the Kingdom of God to bring reconciliation, healing and renewal for them? _______________________________________________________ Exported from Logos Bible Software, 7:00 PM July 22, 2020. 5