What is a parable?
A short, true-to-life story used to compare the known world with spiritual truths about the Kingdom of God.

Why do you think Jesus chose stories instead of plain lectures?

Matthew 13:10–17 (He told us Himself why He used parables)

• Secrets of heaven…what secrets would you like to know?
• Unlocked with Jesus teaching…is this the way to ALL the secrets?
• If we listen, we get more…what does it mean to “listen”?
  • Read Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

The Path & The Hard Heart (vv. 4, 19)

• Discussion Question: Jesus says the seed on the path represents someone who hears the message but "does not understand it." What practical things make a person's heart too hardened or closed off to understand God's truth?
• Discussion Question: The birds snatch away the seed immediately. What does "spiritual distraction" look like in modern life right after a Sunday service or Bible study ends?
• Application Question: Is there an area of your life where you have grown cynical, numb, or resistant to God's guidance? What is one step you can take to soften that area?

The Rocky Ground & The Shallow Heart (vv. 5–6, 20–21)

• Discussion Question: This listener receives the word with instant joy, but falls away when trouble or persecution comes. Why is a faith built only on good feelings or quick fixes vulnerable to trials?
• Discussion Question: Jesus mentions a lack of "root." What spiritual habits, practices, or community bonds help a person develop deep roots that survive hard times?
• Application Question: When life gets difficult or your faith is tested, what is your immediate reflex? How can you lean into God rather than pulling away?

The Thorns & The Crowded Heart (vv. 7, 22)

• Discussion Question: Jesus specifically names two types of thorns: "the worries of this life" and "the deceitfulness of wealth." How does wealth "deceive" us into thinking we don't need God?
• Discussion Question: Good plants and thorns compete for the same soil, water, and sunlight. What good, neutral, or busy activities in your schedule are competing with your time for spiritual growth?
• Application Question: Look at your calendar and budget from the past week. What "thorn" is consuming the most of your energy, and how can you deliberately prune it back?

More Bible Study Methods to use this week:
The Good Soil & The Productive Heart (vv. 8, 23)

• Discussion Question: The good soil produces a harvest of thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown. What does a "fruitful" Christian life actually look like in terms of character and impact on others?
• Discussion Question: Notice that even among the good soil, the yields are different (30, 60, 100). Why is it dangerous to compare your spiritual output or ministry impact to someone else's?
• Application Question: What is one specific "fruit" (like patience, generosity, or courage) you see God producing in your life right now? How can you cultivate it further?

1. The Character Perspective Method
Instead of focusing only on the soil, look at the story through the lenses of the different figures involved:

• The Sower’s Perspective: Notice that the sower throws seed everywhere generously—even on the path and among thorns. What does this tell you about God's character? How does this challenge the way we share our faith or love others? Do we pre-judge who is "good soil" before investing in them?
• The Enemy's Perspective: Analyze the strategies of the "evil one" in this passage. He uses immediate theft (birds), environmental pressure (scorch/heat), and internal distractions (thorns). How does identifying these strategies help you guard your own heart?

2. The Swedish Method (Observation & Symbolism)
This is a highly visual, inductive method perfect for small groups or personal journaling. Read the passage and mark it with three symbols:

• 💡 An Lightbulb: What stands out to you as fresh, exciting, or newly illuminated?
• ❓ A Question Mark: What is difficult to understand, confusing, or raises a question in your mind?
• ➡️ An Arrow: How does this apply directly to your life right now? What action step must you take?

3. Word Study & Cultural Context
Dive into the original language and historical setting to uncover deeper meaning:

• Look up the word "Understand" (v. 19): In Greek, the word is syniemi, which means "to bring together" or "to connect the dots." The person on the path isn't just mentally confused; they fail to connect God's truth to their actual life.
• Research 1st-Century Farming: Ancient Jewish farmers often cast seed before they plowed the ground. Knowing this changes how we view the sower. He wasn't being reckless; he was farming normally, expecting the plow to turn the hard path and rocks into good soil. This offers hope that God can transform our "hard soil" later.

4. Lectio Divina (Divine Reading)
A meditative approach focused on hearing God's voice rather than academic analysis:

• Read (Lectio): Read the passage slowly aloud. Listen for a single word or phrase that captures your attention (e.g., "roots," "choked," "hears and understands").
• Reflect (Meditatio): Repeat that word or phrase in your mind. Why is God giving you this specific word today?
• Respond (Oratio): Pray out loud to God based on that word.
• Rest (Contemplatio): Sit in silence for a few minutes, resting in God's presence and letting the word sink deep into your heart's soil.

5. Creative Re-Writing (The Modern Soil Test)
Rewrite verses 18–23 using modern equivalents to test how well you understand the text. For example:

• The Path: Hearing a sermon, but immediately opening social media on the car ride home so the message is instantly forgotten.
• The Thorns: Wanting to grow spiritually, but being so consumed by career advancement, keeping up with the neighbors, and checking retirement accounts that you have no time left to serve or pray.

Luke 15

The Characters:
Jesus,
“notorious sinners,”  These knew they were sinners, they flocked to Jesus, some were “found.”
Scribes/Pharisees  These worked very hard to obey all the rules, and their trust was in their “goodness”to give them right standing with God.

“Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story:”  Luke 15:1-3 NLT

Jesus’ response to the 2 groups?

He had compassion on this who knew they were sinners
He got angry at the self righteous

I think Jesus wanted them to hear, understand and repent, so He told them these stories.

““If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?
 Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” Luke 15:4-7 NLT

The sheep was lost, most likely because he was either focused on eating and followed the trail of green plants. At any rate, it was because of the sheep’ choices that he was lost.

The shepherd could have just written off the loss. “I still have 99 sheep. I don’t want anything to happen to them while I search for the lost sheep.”

No, the shepherd left the 99, not taking the time to eat or rest, and didn’t stop until he found the lost sheep. By this time, the sheep was likely aware it was lost, it was scared, vulnerable to attack from predators, but totally unable to help itself.

Does that describe a situation you or someone you know might have found themselves in?
The value of something is measured by what someone is willing to pay for it.  

Joy over finding what was lost
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Jesus reveals the purpose of these stories. Note: He isn’t saying the Pharisees haven’t strayed away, but this is how they saw themselves.

Thoughts on the reaction of the 2 groups of listeners?


““Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”” Luke 15:8-10 NLT

The coins might have been part of a headdress in anticipation to marriage. As such, loosing one of the coins would make them worthless as a whole. At any rate, she lit a lamp and searched until she found it.

Joy over finding what was lost
“ ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Reaction from the 2 groups of listeners?


“To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’ “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”” Luke 15:11-32 NLT


2 lost sons

Younger son:
In essence told dad, “you’re dead to me”.
Famine didn’t happen overnight
Initial decision to go home was to fill his stomach
True repentance is only in response to the father’s love.

The Father
Faith his son would return
Forgave his son long before he returned
In their culture,  pulling up his cloak, and running would have been considered deeply shameful, undignified and humiliating.

Under Biblical or Levitical law (the Mosaic Law), a son who brings extreme public shame, dishonor, or rebellion upon his parents faced severe legal penalties.

Lev. 20:9  “Anyone who dishonors father or mother must be put to death. Such a person is guilty of a  capital offense.”

What did the Pharisees think of the father’s forgiveness?

The older son

Perhaps his heart is as rebellious as his younger brother.  He thought his sense of right and wrong was higher than his father’s.


Back to the main characters at the beginning of the chapter. Where would you classify the 2 sons?
Where would you classify yourself?

Take home truths?

People are lost for different reasons.
Willful rebellion (like lost sheep or prodigal son)
Trauma and abuse at young age (like lost coin)

Bottom line is God’s heart is to seek and save the lost. He calls us to do the same.


LINK FOR EXTRA READING

ASSIGNMENT:

• identify someone who is lost and pray for steps to reach them

The Unforgiving Servant, Matthew 18:21-35

Discussion Questions:

1.When have you found it hardest to forgive someone: when the offense was big, or when the same small offense kept happening repeatedly? Why?

2. In what ways can we forget the size of the debt Jesus forgave in us and become impatient with the smaller debts others owe us?

3. What would it look like this week to help restore someone gently instead of judging them harshly?


Assignment: Choosing Forgiveness: Day 1 • Devotional

Matthew 25:1-13

Asking questions of the text:

• What is the "kingdom of heaven" according to this parable? here and now or there and then?
• What was a wedding like back then?
• What would have been understood as the bridesmaids job back then?
• Why 10?
• Who do the bridesmaids represent for us today?
• And the bridegroom?
• What did engagement look like back then?
• What's going on with the oil? Why would they have been carrying the lamps? What did a lamp look like?
• Why did they need more oil?
• Why was the bridegroom delayed? What do they do when the bridegroom is delayed?
• How much oil is too much oil?
  

If God is speaking to you through this passage--what is He saying? (Turn that into an "I will" statement)

Luke 12:13-21

What’s the difference between having savings and being greedy? Where is the line?

• That line is for you and God to determine. The problem comes from when that line isnt enough and you keep pushing it further. When what you have is never enough.

Loss aversion

• humans feel emotional pain of losing something twice as intensely as the joy of gaining it. So when you have little wealth, your brain focuses on attaining more, but once that wealth is accumulated your brain shifts to the defensive, focusing on preservation. 
  • We see this with the farmer when his first reaction was “what shall I do“ instead of being joyful. His anxiety drove him to tear down perfectly good barns for bigger ones. Proving that hoarding wealth to silence fear is a psychological trap. The barn was big enough when he first built it, but once it was full, it wasn’t enough for him. He needed more.

Hedonic treadmill or moving goalposts 

• the illusion that peace is found in a specific financial milestone. 
  • We see this when the farmer says to himself, my friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy, eat drink, and be merry! 
  • But God said to him “you fool you will die this very night then who will get everything you worked for”
  • The farmer spent his whole life trying to fill a void only God could fill. He was  never satisfied, trying to achieve a certain goal rather than focusing on what actually matters.

Isolation and lack of trust

• Wealth tends to isolate people from the community that we rely on. 
  • For example: gated communities, and private services like chefs, chauffeurs, personal assistants, etc strip away the natural community networks that humans rely on for emotional regulation. 

• High net worth individuals start questioning motives of the people around them “ do they love me for me or do they love me for my money?” 

• The farmer didn’t have friends or family around him. He was only concerned about himself. By storing away all his extra grain he forfeited the relationships and loyalty from the other people in his community.
  • If he did have family, they weren’t around when times got hard. He quickly realized that money wasn’t actually a security blanket. When crisis hit, he had nobody to lean on.

Where your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 

• where is your treasure? How can we apply this teaching to our lives going forward? 
• Build a strong relationship with God 
• find contentment in what you already have 
• Love thy neighbor as thyself 
• Give your excess freely to help others 
• Find community and contribute to it. Not just take from it. 

Also note: 
The book of Ecclesiastes 
Matthew 19:21-24

• The rich that see themselves superior because of the amount of money and status that they have - see the poor and don’t care that they’re struggling. 
  • There are very wealthy people in big cities that look in disgust at poor and homeless people instead of looking at them as a person. It’s not that they are ignorant to the needy, they see it. It’s that they don’t care. Theyre beneath them.  It’s the heart posture that causes you to want to give. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1950124/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5406753/

https://www.princeton.edu/~deaton/downloads/deaton_kahneman_high_income_improves_evaluation_August2010.pdf

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Opening question

“What is something in your life that began small but eventually became significant?”

Possible examples:

• A friendship
• A marriage
• A child or grandchild
• A prayer habit
• A ministry
• A career
• Recovery from a difficult season
• A Bible verse that became meaningful
• A small act of kindness
• A decision to follow Christ

We often underestimate small beginnings because we cannot yet see what they will become. Today we will read where Jesus will use a very small seed to teach us about the kingdom of God, faith, growth, and the way our lives can bless others. As you know, we are continuing in the parables and tonight we are going to study the parable of the Mustard Seed. 

Read and compare the Gospel passages 
Read aloud:

• Matthew 13:31–32
• Mark 4:30–32
• Luke 13:18–19

The three accounts are similar, but each Gospel emphasizes something slightly different. 
Matthew 13:31–32
Matthew speaks of the kingdom of heaven. The seed is planted in a field, grows into a tree, and becomes large enough for the birds to nest in its branches.
Mark 4:30–32
Mark emphasizes the contrast between the seed’s small beginning and the plant’s surprising size. The birds nest in its shade.
Luke 13:18–19
Luke describes the kingdom of God as a seed planted in a garden. It grows into a tree, and the birds nest in its branches.

What can we learn, on the surface level, from these verses? 
We can see, from each gospel, that there are 3 main things - a small seed, growth, and shelter.

Small — Growing — Sheltering

What does the seed represent? The kingdom of God 

Why would he compare the Kingdom of God to a seed?

Jesus is teaching through the experience of ordinary people. They knew what a mustard seed looked like. It was tiny, but they also knew it could become a noticeable plant. The 
kingdom may look unimpressive at first, but its growth is certain and its impact is far-reaching.

The seed begins in an unimpressive way.
Jesus’ kingdom did not begin with political power, military force, or public prestige. It began with:

• A baby in Bethlehem
• A carpenter from Nazareth
• A small group of disciples 
• Fishermen, Tax Collectors, the lowest of the low
• A cross that looked like defeat
• Ordinary people empowered by the Holy Spirit

“Why do we often underestimate small beginnings?” 

• We want immediate results.
• We compare ourselves with others.
• We think influence must be public.
• We confuse visibility with importance.
• We are discouraged by our age, stage of life, limitations, or past failures.

But, no one has told the seed that it is small. No one has said to the seed “don’t you expect to grow into something big.” 


Growing 
Let's take a look at the seed. A seed in my hand is still just a seed. Waiting. What needs to happen to the seed for it to grow? 
It has to be planted. We can see in each of the accounts of the parable that Jesus mentions the seed is planted. It isn’t until it is planted that growth takes place. 
Before the seed is planted, can we see its roots? No. A seed takes time to germinate and break through the soil before it yields shade. God’s work often feels unseen or slow, but He is constantly working beneath the surface to bring about spiritual growth. 
When the seed starts growing, what does the parable say happens next? The seed grows huge. It becomes large enough to provide shelter.
Sheltering 
The birds nesting in the branches suggest that the plant becomes a place of life, rest, and protection. 
The tiny seed grows into something that becomes a refuge for all: It signifies that the Kingdom of God provides shelter, rest, and protection for people of all nations and backgrounds.

This raises an important question:
“Is my spiritual life becoming a place where others can find safety, truth, encouragement, and welcome?”

Being a shelter does not mean being perfect or having every answer. It can mean being:

• A safe listener
• A faithful friend
• A prayer partner
• A mentor
• A gracious older woman
• A teachable younger woman
• A person who makes room for others
• Someone who points people back to Christ

The imagery of a large tree with birds nesting in it communicates:

• Great reach
• Provision
• Protection
• Influence
• A place where others can find shelter

The detail of birds nesting in its branches echoes Old Testament imagery. Those listening to Jesus teach would have been familiar with the stories in Daniel and Ezekiel. It would have triggered their memories and brought to mind the trees in those stories.

Let’s Read:

• Daniel 4:12
• Ezekiel 17:22–24, especially verse 23

These passages emphasize God’s initiative. He takes something small and tender and causes it to grow.
Connection to the mustard seed
The common themes include:

• God begins with something that appears small.
• God is the One who plants and gives growth.
• The result becomes visible and significant.
• Many others benefit from what God grows.

Daniel 4 and Ezekiel 17 are not identical in meaning to Jesus’ parable.

• Daniel 4 primarily warns against human pride and arrogant power.
• Ezekiel 17 emphasizes God’s sovereignty and restoration.
• Jesus uses familiar tree-and-bird imagery to describe the surprising expansion of God’s kingdom. 

The passages echo one another in imagery without meaning exactly the same thing. 

We could stop there - after examining the parable. We’ve already pulled a lot of information out of it, and we can see how the Kingdom of God starts small, gets planted, grows, and provides shelter for others. But, as I was studying it, I started to think more about what this would have sounded like to the disciples sitting there. Why was he talking about a mustard seed? What is a mustard seed really? And this is where my mind was blown a little.
I eat mustard and I know of it that way, but I have never really considered the plant. 
In Jesus’ day, mustard was familiar as a fast-growing plant. It could spread aggressively and be viewed as an unwanted or invasive weed. Some people would not have thought of deliberately planting it in a carefully maintained garden. They might have pulled it out rather than cultivated it. 
Let's read Luke again. Notice it specifically says “a man planted it in his garden”

That makes Jesus’ imagery even more surprising:
“Who would intentionally plant something that could spread beyond control?”

I wonder if Jesus may have been confronting the listeners’ expectations about what God’s kingdom would look like. They expected a kingdom that might arrive with obvious power, political influence, or immediate victory. Instead, Jesus described something that began in a form that seemed small, ordinary, and even disruptive—but would eventually spread widely.
The kingdom is not a decorative addition to our lives. It takes root, grows, and changes the environment around it. 
Seeing that the Mustard Seed was known to be a weed, it makes the image of the kingdom more impressive in my mind. It shows how it is:

• Persistent
• Expansive
• Difficult to contain
• Larger than human expectations
• Capable of transforming its surroundings

I can’t get that image out of my mind this week. Something that starts so small can quickly take over a garden. And Jesus uses that to describe the Kingdom of God. And isn’t that exactly how it is in our lives? When we let Him, when we give Him free reign in our lives, He takes over our lives (in the best way possible). 
When we first look at the mustard seed, we don’t see the big picture. We don’t see the roots, the growth that's coming, the future of the plant, or how many it will shelter. And we can’t help but focus on how small it is. But Jesus is showing us that small beginnings can have magnificent outcomes. 

Something else I can’t stop thinking about, is that Jesus mentions the mustard seed again, in another passage. This is one we all are more familiar with, The Faith of The Mustard Seed. Let’s go over to Matthew 17:20
This obviously isn’t the same as what we are studying tonight, but I can’t help but pause for a second. Knowing what we know about mustard seeds now (they are small, but persistent, grow quickly, difficult to maintain, and larger than human expectations), does that change how you view this passage at all? Because here is what I think of the mustard seed.
The mustard seed doesn’t stay a tiny thing, when it is planted in the right soil, in good soil, it flourishes. When you say “I only have the faith of a mustard seed,” you could accept it as a small thing (that wouldn’t be wrong), or you can mean a massive, persistent, fast-growing faith. Not faith in yourself, and not faith that grows without help, but faith in the increase of what God is going to do. 
That changed my mind on focusing on my “little” this week. And I wonder if it might change how we view “little.”
This might be a little unconventional, but I want to do a little hands-on-activity. I know you guys are adults, and I spend my days homeschooling a preschooler but I think sometimes a hands-on-activity helps. Granted, she’s 4. But, bare with me.
I brought something for each of you. I want each of you to hold on to a tiny mustard seed. I am sure you’ve seen them before, many of you may have used them in cooking? (I don’t know, I don’t, but I am also not a fan of cooking). Jesus used something really small to teach us about the Kingdom of God. Look at the seed in your hand. If I told you “this is going to become something much larger than what you’re holding right now” you would have to just trust me, right? Because you can’t see it yet. You can only see the beginning. And isn’t that how God works in our lives? We see the beginning, God sees the finished work. We see the seed, God sees the tree.
Now I want you to think about this question: What small thing has God placed in your hands right now? 
Not what you wish you had. 
Not what somebody else has. 
Not what you think would make you more successful or happier.
What has God actually placed in YOUR hands?
It might be your children. Your marriage. A friendship. A ministry. That one person God just brought to your mind. An opportunity to encourage someone. It might even be something so ordinary that you’ve almost missed it. If you are sitting here, right now, thinking “I don’t have a seed,” I can guarantee that God has placed something in your life, you might think it's just too small to matter.

On your note card, I want you to write “My seed is ___________________.”


You might write: “my seed is praying for my child, or being more patient with my husband, or reaching out to the lonely woman on my street, teaching my children Scripture, serving at church, forgiving, or simply being faithful in the season I am in.”
Tape your actual seed on the note card.
I want you to take this home with you, place it somewhere you will see it often this week. Put it in your purse, or beside your coffee pot, or even on the bathroom counter, somewhere you will see it and it will remind you to pray for your seed, but also remind you that you don’t have to see the whole tree to be faithful with the seed. God may simply be asking: “will you plant the seed I gave you?”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More things to read this week:
1. Zechariah 4:10
2. Ezekiel 17:23
3. Job 8:7
4. Isaiah 60:22
5. Psalm 72:16
6. Matthew 13:33
7. Galatians 6:9
8. Colossians 1:6
9. 1 Corinthians 3:6–7