Mark 4:26-34
Lead in: Ezekiel 17:22-24 speaks of the towering Lebanon cedar. In Mark 4, Jesus speaks of the gangly mustard bush. The Lebanon cedar of the Middle East is the equivalent to the mighty redwood of California. The mustard bush is the equivalent of the unattractive buckthorn bush, an invasive nuisance that nobody wants. So it is in life. God often uses the lowly and unimpressive to accomplish His work.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when you felt more like the gangly mustard bush than the mighty cedar of Lebanon yet, despite your unimpressive resume, to your surprise God used you to accomplish His purposes.
Lead in: In Mark 4, we hear of the farmer who scattered seed on the land and then trusted that it would sprout. In the same way with the faith of the gospel farmer, Jesus invites us to scatter seeds of kindness and compassion even to the most hardened of hearts.
Prompt: Reflect on a time when you encountered someone difficult to love but you were able to respond planting seeds of kindness and compassion. Can you think of a time when it was not easy to respond with that same compassion?
Lead in: Just as it takes faith to believe that something as small as the tiny mustard seed will grow into something as big as the mustard bush, so it is sometimes hard to believe that our puny efforts could ever make a difference in the world. Yet, in the realm of God’s grace there is no effort that goes unnoticed.
Prompt: Where is it in your life where you sometimes wonder if your puny efforts are making any difference in the world and it’s easy to become discouraged?
Lead in: Ezekiel 17 speaks of the majesty of the towering cedar of Lebanon. What if you were told that there is a majesty about you, the gift of you that only you can give to the world?
Prompt: What is your majesty? That is, what is the gift of you that only you can give to the world?
Lead in: In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul describes our life on earth as a pilgrimage home to heaven where we walk by faith and not by sight.
Prompt: If you were to name three highlights in your life on your pilgrimage home to heaven, what might they be?
