Good morning. I love that song, and the reason is because uh the word soul, and so I don't know if you're like me, but I've always, when I hear the word soul, I think it's a spiritual word. And so, of course, God could love our soul, because that's some spirit part that he created. But the word soul is just a kind of Bible word for personality. You know, what makes up our soul is how we think, how we react, what our emotions are, um, the good, the bad, the strengths, the weaknesses. And so, you know, God being the lover of our soul is the truth, that he loves us just the way we are, and he's not gonna leave us here. You know, he's gonna grow us and change us and um and all that. But it's just, I mean, who else could know everything about us and uh love us like that? It's an amazing thing. Um, well, it's already been a uh a great day, but it's gonna be a lot greater if the Falcons beat the 49ers this afternoon. I know that's not too spiritual, but it's still true. If it's uh your first time here, welcome. We're really glad that you're here. Hope you can tell you can just relax and and be yourself. If you want to know more about uh who we are and why and what and all that, you could probably just ask anybody that looks like they know. But uh or you could grab one of these. We've got some brochures in the back and at the info desk and uh at the nursery um where the kids check in. The background, by the way, this morning is uh the tree of life that it's inside the new baby gym in the nursery. And uh Marlon painted it for uh for all of us. And it's uh symbolic for little seeds growing into uh uh great big trees in God's uh care. I should say that uh Sid built the tree in the uh the tree of life in the nursery check-in uh lobby, which is just uh beautiful. And we're really we're so blessed as a group to have so many uh talented, giving uh people, you know, artists and craftsmen and carpenters and technicians and electricians and musicians and uh chefs and all types of uh experts that uh just give so much. So thank you for that. So the nursery is uh is God's garden, and there's just great joy in there and opportunities for great joy and um and a couple spots for uh room gardeners who uh is the person leading the room. And so if you especially if you've had teaching experience, you sometimes when you do that during the week, you're like, I don't want to do that on the weekend, but I think this might fulfill all of uh all of that uh experience. But uh if that's the case or if you just want to pour into the kids, um it's really, really great back there. And you can see Megan uh McTear at the nursery um afterwards. And one thing is the new schedule for gardeners and assistant gardeners, I think, um is two weeks on and then two weeks off. And uh what by the by August, I think the plan is to have two weeks on and four weeks off. And so you know, you can help for time and then be with us in here um for a time as well. The high school group is awesome.

Woo!

Justin wanted me to let you know that you're gonna have one more week of anticipation because the big kickoff is not gonna be this Wednesday, it's gonna be the following Wednesday on the 30th. Uh, and it's gonna be fantastic, it's gonna be a great night of worship, and so that'll be um a week from Wednesday. Wednesday night groups and classes start on February 6th. Uh we've got some really good groups this year, have some new groups, have a bunch of new uh new things. The only group that has any cost involved is uh Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I mean, there might be a few groups that have books, and you could buy a book if you wanted uh to go along with it, but you wouldn't have to. Um but the cost for the Financial Peace University is $100, and that's for all the materials, and it's really tuition, it's not to us, it's to um to Dave Ramsey's organization. But it's really, really a great um experience, you know, and and the the name especially, it's financial peace. And uh most of us at different times in our lives have not experienced peace in our in our finances, and so if we're there, let's not go another year like that. And um, but I wanted to share a little bit about that today just because there's a hundred dollar cost involved and give a few weeks to um to plan and prepare for that. So I'll show you a little video on Financial Peace University. There are a lot of I don't know if there's a lot, but there's um different programs out there. Uh but I tell you, this one really, really works. And uh it's a new revised uh series, so even if you've been before, you might want to uh to go again. Once you've paid that $100, you can go as many times as as you want, and there's never another cost, but it's a little shorter and uh and it's new and revised, but uh it really works. Um all right, let's pray. Father, thank you for being such a good God, for loving us, adopting us as your kids. Holy Spirit, just uh thank you for being our counselor and teacher and ask you to teach us this morning that uh that you would take at least one thing and put it in each of our hearts so we would know that it was from you to us. And Jesus, we just praise you for being our Savior and our friend. It's in your name we pray. Amen. So we're taking January to kind of focus on starting the year off uh right. The first week we talked about the tree of life, which uh to me is one of the most important interactions in the whole Bible. You know, it's uh it's God who's has a friendship and a relationship with Adam and Eve, and there's a choice. And the choice is life and relationship, or it's what we think of as the forbidden fruit. And we don't we just sometimes forget, I forget, that that forbidden fruit, if you will, is a tree of knowledge of good and evil. And the choice really is between a relationship with God or rules and religion and all that stuff. And I've uh tried both. And uh, you know, the adventure and the change and the growth and the life is in a real relationship with with uh with the living God. Last week Justin shared uh one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. Uh it's quirky and and it's a uh it's a cool message, and it's Elisha and uh Jehoash. And it's really about just not uh settling, that there's always more. No matter what where we're at and who we are, there's uh there's always more with God. And what you know, it can be desires in our relationships and really any aspect of our life. You know, we can go for it and uh and expect uh the best with God. And today we're gonna talk about a truth that uh Jesus shared that is really a way to implement that. You know, how if if you want more and um think of more, how do we implement that, you know, this afternoon or tomorrow at school or tomorrow at uh at work? And in Matthew 13, it says, Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet. I will speak to you in parables, I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world. Now we're gonna look at one of those parables, and it's a short one, and uh, but it's it's a big deal because it's something that had been hidden since the creation of the world. And uh what we're gonna see is that even after Jesus shared the parable, it was still hidden. That the people that he uh he spoke to uh for different reasons didn't understand what he was telling them. Uh the parable starts with Jesus uh really thinking out loud. It says, Jesus said, How can I describe the kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? And so he's about to share one of those hidden things. This particular particular hidden thing is also highlighted uh in the nursery. And this is a picture of the baby gym in the nursery. Two weeks ago that was two clo uh storage closets. And so inside you can see the tree of life uh that's been the background. Um but what I wanted you to notice was the verse, which is kind of the verse uh for the nursery. And I don't know if you can uh read it, but it's the next thing Jesus says, you know, after he says, you know, how can I possibly explain the kingdom of God? He says, the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Even though it is the smallest of seeds when it is sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large, so the birds of the air can rest in its shade in its shade. What a short, simple illustration. In the nursery, it means the babies and children might be small, but they're so viable. And uh God has a plan and great things to do in their lives. But the people Jesus was talking to would immediately relate to a mustard seed, because mustard, you know, kind of like with us, mustard is such a common thing and it was a common herb, and and back then they would use it for flavoring, they'd also use it uh medicinally, even though these seeds were so tiny you could really barely see them, that they would press them and take the oil, and they would use them for um for medicine. But the point Jesus was making is that these tiny seeds you could plant, and in one season, they would grow from that to ten or fifteen feet tall. And uh that's what they would be thinking about when he's when he's talking about the mustard seed. And and Jesus is telling them something about what the kingdom of God is like and what and actually what God is like. But they didn't uh understand it for the entire time Jesus was on earth. They could not grasp what he was telling them. And the reason is because they wanted to hear something else. It'd be like Jesus standing here and saying, Hey, guess what? I want everyone to be super rich. It'd be like standing ovation, you know? And um and if he said that, he's because we would automatically be thinking about money, but if Jesus said that, he wouldn't be talking about money. He would be talking about rich in relationships and rich in joy and rich um with God. I mean, about how if we're generous, he'll always provide for us and and things like that. I do think, just f for the record, that God does want us uh to be blessed and have enough to enjoy and to share um with other people. But we might he might be telling us one thing, but we want to hear the other thing. And that's what happened every time Jesus talked, every time Jesus talked about the kingdom of God. Everybody got fired up. The problem is that when he said kingdom, Jesus is talking about a spiritual kingdom, they are hearing physical kingdom, a nation, a nation with borders and uh a king and an army and a cabinet and and uh and all that. And it's understandable because they're they're sick of their situation. It had been a long time since um Samuel and David and and Solomon and kind of the grandeur of of Israel. And now their nation, their country is occupied by the Romans, and it's uh demeaning and depressing. And so we can understand why they're longing for a physical kingdom. And it started really from the start of Jesus' ministry. The crowds that followed Jesus, they wanted him to be a physical king of the nation of Israel and lead them back to those uh those days and defeat the Romans and get them back in control. In John 6, it says, When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, Surely he is the prophet we've been expecting. When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. But it wasn't just the crowds, it was his closest followers, even you know, his closest friends even. Shortly before Jesus was gonna be crucified, uh, this interaction took place. It's in Matthew 20. Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectively respectfully to ask a favor. What is your request? He asked. She replied, In your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left. But Jesus answered by saying to them, You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Oh, yes, they replied, We are able. Jesus says, You don't know what you're asking. What they were asking for was cabinet appointments. It wasn't like up in heaven there's going to be some table and they wanted to be right and left. They wanted to be secretary of state, you know, and vice president. Because they're thinking physical kingdom. Now, even after Jesus had been crucified and had been raised from the dead, the apostles, his closest followers and friends, thought that he was going to restore a physical kingdom. In Acts 1, it says, So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom? Personally, I just find that fascinating. That every time you read about a discussion about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is talking about one thing and everyone is hearing something else. In fact, it really wasn't until the Holy Spirit kind of filled everybody in Acts 2 and started teaching them that they began to understand what the real plan was and what the real um kingdom was. And so when Jesus tells these parables, these stories, there's always a mix of kind of a big picture profound element and then a practical everyday element. So the profound, the big picture uh is the kingdom of God's not what they were expecting. It's something that's gonna start really small and not with a powerful army, but uh with normal, everyday people, you know, like us. But eventually the impact was gonna be huge, and they were gonna change the whole world, not by force with an army, not from the government down, but kind of from the people up, with a quiet message that God loves you and he wants to adopt you as his child, you know, and then to change lives, really being the undeniable proof of the power and love of God. And so for us we can see that, because it's been two years, 2,000 years, and we can have been able to watch that grow and uh that and happen. For them, it was something they just couldn't understand, or something they they could not comprehend. Uh, a revolution from the inside out with changed hearts and minds and lives, uh, with no geographic borders, no preference or deference to the rich and to the powerful. And uh, you know, the truth is we can struggle with that a little bit too, especially religious leaders, uh, as they get a uh a glimpse of political power. You know, in America, when we honor God and do things the way He desires, certainly He blesses us, and we should all want that, and we should all want to be in that position as a country because we love our country and we're grateful for it. And just to be born or live in the United States makes us some of the blessed people, most blessed people that have ever lived. Um but I do believe this is gonna be a mini rant, so prepare for it. It usually makes people mad, so but if you walk out, I'm gonna assume you're just going to the bathroom. Um But I personally believe that Christian churches are way too vocal and way too involved with politics and actually have become pawns of different political parties. And I know there's a balance there, um, but what's happened is as we've gained more and more political clout, we've turned off more and more people from Jesus. And so the Supreme Court's important, the president's important, um, the country's amazing, and we need to be good stewards. Uh and so when we get concerned about that, we should do what we can as individuals, you know, pray, help, give, protest, whatever. Um, whatever we can. And and again, personally, I follow politics really closely. Kind of sports and politics are the two things that uh I read every night, uh, what's uh what's going on. And and we and being like we have uh people here like Liz that that are in public office, and it's such a great service um to us and to our city. But our role as a church and our efforts should be to expand the kingdom of God, helping people, um, loving people, explaining that God loves them, um, that God's not mad at them, God is not mad at you, he's not uh waiting um to punish you. You know, talked about the him being a lover of our soul, you know, and so our position with God is not forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. It's thank you, thank you, thank you. It's really uh an amazing thing. And that's the message, a spiritual kingdom um that Jesus is is building with changed hearts and and changed lives. So the great news is you're never gonna have to hear a campaign speech on Sunday morning. Um the even greater news is you do not have to agree with me at all. Um at all. In fact, you know, uh there's a lot of things we may not agree on, but we can agree on Jesus and we can agree on um on loving each other. Um but that pull is still there, that's I guess the overall point. That pull will always be there to try to work for a physical kingdom, to make uh uh God's kingdom into a physical nation. Um and uh Jesus was explaining that that's not it at all, and so that's kind of the important part and the uh profound part. But there's always the practical truth that we can apply uh each day, and it's it's kind of profound in its own way, and it's that God most often works, the way God most often works is with the smallest beginnings. Jesus said we can see it in nature, you know, it's like a mustard seed, even though it's the smallest of seeds when it's sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large, so the birds of the air can rest in its shade. And so when we know that God loves us and we're not not trying to prove anything to Him or impress anybody else, you know, we can ask. Ask big and we can dream big because we've got a big daddy. But then we don't sit back and wait. We plant a seed. We make a start. Even a small seed. Even a small start. Zechariah 4. It said, Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Plant a seed, and it will grow. And it was too big of a problem for us to fix. I mean, it would it would have taken the lottery, and uh that approach would have got us in worse debt. And so we took a small step. We kind of rearranged our spending habits, and we took a little bit and we started paying off one credit card, the one that had the highest interest rate. And some of you know that plan. And then once that was half paid off, then it was the next credit card, and then it was the next credit card, and eventually it was the student loan, and then eventually it was the car, and eventually it was the house. And it was we were tremendously favored by God uh in all that. And I think that's true for all of us, because he doesn't want any of us to be uh slaves to debt and and live with that kind of uh pressure. So that small seed of okay, we're gonna take a make a start. We can't really see the finish, but we're gonna make a start. God took that seed and he planted it into a large tree. You know, it's it's a large tree in our life with deep roots, the way we think about money. It's completely different. The way we think about giving and the way we uh approach all that. Um it's it's become a big tree, if you will, in our lives. You know, even Jesus started small, you know, as an embryo, and then a uh baby, and then a child, and a teenager, a young man, and and then a man. It is most often how God works. You know, it's it's true in Susanai's marriage. And if you've been part of his hands for long, you know all about our marriage. But um, and so some time ago, I forget, thankfully, uh how many years ago, but really our marriage problems were bigger than our debt problems, even though they go hand in hand a lot of times. Um but I mean we did not have any idea how to fix a relationship, and both actually felt like we probably wouldn't be able to. But but we took a very small step, and that is we decided we were gonna go to a counselor. And so we did that um together, and then we did it individually, then we did it back together, then we did it individually, then we took a break for a while, then we did it back together, and that was you know the whole um the whole process. Um and so now we're coming up on our 30-year anniversary. Our the it's that's worth applause. Uh, the the 25th was the the silver anniversary, and I'm pretty sure the 30th is husband gets a motorcycle. And so I'm very excited about that. But um but it was a you know, when we it was a small seed, it was a small start, a small seed. But now God's grown our marriage into a big tree, you know, that that together we can withstand a lot, you know, and we've been through some storms since then. But the the tree is strong and the roots um are deep. And so we might have a big tree of a dream, you know, or a big tree of a problem, or need a big tree of an answer, or a big tree of change in our lives. If we plant a seed, even a tiny seed, God will make it grow. And there's so many different types of seeds that we can plant. Like when we help people, you know, together it's cool because we can uh we can do th big things and help in in big ways. Uh and individually, there's so many ways that we help that may seem like a really small thing, you know, taking time to talk with someone, or taking someone a mill, or praying with someone, or praying uh for someone, or helping out in any way. In Proverbs 11:30, it says, the seeds of good deeds become a tree of life. Small things matter, and God can take small things and turn them into big things in our lives and in the lives of people that we help. You know, God uses our giving financially, whatever amount, in big ways. In 2 Corinthians 9, it says, remember this, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give, and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. That's really important. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. And honestly, that is why we don't pass a plate. Because you just can't help it. When that plate comes by, whoever you are, you feel pressure. And and God doesn't want us to give that way, and and he doesn't want someone up here twisting our arms and and throwing on a lot of uh guilt and that type of thing. Because giving's not like that. It's an opportunity and it's a joyous uh uh thing, and it's something that that he will put on our hearts and give us a desire to do. And so he goes on to say, For God loves a person who gives cheerfully, and God will generously provide all you need. Then you always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the scriptures say, they share freely and give generously to the poor, their good deeds will be remembered forever. For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat, in the same way he will provide and increase your resources, then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. See, small things, small starts. We've got a big God. You know, telling someone that you love, that you love them, is a small seed that can really grow. It's true of our faith. You know, the in Luke 17, the apostles said to the Lord, Show us how to increase our faith. The Lord answered, If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea, and it would obey you. And in this instance, I believe what Jesus was saying is that you already have enough faith. You don't need it increased. A small amount of faith is a powerful thing. A small amount of faith goes a long way. And so we might believe that, man, if I could just have great faith, I could do great things. But to do great things, it takes a small step with whatever amount of faith that we have right now, because we have a big and loving God. It's true of seemingly small things like uh helping people get along with each other, encouraging someone to reach out to in a friendship that's broken or a family relationship that's broken, uh, and encouraging someone to forgive and that type of thing. It's a small thing that can have a big result. In James 3 it says, and those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Why can such a small seed, small steps, small beginnings create such huge resort results? It's because we got a big God. We got a big God, and he cares about everything in our lives, he cares about everything we care about, and it only takes a step, and then he will make it grow. And so if the worship team will come up, we got a last song uh today. The simple the simple truth is that this is most evident in our individual relationship with God. We take a simple step, no formula, it's in our own words, whatever it is. Jesus, I need you. Jesus, help me. Jesus, I want your a relationship with you. Uh I want to follow you wherever we're at. Um, you know, we're created in God's image, and we do have a spirit. And uh when we do that, our spirit comes alive and it connects with God's spirit, and then he does the work. He starts transforming us and changing us from the inside out. He does the heavy lifting. And so the way we think starts to change, and the way we can receive love starts to change, and the way we can give love starts to change, and eventually our whole life uh changes. It's a small start, but with a really big God. And so Paul says it this way I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. And it's not important who does the planting or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. Just a small step in our hearts. If you've never done that, you could do that this morning. It's a life-changing small step. We got a great God, you know, and and his spirit, so hopefully his spirit has placed something in each of our hearts today, some area, any area of our lives where, yeah, here's a small step I could take, here's a small seed that I could plant. And if not, just ask him, and he will, I promise you. Just ask him, and he will. So Jesus is thinking, man, how in the world can I explain something so big as the kingdom of God? He says, I know. It's like a mustard seed. It's a cool thing. So let's stand, get ready for the last song. Love y'all. Hope you have a great week with God. Let's pray. So, God, we just thank you. Thank you for being such a great God, for loving us the way we are, for giving us hopes and dreams for planting seeds in our heart. And I do just ask God that you would give each of us one uh one step that we could take. And then give us the strength and the faith to plant that seed. We trust you, we love you in Jesus' name. Amen.